Let's Go to the Mall
A teen pop song from a fictional Canadian star on a TV show.
"Let's Go to the Mall" was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for the CBS sitcom *How I Met Your Mother*. Canadian actress Cobie Smulders performed it as her character Robin Scherbatsky, whose hidden past involved being a teenage Canadian pop star known as Robin Sparkles. The song debuted as a fake music video in the November 20, 2006 episode "Slap Bet," then became a digital single on September 4, 2007. It was later included on the 2012 soundtrack *How I Met Your Music*. This teen pop track encourages a trip to the shopping mall for fun, with lyrics nodding to 1980s trends like jelly bracelets and Canadian icons such as hockey player Wayne Gretzky and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
The idea originated when executive producer Greg Malins suggested a music video for a character in June 2006, choosing Robin. After seeing a young Matt LeBlanc appear in Alanis Morissette's "Walk Away" video, the creators decided to give Robin a secret past as a Canadian pop star who "never became legit." Thomas, Bays, and writer Kourtney Kang spent weeks developing the story. An earlier version had Robin as part of a duo returning to Canada to revive her career. In the episode, Robin reveals she recorded the song in 1993 for an album called *Make It Sparkle* on Dominant Records, and as a 16-year-old she performed it at malls while living on Orange Julius and Wetzel's Pretzels. She explains that although recorded in the early '90s, the song and video were styled after the late '80s because "the 1980s didn't come to Canada until '93."
Bays and Thomas, who enjoy writing songs together, were inspired by Morissette's pre-*Jagged Little Pill* material. The title came first, and the lyrics followed. Thomas said the song originally "started off too big" with multiple acts, but it was later tied into Robin and Ted's smaller story about trust and secrets. Smulders, who had taken singing lessons the year before, was nervous and excited. In the studio with Thomas, she was "the most nervous" he had seen, but they drank alcohol to help her channel her "inner 16-year-old." She improvised the line "I love my hoop earrings!" in a Valley Girl accent, which was kept in the song.
- Field
- Television music, pop culture
- Nationality
- Canadian (performer and character)
- Known for
- Faux music video in How I Met Your Mother, Robin Sparkles persona
- Release date
- September 4, 2007 (digital single)
- First aired
- November 20, 2006 (episode "Slap Bet")
- Writers
- Craig Thomas, Carter Bays
- Performer
- Cobie Smulders
Lore & Background
The song was created after executive producer Greg Malins suggested a music video starring one of the characters, picking Robin. The creators, inspired by a young Matt LeBlanc in an Alanis Morissette video, developed Robin's secret past as a Canadian pop star. They worked with writer Kourtney Kang for weeks to craft the story. In the episode, Robin reveals she was Robin Sparkles, who released "Let's Go to the Mall" in 1993 on the album Make It Sparkle by Dominant Records. The song became a minor hit in Canada, and 16-year-old Robin performed it at shopping malls while living on Orange Julius and Wetzel's Pretzels. The song and video were influenced by late 1980s style because, as Robin explains, the 1980s "didn't come to Canada until '93."
Cobie Smulders, who had taken singing lessons the previous year, was nervous but excited about the song. She recorded it with Thomas, who said they drank alcohol in the studio to help her channel her "inner 16-year-old." Smulders improvised the line "I love my hoop earrings!" in a Valley Girl accent, which was added to the song. The faux music video was directed by Pamela Fryman and filmed in one day with Smulders performing forty takes. The choreography was taught by Kristin Denehy, who also arranged Jason Segel's routine in the "Okay Awesome" episode. The video emulated the style of Tiffany, with costumes researched from Tiffany's old videos and sourced from various shops and costume houses.
Reader's Guide
"Let's Go to the Mall" became a notable element of How I Met Your Mother, garnering generally positive reviews from television and music critics for its catchiness and humor. Several media publications listed it among the show's best musical sequences. As of August 2008, it had sold 4,000 digital downloads in the United States, and the music video attracted more than 300,000 viewers on MySpace and the CBS official website. The Robin Sparkles persona became a running gag throughout the show, with Smulders reprising the role in later episodes: "Sandcastles in the Sand" (2008), "Glitter" (2010), and as Robin Daggers in "P.S. I Love You" (2013). The song's legacy lies in its parody of 1980s teen pop and its contribution to the show's humor, reflecting the creators' ability to blend satire with character development. It remains a fan-favorite example of the series' creative musical interludes.
Did You Know?
- The song was written by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays, who also wrote the theme song for How I Met Your Mother.
- The song mentions Canadian figures Wayne Gretzky and Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
More in The Gang & Key Figures
Elsewhere in How I Met Your Mother
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