Charlotte Cardin is Billboard Canada’s Woman of the Year 2024

Charlotte Cardin doesn’t have time to slow down.

Since releasing her smash second full-length album 99 Nights a year ago, the Montreal singer-songwriter has had two EP releases, multiple chart hits, and an international breakthrough that’s brought her from the NBA All-Star game to a gala playing for U.S. President Joe Biden. Now, amidst a world tour that’s brought her all over North America and Europe, she’s headed to Toronto to receive another significant honour.

Cardin will become the first Canadian artist to be named Woman of the Year at Billboard Women in Music – joining the ranks of artists like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Madonna, Billie Eilish, SZA and Karol G, as the event makes its debut in Canada.

The artist, who also won two Juno Awards earlier this year and is shortlisted for this year’s Polaris Music Prize, is marking a new phase in her career: in less than a year, her trajectory has undeniably become global.

Cardin is not yet 30, but she’s been gaining ground since her teenage years – first as a model, then appearing in the Quebec and French versions of The Voice before making a name for herself as a singer with her debut EP in 2016 and her first full-length album in 2021. Now, over the last year, she’s reached new heights.

It’s a time for travel, a time for experiences.

“We can’t stop much,” she shares in an in-depth interview with Billboard Canada during a rare stop in her hometown of Montreal.

Charlotte Cardin photographed in Montreal, 2024.Alexis Belhumeur

If she is tired, it’s hard to tell. Instead, as she poses for the Billboard Canada digital cover shoot and sits down to chat, she’s energized – excited by the prospect of traversing the world with music she’s had the most fun of her career creating.

Over the past year, her 99 Nights tour, which has seen her perform dozens and dozens of dates, has brought her to eager crowds in Manchester, Berlin, Los Angeles, Toronto, Brussels, Halifax, Victoria, Quebec City, Seattle and more.

“We’ve been to some really cool places where we had never been before,” Cardin says.

For her, meeting a new audience for the first time is always a pleasant and exciting experience.

During her shows, Cardin enjoys identifying the diverse reactions of her audiences, noting their cultural specificities and the subtle nuances in how they respond, which make them unique.

“For example, the first time I played in France, I noticed that people clapped along to the rhythm of the songs throughout the entire concert,” she notes of one of her top markets. “That’s something you don’t really see elsewhere in the world.”

Some crowds are more attentive, while others are more reactive and expressive. “It’s a great challenge to learn how to navigate new audiences,” she emphasizes.

But also, she enjoys returning to familiar places.

“It’s fun because you reconnect with an audience you’ve already bonded with,” says Cardin.

That’s an understatement. In the past few years, she’s quickly sold out some of the largest venues in Quebec, including 13 straight sold-out shows at the 2,300 capacity MTELUS in Montreal in 2022, a headlining slot at her hometown Osheaga festival in 2023, and four nights at the 10,000-seat Place Bell in Laval this past February.

She’s a hero in her hometown, and Cardin wouldn’t miss those shows for anything – not even a sore throat – especially when multiple generations of fans gather to sing along to her catchy pop music in unison.

Regardless of where the concert is held, the reception Cardin receives is often very warm, “with a beautiful exchange and wonderful moments,” but also “very different vibes,” she says.

Sometimes, it can get surreal. In February, the singer-songwriter performed the Canadian national anthem at the NBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis.

“It was crazy! While I was doing my sound check, LeBron James was warming up next to me… it made no sense, but it was very cool,” she recalls, her eyes still sparkling with excitement. When presented with these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, Cardin, always humble, feels honoured. “There’s not a single part of me that hesitates to say yes because I think it’s a true gift,” she says.

Then, there was the gala dinner that took place in Ottawa in March 2023. Cardin performed “Next To You” from 99 Nights, co-written with Patrick Watson, and a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” for U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and a select group of guests.

“It was very surreal, and I was a bit terrified, but I’ll never forget that moment,” she admits.

The choice of “Hallelujah” was no coincidence, as Cardin had just learned that it was one of Biden’s favourite songs. As soon as she finished performing, he was the first to get up and lead the standing ovation. “After my performance, we introduced ourselves very kindly and cordially, and he congratulated me and told me he really enjoyed it,” she recounts.

As she is preparing her next album and continuing her tour, Cardin wants to take the time to celebrate each of these victories. “It’s fun to pause a bit and fully live through all of this,” she says.

Charlotte Cardin photographed in Montreal, 2024.Alexis Belhumeur

The Billboard Canada Woman of the Year award is another feather in her well-adorned cap. But while 99 Nights has taken her to new heights, it also reflects a turbulent period in her life, one filled with existential questions, a few contradictions, and a longing for freedom.

The title track of the album, a pop ballad in which she narrates the story of a lost love with her smooth and soulful vocals, made its way onto the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 last April, just as Taylor Swift was sweeping the charts with songs from The Tortured Poets Department, expanding her recognition as with her previous hits “Next To You,” “Puppy,” “Jim Carrey” and “Confetti.” When it was released, 99 Nights stayed on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart for 31 weeks.

