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
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
11/05/2026
As Eurovision fans gear up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic song ...
11/05/2026
Pela primeira vez na hist ria, o Brasil figura entre os oito maiores mercados de...
11/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced the Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modellin...
11/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced the blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWl...
11/05/2026
Performance-focused sequencer with microtonal control
Berlin-based KOMA Elektronik have announced Monoplex, a new 42HP Eurorack sequencer designed for hands...
11/05/2026
Boasts wireless control from mobile devices
The latest iteration of IK Multimedia's compact amp and effects modelling pedal expands on the capabilities ...
11/05/2026
Spans traditional orchestral and experimental sounds
Sonora Cinematic have recently released the third instalment in their Transfigured Orchestra series, de...
11/05/2026
Our exhibition coverage
Watch all our SUPERBOOTH 2026 video coverage in one place. Check back to this page regularly as we will be updating with more video ...
11/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, is participating in the Equity Forum Ge...
11/05/2026
11 May 2026
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board and Chairman, Reaffirming Confiden...
11/05/2026
Fox Corporation Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results NEW YORK, NY, May 11, 2026 - Fox Corporation (Nasdaq: FOXA, FOX; FOX or the Company ) t...
11/05/2026
Arvato Systems Becomes a Member of InsurLab Germany
Collaboration in the insurance industrys leading innovation network
G tersloh - Arvato Systems has joine...
11/05/2026
Pirate Predator uncovers new information from victims and survivors of abuse on ...
10/05/2026
RT ALL-IRELAND DRAMA FESTIVAL WINNERS ANNOUNCED DURING GALA AWARDS STREAMED LIVE ON RTE.IE/CULTURE
Kilmeen Drama Group hailing from Rossmore, Co. Cork Scoops ...
09/05/2026
New desktop instrument focused on tactile performance
Bastl Instruments have announced Kalimba, a new desktop instrument that combines physical modelling, F...
09/05/2026
Compact sampling workstation gains new features
1010music have announced blackbox 2, a new version of their compact standalone sampler designed for DAWless ...
08/05/2026
One-button synth generates random four-track ideas
Cyma Forma and French artist Bambounou have announced RND synth, a compact hardware synthesizer built aro...
08/05/2026
Portable four-layer granular and sampling instrument
Tasty Chips have announced the GR-2, a new granular synthesizer and sampling instrument that combines e...
08/05/2026
Video Show Report
Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Polyend Drums
Polyends big announcement for Superbooth 2026 is the Drums, a new drum machine that features both ...
08/05/2026
Deal agreed as NI enters new chapter
Native Instruments CEO Nick Williams has announced that a definitive agreement has been signed for the company to be ac...
08/05/2026
Video Show Report
Video of SUPERBOOTH 26: Erica Bullfrog Drums
The Bullfrog Drums is the latest collaboration between Erica Synths and Richie Hawtin, and ...
08/05/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...
08/05/2026
Pete reunites with Dogs Trust for a fourth series and a two-part overseas special
London, Friday 8th May 2026: The award winning factual entertainment series P...
08/05/2026
Wuppertal May 8, 2026
Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity Integration Provider Riedel Communications today announced its return as a spons...
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
January 8, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), a leader in high-performance, on-s...
07/05/2026
February 9, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning pioneer i...
07/05/2026
March 20, 2024
NAB 2024, Las Vegas - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-awa...
07/05/2026
April 1, 2025
CINEMACON, APRIL 1, 2025 - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming syste...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), an Academy and Emmy Award-winning de...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront participated in the ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Summit on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Held at The Phenomena Experience, the event feat...
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.
