Songfacts®:

• This soaring tribute to all of love's possibilities was written by Carly Rae Jepsen with her boyfriend, James Flannigan, who is a British songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. It finds Jepsen singing of the search for someone to give her real, unconditional love in a crazy world:
  
  I go everyday without it
  All I want is real, real love
  And I've been feeling weak without it
  Only want a real, real love
• Asked by The Observer if she believes in real love, Jepsen replied:
  
  "This idea that two people commit to each other for life, my mum and stepfather are a good example. I haven't had more than two-and-a-half years, so I wouldn't be expert enough to say. But there isn't one checked box for a correct life. I'm dedicated – but maybe I still have some questions."
• Carly Rae Jepsen wrote almost 200 songs for Dedicated, so narrowing them down to 15 was a difficult process. She told Billboard that "Real Love" was one of the tracks she just couldn't give up on, and Flanagan and her went through 17 different versions. "There was something about the demo of the song that stuck with me," Jepsen said. "It wasn't until the very last inning we felt like we got it right."