Charlotte Cardin

Early Life

Charlotte Cardin-Goyer grew up in a French-speaking family in the Montreal suburb of Mont-Royal. She worked as a model starting at age 15, represented by the Folio agency. She appeared in advertisements for such fashion and cosmetics labels as Parasuco, Simons, Dex, Lancôme and Barilà, as well as on the cover of ELLE Québec. Her job modelling for Barilà came about after the director of the company’s commercial discovered videos Cardin uploaded of herself on YouTube, singing cover songs.

Education and Early Career

Before committing to her music career, Charlotte Cardin studied science with the goal of becoming a doctor. She came to broad attention in Quebec in 2013, when she was among the top four finalists in the Quebec TV singing contest La Voix. It was during her time on La Voix that Cardin decided she would make music her career, as she never considered modelling to be anything more than a part-time job. In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Cardin described modelling as a “means to an end,” a way to earn money with which to buy instruments and “be free to do whatever I wanted.”

Cardin has said in interviews that she was under tremendous pressure to start her music career immediately after her appearance on La Voix, though she was surprised so many talent agents and record label executives would want to hire her without having heard her original songs. She continued her education after her exposure on La Voix, rather than starting a career in singing. However, the experience convinced her to change her academic focus from science to the arts.

Cardin is a graduate of Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, an elite junior college and high school in Montreal. She earned a degree in Arts, Letters and Communication in 2015. After her appearance on La Voix, she made a guest appearance on the song “Du Vent, des Mots” by French singer Garou. Cardin also met music producer Jason Brando while working on a Christmas advertising jingle in 2014. Brando later signed Cardin to his record label, Cult Nation.

Big Boy EP (2016)

Following her breakthrough on La Voix, Charlotte Cardin released an EP titled Big Boy in 2016. It immediately made an impression. It received airplay on CBC Radio and led to an appearance on the weekly Quebec talk show Tout le monde en parle, where Cardin sang the title track. In 2016, Cardin was nominated for a SOCAN Songwriting Prize for “Les échardes.” It was a certified gold single in Canada, as was “Like It Doesn’t Hurt.” Two other singles from the EP — “Faufile” and “Dirty Dirty” — were eventually certified platinum.

Main Girl EP (2017)

In 2017, Charlotte Cardin became the first artist to be simultaneously nominated for SOCAN Songwriting Prizes in both the French and English categories. She followed this with another EP, Main Girl, which earned her 2018 Juno Award nominations for Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Main Girl attracted the attention of Elton John, who reportedly put Cardin on his Spotify playlist. The title track went on to be certified double platinum in Canada.

Between 2016 and 2018, Cardin was nominated for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize four times for tracks from her first two EPs. In 2019, Cardin’s rising popularity was confirmed when she opened the 40th edition of the Festival international de jazz de Montréal (FIJM).

Phoenix (2021)

Charlotte Cardin’s debut album, Phoenix (2021), was a smash hit. It topped the Canadian Albums Chart, earned her multiple awards and was certified platinum in Canada. Hit single “Sex to Me” was certified gold, while “Passive Aggressive,” “Anyone Who Loves Me” and “Meaningless” were certified platinum. The album is mainly composed of self-affirming songs Cardin wrote after a painful breakup. Most of the tracks were co-written by Cardin, Brando and producer-songwriter Marc-André Gilbert.

Cardin went on to win three Félix Awards for Phoenix, including one for Most Successful Artist Outside Quebec. Although Cardin is francophone, her two of her Félix Awards were in anglophone categories. She also went into the 2022 Juno Awards as the most nominated artist of the year (with more nominations than Justin Bieber or The Weeknd) and won four awards, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year, for “Meaningless,” which she performed at the gala.

99 Nights (2023)

In 2023, Charlotte Cardin released the album 99 Nights, as well as the EP Une semaine à Paris. 99 Nights is a kind of musical examination of the summer of 2021, a pivotal moment in Cardin’s relationship with boyfriend Aliocha Schneider. One of the stand-out tracks on the album is a crowd-pleasing anthem named for Canadian comedian and actor Jim Carrey. The song was inspired by a recommendation from Cardin’s producer and songwriting partner, Brando, to watch Carrey’s interviews where he talks about his personal philosophy; namely, that the ego can prevent people from becoming their true selves. Cardin also had a huge hit with the single “Confetti,” which was certified double platinum in Canada.

99 Nights was shortlisted for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize and won Juno Awards for Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year.

Awards

Félix Awards

• Anglophone Album of the Year (Phoenix) (2021)
• Anglophone Concert of the Year (The Phoenix Experience) (2021)
• Most Successful Artist Outside Quebec (2021)

Juno Awards

• Single of the Year (“Meaningless”) (2022)
• Album of the Year (Phoenix) (2022)
• Pop Album of the Year (Phoenix) (2022)
• Artist of the Year (2022)
• Album of the Year (99 Nights) (2024)
• Pop Album of the Year (99 Nights) (2024)

Others

• Woman of the Year, Billboard Canada (2024)