
In celebration of Canadian artistry, For the Record is launching CAN You Hear Me, a series championing the music, unique talent, and diverse cultures found in the Great White North-from the jazz bars in Qu bec to the dance clubs in Ontario all the way to the powwows in the west.
Kicking off our series is French-Canadian artist Charlotte Cardin. Charlotte's smoky and sensual voice, genre-defying pop sound, and deeply vulnerable songwriting have made her one of the most notable breakout artists from Canada in recent years.
The 28-year-old performer grew up in the French-Canadian music mecca of Montr al, Qu bec, where legends like KAYTRANADA, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the queen of divas herself-C line Dion-got their start. Charlotte made a strong first impression in 2016 with her debut release, Big Boy. Creating a deeply atmospheric-yet-minimal vibe, the bilingual EP quickly rose the charts and earned her a nomination for the 2017 SOCAN Songwriting Prize. In the process, Charlotte became the first artist in SOCAN history to be nominated in both the French and English categories.
Charlotte continued to build on that momentum, and she hit a career milestone in 2021 when her debut album, Phoenix, spent two weeks at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. In the months that followed, the album was longlisted for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize, and Charlotte was the most-nominated artist at the 2022 Juno Awards, where she won Album of the Year, Pop Album of the Year, Single of the Year (for Meaningless ), and the highly coveted Artist of the Year.
Charlotte shows no signs of slowing down. The singer has performed for fans all over the world, and she participated in Spotify Singles, where she delivered an incredible Spanish/English mixed cover of Amy Winehouse's Back 2 Black and a French version of XOXO from Phoenix.
Most recently, Charlotte surprised fans with the release of Confetti and Looping, the first singles from her upcoming album, 99 Nights. She also announced plans for a 40-date world tour kicking off at the end of August.
For the Record sat down with Charlotte to talk about life growing up in Canada, the Montr al music scene, and what songs she's got on repeat.
Tell us a bit about your journey into music. I started doing music when I was very young. While neither of my parents were professionally into music, we were a musical family. My dad was-and still is-a huge rock fan, and my mom always encouraged us to have a bit of musical knowledge. When I was eight years old, I started taking singing lessons and it was a total love-at-first-sight situation. I had always enjoyed singing, but to learn how to do it properly and control my voice was like being in a massive playground.
Growing up, I discovered all these people from my small city who were doing these really beautiful, creative things. Seeing them made me want to both follow in their footsteps and explore my own path. After taking singing lessons for 10 years, I finally started writing music, which also doubled as a way to process my emotions.
How would you describe the music scene in Montr al? Extremely eclectic and creative. I think that comes from the fact that the city is bilingual, so you have these bubbles of Francophone and Anglophone singer-songwriters with their own little ecosystems who coexist beautifully. They're always moving and merging and doing new things across so many genres. And when you combine that with all the different international cultures that exist in Montr al, you get something so beautiful, diverse, and stimulating.
Can you tell us about the unique balancing act required to bring both Qu b cois and English into your music? It's always come pretty naturally to me, especially when I'm singing. It's hard to explain, but growing up bilingual, I feel certain parts of my personality are better expressed in one language or the other, depending on how I experienced the story I'm telling. It all just kind of coexists inside of me. Most of my music is in English, but singing in French is important to me because, being French Canadian, I feel like there's a huge appreciation from my Francophone fans. And ultimately, that allows me to connect even more to them.
Can you tell us a little bit about your new album, 99 Nights? I'm very excited about releasing 99 Nights this summer. It's an album that's very meaningful to me and was written in a time when I was going through a lot of personal stuff. So the creative process behind the album was very much an escape mechanism, which fans will hear in the extremely vulnerable songwriting and storytelling. It's called 99 Nights because, for the first three months or so that I spent writing the album, I was just trying to reconnect with the important stuff in my life and make some big changes. It was pretty therapeutic and helped me cope with a lot of big things and make some huge life changes.
Honestly, I just hope that some people can just relate to the experiences I've shared on the album and have it help them.
What was it like working on Spotify Singles? It was so cool to have so much creative leeway with the music I wanted to cover. I love listening to Spotify Singles because it's nice to hear artists cover other artists and find a fun way to merge different genres. That really inspired me to be extra playful with my song choices and the styles I performed them in.
What Canadian artists have inspired you? There are so many, but the first name that comes to mind is Patrick Watson, who has become a very dear friend of mine. I grew up respecting his music immensely and still do. He has such a talent for painting beautiful pictures with his music, so it was wonderful to collaborate with this artist, who it turns out lived just a few streets down from me when I was in Montr al.
And it may b
More from Spotify
07/05/2025
Discovering music should feel effortless and fun. That's why Spotify continu...
06/05/2025
In Colombia, music isn't just background noise-it's center stage. It'...
06/05/2025
En Colombia, la m sica no suena de fondo: es el centro del escenario. Es el cora...
