Toronto power-pop quartet Little Junior (like many other Canadian pop lovers) consider Carly Rae Jepsen to be a national treasure. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that the group came together to record a cover of Jepsen’s 2015 hit, I Really Like You.

What is surprising, and awesome, is the video that Little Junior put together to go with the track. With a limited budget, Schitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy in a Tom Hanks mask, and an appearance by July Talk, the band filmed a shot-by-shot remake of Jepsen’s fun-loving music video.

It’s part DIY, part ridiculous, super fun, and the band has committed to attaching a great cause to the video and song.

“Any money we get from covering this video by the flawless Carly Rae Jepsen is going to Youth Line, a youth-led organization that provides peer support for LGBTQ2 youth in Toronto. It’s a great cause and we feel we have a responsibility to use our privilege to give back to our community. To our LGBTQ2 family and friends: we see you, we’re here for you.”

The cause is an important one for the band and lead vocal/guitarist Rane Elliott-Armstrong, who identifies as gay. Through the bands’ own experiences, they know that things still need to get better for the queer community when it comes to inclusion, representation, and respect.

Many members of the LQBTQ2 community have their own experiences, but one of Rane’s came at work, in an industry that generally loves to pride itself on inclusiveness.

In a press release for the video he says,

When they were still performing at all-ages clubs around the city a sound engineer asked what their setup would be for a show that night. Rane answered the way he had so many times before: They had two guitars, a bass, and drums. “Oh,” the sound engineer responded. “You don’t have a sampler or an acoustic guitar or any of that gay shit?”

There’s no place for that. We all know it. And while we all hope that the days of homophobic and generally disrespectful language are behind us (or soon will be), we know that the LGBTQ2 community still experiences struggles to be seen, considered, and respected the same way that their straight peers are.

Little Junior’s debut full-length album, Hi, drops on May 11, 2018, and is available for pre-order now! Learn more about the band and stay up to date with them online at their website and socials: web / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram – and check them out on tour with Born Ruffians throughout April and May.

Now, without any further ado, we invite you to watch Little Junior’s cover of Carly Rae Jepsen’s I Really Like You… and then we invite you to watch Jepsen’s original, and then we invite you to watch them side-by-side!

Little Junior – I Really Like You

Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

Little Junior and Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You (Side By Side)

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Joshua Murray

creator of content, daddy blogger, writer, coffee drinker, fan of the Batman. proud mo bro. prouder dad.