As the singer and co-songwriter of “Call Me Maybe,” that Justin Bieber–tweeted, devilishly disarming unicorn of a song that spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2012, Jepsen has one of the most recognizable voices in pop music. But in an era when viral hits can take an artist from nowhere to everywhere and back in the time it takes to click “refresh,” notoriety alone rarely translates into sustainable stardom. Despite having created one of the most popular songs of the decade (19.7 million singles sold, according to her label), Jepsen’s track to becoming a cultural force on the level of, say, a Katy Perry or Taylor Swift has remained elusive.

Kiss, the album she rush-released in 2012 to capitalize on the success of “Maybe,” never gained traction, selling only around 300,000 copies in the ensuing three years. And Emotion, though brimming with ostensibly radio-friendly dance pop and nearly universally lauded as an artistic breakthrough, has so far fared even worse, debuting at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 with just 16,000 first-week sales. In its second week, it plummeted to No. 67.

Scooter Braun, Jepsen’s manager, who also manages Bieber and Ariana Grande, claims that he never really expected Emotion to be a commercial hit, and that he sees it as primarily a stepping-stone to help Jepsen transition from “the ‘Call Me Maybe’ Girl” into a credible artist.

“For us, domestically, yeah, it was... it was... I won't say it was disappointing, it was expected, and now we have a job to do,” Braun said. “Carly did her job. She gave an incredible album that she's incredibly proud of, and I will be so proud for the rest of my life knowing I'm associated with it.”

When I asked Jepsen if she was disappointed by the performance of Emotion, she seemed surprised by the question, which surprised me. “I don't ever really put my attention too much into...” she said, pausing briefly. “I feel quite happy with how the record's done, to be honest. I don't really compare it to Kiss or whatever I’m gonna do next. That's not where my attention goes. I feel really lucky that people have received it so well and that it has sold any amount.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. It isn’t, after all, Jepsen’s dream to be as big a cultural presence as Katy Perry or Taylor Swift. Talking to her, you get the sense that what she really wants — even beyond the "happy to be nominated" veneer — is actually much more simple: bike to the beach, eat fresh peaches, drink great wine, maybe get good at surfing. As ambitions go, this is both modest and sensible, which, of course, is exactly the opposite of what we expect from our pop stars — even the Canadian ones. How can someone so well-adjusted exist in a world where butt glue and Twitter shade abound? And if she’s selling what we all say we want, why aren’t more people buying?