Repacking her bag quickly for Glastonbury is Carly Rae Jepsen.
She had initially chosen wet weather clothing because she had heard that the festival was known for floods, mud pits, and sunken tents. This decision was not unreasonable.
Despite some torrential downpours, she has just learned that the UK has been experiencing a heatwave.
From her Los Angeles home, she laughs over the phone, "Oh really? Well, I'm packing all my sundresses now.".
"I'm incredibly eager for the festival. I've heard so many renowned, admirable things. I therefore want to be ready. ".
The pop star will be performing at Glastonbury for the first time, and she will bring new music with her. On Friday, just hours before her early-evening performance on The Other Stage, a single called Shy Boy will be released.
As Jepsen sings about seducing a wallflower who's the only person not dancing at her party, it's the ideal summer song, full of sneaky synths and contagious pop hooks.
I've always been drawn to the more reserved person in the room, she claims.
"The one with all the behind-closed-doors secrets that, as you get to know them, grow more fascinating. Unlike, say, the partygoer who is the loudest. ".
The news that Jepsen is still recording music and will be performing on one of Glastonbury's biggest stages may surprise casual fans.
Most people associate her with singing the top-grossing song of 2012, Call Me Maybe, which Billboard magazine once dubbed as having the "greatest chorus of the 21st Century.".
If you judge her by the charts, she has never achieved the level of success that song did. However, her follow-up albums, Emotion, Dedicated, and The Loneliest Time, have developed a cult following, especially within the LGBTQ community.
These albums are fervent, wide-angle explorations of lust and longing, sprinkled with glistening synths from the 1980s and powerful, unrestrained feelings.
As a self-described people-watcher, Jepsen finds the innumerable complexities of relationships fascinating, whether she is singing about unrequited love (Your Type), late-night trysts (Want You In My Room), or terrifying dating app stories (Beach House).
Her songs frequently capture a moment when desire is about to erupt into action. ". To the feeling, take me! On one of her best-known songs, the saxophone-driven Run Away With Me, she declares, "I'm a saxophone player.
The same sweet spot as those earlier songs can be found in Shy Boy.
She explains, "There's this coquettish kind of bravery I discovered in my teen years, a thrill at being the first to engage a romance.
"And this song is about enticing someone to spontaneously meet you downtown so you can go out and have a night of exploration. That's how sweet and straightforward it is. ".
So, Carly Rae Jepsen, the pop star, how does she feel about making the first move? Has she ever done that before?
Being self-assured enough to put yourself out there, she says, "I think there's something really cool about that.".
"If there is a connection, that is a beautiful thing in and of itself, but just expressing interest is a cool first step.
"The world needs more of that because, as I've written in-depth about, many people are incredibly lonely.
There is more fun and adventure to be had if we become accustomed to rejection, put ourselves out there, and let it fly and see what happens. ".
Eight months have passed since the release of her previous album, The Loneliest Time, a more introspective work that focused on the isolation of lockdown, the passing of her grandmother, and the breakdown of a relationship (". Or whatever, go find yourself. "She snaps with an unusual amount of acidity on one track,".
Fans are aware of her workaholism and the fact that she cranks out hundreds of songs for each album, so the new album's rapid release is not shocking.
Shy Boy's lengthy development—more than a decade—is what makes it unusual.
"Confidentially — well, I guess not confidentially, since this is an interview — but it's a song I've had for a very long time in various forms.
"Honestly, the little hook was circling in my head before I wrote Call Me Maybe. So it has existed since I was a teenager. It's kind of crazy; it's followed me for half my life!".
With such a prolific output, Jepsen has started releasing "companion" albums to go along with her main releases, which contain leftovers and outtakes from her recording sessions.
The content frequently mirrors the parent album and demonstrates her range as a songwriter by giving more eccentric songs like "Fake Mona Lisa" room to shine.
A look into her writing process is also provided by the B Side collections.
Two songs (Felt This Way and Stay Away) that follow one another on 2020's Dedicated Side B have the same lyric about two friends attempting to resist their attraction to one another but failing.
Jepsen offers two utterly different interpretations of the situation, though, by altering the arrangement, the melody, and her vocal delivery.
She is hesitant and open on Felt This Way, mumbling her confessions beneath a muted synthesizer backdrop. Stay Away is more blunt because Jepsen enters and seizes control of the circumstance. She demands: "in the song's sole meaningful lyrical change. Touch me repeatedly. ".
With "only" 65 tracks remaining after the recording sessions were over, last year's Loneliest Time album was more tightly focused. Aside from promising "a companion project" later on, she recently informed fans that there wouldn't be a Side B album.
She responds when asked if Shy Boy marks the beginning of a new musical era, "Oh, I always feel like it's the beginning of something new! I'm constantly writing. I exist in this way. I call the label with my next idea even after I release a song.
"Where I am in the [album] cycle right now is a little hazy, but there are definitely more things in the works. ".
But first, she has to make her Glastonbury debut before she can do anything else.
She says, barely holding back her excitement, "I've heard it's one of those bucket list, lifetime experiences.". "This is in the top tier if you even remotely enjoy festivals. ".
Jepsen won't be able to stay at the festival for very long, though, as a six-date tour of Japan begins on Wednesday.
Because I'm in and out, she says, "I'm kind of heartbroken.".
I learned that Cat Stevens, a musician I grew up enjoying, will be performing on Sunday. In order to attempt to perform the backing vocals for Moonshadow with him, if I were permitted to stay, you would see me backstage. ".
But after her performance, she will stay a little longer to take in the scene before her tour bus arrives.
"All right, let's just jam in everything we can, my bandmates and I are like. We'll check out Chvrches after we play; after that, we'll go exploring. ".
Already, the possibility is giving her tour manager nightmares.
"Since I'm such a people-watcher, I feel like I'll need a friend to hold my hand because otherwise I'll get lost like a child.
I'll be preoccupied with bubbles and then vanish forever. ".
On Friday at 19:30 BST, BBC Three will begin airing highlights of Carly Rae Jepsen's performance. At 15:45, The Other Stage's live feed will be available on the iPlayer for the entire performance.