In March, “Confetti” debuted on the U.S. Billboard Adult Pop Airplay chart, remaining there for 16 weeks. It was her first time charting on the other side of the border, which reflects the Quebec’s artist’s push into new territories.

“It’s nice to see the music travel and be discovered by more and more people,” Cardin smiles. Her goal is to keep breaking new ground.

And the signs are already looking good for Cardin. Her upcoming concert on December 6 at the legendary Zénith de Paris is already sold out. In the meantime, she will also perform in Cairo, Istanbul, Ankara, as well as in France and Belgium.

With her personal-yet-relatable pop music, Cardin is a rare Francophone Quebec artist – taking a path forged by Celine Dion and travelled by artists like Coeur de pirate – to break through in English-speaking Canada and America.

"Being able to export my music makes me feel so good,“ she says. “It's even the thing that makes me the happiest. Ever since I was little I wanted to make [music] my career, and it makes me even happier to know that it can do good for other people.”

But she hasn’t forgotten where she came from. Along with her efforts to build loyalty among her American and European audiences, Cardin recently released two EPs: A Week in Nashville in May and Une semaine à Paris in November 2023. While she usually sings in English, Une semaine à Paris is a bilingual appeal to Francophone fans in Quebec and elsewhere, including a new French version of “Confetti.”

“There wasn’t really a rational decision behind it, just a drive and a desire to satisfy,” she explains. “I just felt the need to write music in French because after 99 Nights, we still felt creative and inspired.”

Charlotte Cardin photographed in Montreal, 2024.Alexis Belhumeur

When Cardin frequently uses “we” to talk about her music, it’s because, for her, teamwork is essential to moving forward. Since her beginnings, the Montreal native has relied on a close-knit team whose core has remained the same for nearly a decade. That includes her manager Laurie Chouinard, who has worked with her at the record label Cult Nation since 2016 and who is also receiving the Manager of the Year award at Billboard Canada Women in Music.

“For all the reasons in the world, I feel like there’s nothing better than being close to my collaborators,” she says.

She often refers to them as her friends first and her team second.

“It’s nice to go through these experiences with friends who have witnessed every stage of my career and who were there for the first shows in pubs and still present for the four arenas in Montreal with 10,000 people per night,” she adds. To do it with people who have been there since day one makes her extra proud of how far she has come.

“We travel a lot, and we don’t see our families often, so there are a lot of sacrifices to be made, and it’s nice to be able to go through it all with people who have been there for a long time,” she says.

That support group has kept her grounded, not just on the road but for the writing of the music itself. The album process started during the summer of 2021, in the midst of the pandemic and after the release of her debut album Phoenix – a time when Cardin couldn’t tour, so she instead started writing new music and sharing stories.

“I really needed that, because when I started writing 99 Nights, I was going through a lot personally, and spending good moments with my friends helped me channel the overwhelming emotions that were weighing on me,” she explains.

These close relationships with her trusted collaborators have pushed her to move forward and improve as a songwriter and performer, allowing her to tell the stories that came to mind – a bit like therapy.

“It was a way for me to clear my mind and encapsulate a moment in my life where I felt everything so intensely, to release it all through a creative process that did me a lot of good,” Cardin continues.

Looking back, this prolific phase of creation allowed Cardin to expand her musical playground, but also to venture into the unknown and simply have fun with sounds, themes and lyrics.

“I let myself go musically, maybe a bit more than I had done in the past. I don’t know if I can say I really took risks, because for me, it was natural to explore these new avenues and mix styles,” she notes.

Although she now divides her time between Paris and Montreal, Cardin is keen to maintain strong ties with the Quebec metropolis, where her dear collaborators, friends and family are located. “I grew up here, and most of my memories are in Montreal, and so are most of the people I know,” she says.

So, it was only natural for 99 Nights that the pop star worked with a number of Montrealers, including veteran singer-songwriter and pianist Patrick Watson, rapper Skiifall and songwriter/producer/TikTok star Lubalin, who is preparing his own debut album, haha, no worries, to come out this year also on Cult Nation.

“Of course, I never told myself ‘there absolutely has to be Montreal artists on the album,’ but life has a funny way of working things out,” she says.

Now, when she shares the songs on stage, Cardin feels a special emotion – a knowledge that fans are connecting to her whole story, including her personal relationships and her deep history in Quebec.

“These are things that are very dear and meaningful to me, and knowing that some people can identify with these stories is all I could have asked for with this album,” she says.

99 Nights now belongs to the world. As for what’s next for Cardin, everything remains possible.

Charlotte Cardin will accept the Woman of the Year award and perform at Billboard Canada Women in Music on September 7, 2024 in Toronto. Tickets are available here.