06/05/2025
At Spotify, we always seek ways to connect users with their next favorite podcas...
06/05/2025
Since Spotify's 2019 launch in India, the growth of the country's local ...
05/05/2025
As Europe gears up for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, Spotify is celebrating the spirit of unity and musical legacy with a new series of Spotify Singles. Fiv...
02/05/2025
Updated May 2: In a victory for consumers, artists, creators, and authors, Apple...
02/05/2025
Since 2022, Spotify and FC Barcelona have brought the worlds of music and footba...
02/05/2025
With more than 678 million users worldwide tuned in to Spotify, we're at the heart of music and culture. Our unrivaled global community of artists, songwrit...
01/05/2025
After four years of lectures, study sessions, exams, and parties, college senior...
30/04/2025
EA SPORTS FC 25 fans in Australia and Saudi Arabia, get ready to immerse yourselves in the beautiful game like never before. Spotify is excited to announce a n...
30/04/2025
The past year has been nothing short of a whirlwind for Tucker Wetmore. After th...
30/04/2025
Mexico's love for podcasts is no longer a trend-it's a lifestyle. With m...
29/04/2025
Idag rapporterar vi f r det f rsta kvartalet 2025, och vi inleder ret starkt med ett resultat som vertr ffar f rv ntningarna inom v ra nyckeltal. Vi levererad...
29/04/2025
Today, we announced our first quarter 2025 earnings, starting the year off strong by outperforming across key metrics, including the highest Q1 Subscriber net a...
29/04/2025
April is Arab Heritage Month, a time to celebrate the vibrant creators from acro...
28/04/2025
Podcasts have become a cornerstone of the Spotify experience, evolving from a ni...
28/04/2025
Each April, runners and walkers of all stripes gather together in Lower Manhattan for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum 5K. This race remembers those killed on Septemb...
24/04/2025
Playlists have always been at the heart of the Spotify experience. Since AI Playlist in beta launched last year, Premium users have used it to create millions o...
24/04/2025
From the California desert and Chicago's Grant Park to New York City's Flushing Meadows Corona Park and beyond, music festivals this spring and summer w...
24/04/2025
The sounds of Asia are as diverse and vibrant as the continent itself. From the lively beats of Indonesian pop to the gritty rhymes of Pinoy hip-hop, the region...
22/04/2025
Music has the power to connect us to one another and to the world around us. Spotify is once again teaming up with the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live...
22/04/2025
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all g...
22/04/2025
This year marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22. On Spotify, listeners can explore a world of stories about our planet in our...
15/04/2025
In March this year, Spotify unveiled its annual Loud & Clear report, a transpare...
15/04/2025
As the world's most popular audio-streaming subscription service, Spotify is...
14/04/2025
On Monday, April 14, Blue Origin's NS-31 mission lifted off from Launch Site...
14/04/2025
Whether it's having first access to tickets, being a part of once-in-a-lifet...
11/04/2025
Since entering the audiobooks space in 2022, Spotify has positively impacted the industry, paying out hundreds of millions of dollars to rights holders on an an...
11/04/2025
Latin America's love for scripted audio is about to get a thrilling new chap...
08/04/2025
As part of the first-of-its kind partnership between Spotify and FC Barcelona, w...
03/04/2025
Spotify Advertising hit a new high note today as we unveiled how we're makin...
03/04/2025
The next stage of Spotify Advertising has arrived. Today, during our Spotify Advance event in New York City, we unveiled a host of updates that make it easier f...
03/04/2025
Some of the biggest names in marketing, advertising, publishing, traditional and social media, and the creative worlds gathered yesterday at Chelsea Factory in ...
01/04/2025
USHER's London takeover is in full swing. After kicking off his sold-out run of shows at the O2 Arena to rave reviews, the R&B icon joined forces with Spoti...
27/03/2025
Since announcing the Spotify Partner Program last fall, we've heard from cre...
26/03/2025
nda sedan Spotify grundades har vi arbetat h rt f r att ka betalningsviljan f r...
26/03/2025
Spotify's RADAR program spotlights rising talent from around the world, and in Spain, it's been making waves since 2020. Five years in, RADAR Spain has ...
20/03/2025
Spotify listeners love discovering new artists and songs, but they also love fin...
18/03/2025
Looking for inspiration this Women's History Month? Discover the stories of trailblazing women with audiobooks on Spotify. Our Women's History Month aud...
18/03/2025
From morning commutes to late-night listening sessions, Spotify is the essential daily companion for millions of listeners globally. Podcasts, in particular, ha...
14/03/2025
Time flies when you're having fun and we can confidently say that Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer and Spotify's Head of Talk Strategy, is having not...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
11/03/2025
Salsa is making a comeback, captivating new listeners with its infectious energy...
11/03/2025
For many people, music can serve as a reflection of their roots and upbringing. ...