Carly Rae Jepsen reveals how Heated Rivalry inspired her baby's name after welcoming first child
Carly Rae Jepsen has opened up about the surprisingly simple moment that helped her and husband Cole M.G.N. settle on a name for their first child.
The Call Me Maybe singer, 40, welcomed son Ilya Blue with the music producer, 41, in March, after the couple spent months searching for something which felt right.
It turns out that Jepsen wasn't seemingly willing to settle for just anything when it came to naming her baby.
She told People: “We were looking for something that felt original, and I was crazy — it almost felt like the most important creative decision I’ve ever made.”
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The celebrity couple’s hunt for inspiration went well beyond flicking through lists of popular baby names, with the pair finding themselves looking almost everywhere for possibilities.
However, it was while Jepsen was watching the hit hockey drama Heated Rivalry that everything suddenly clicked.
The singer revealed the name Ilya was inspired by Ilya Rozanov, played by Connor Storrie in the TV series, despite her husband not actually watching the show himself.
Jepsen recalled: “[My husband] had not seen the show; he just walked in while I was hormonal and watching it, and I was like, ‘Ilya’s beautiful,’ and he was like, ‘Yes, it is really great.’
“Ilya is just a beautiful name, first and foremost. We were really excited about finding a name that, I think both of us being musicians, had a musical sound to it — and you imagine saying it sweetly, and you imagine saying it like they got in trouble like, ‘Ilya.’ It’s good both ways! I like it.”
Before Heated Rivalry provided the breakthrough, Jepsen said both she and M.G.N. had been actively searching for inspiration in their everyday lives.
She explained: “We were just really looking through books and talking to friends, and anytime I’d see a street name, I was looking for inspiration, and I knew that when I heard it, it would be clear.
“My husband was doing the same thing, and he named our son his middle name, and as soon as he said it to me, it was right.”
Plus, Jepsen's connection to Heated Rivalry hasn't ended with her son's name.
The singer made it clear she's firmly among the show's fans and is already looking forward to seeing what comes next.
She said: “It is incredible, and I laughed, I cried, all of the things.
“It was really, really wonderful, and one of those shows where I can’t wait for the next season to come out because I will be watching.”
The new arrival has come during a major new chapter for Jepsen, who released her double album Day and Night on September 18.
She worked on the record both before and during her pregnancy, whilst also collaborating with M.G.N. on the project.
Reflecting on her life now that parenting has been mixed in, Jepsen said: “I’ve had other chapters that have been lonelier, like I was on a journey not knowing where it was leading.
“It feels like a really fresh new chapter that I’m in now, with a family that I couldn’t be more grateful for.”
Topics: Parenting, Entertainment, Celebrity
Ben Williams