Charlotte Cardin has always had a knack for playing the piano and singing, but she never imagined that she would actually turn it into a career. However, competing on La Voix in 2013, Charlotte saw that she not only had the talent but people wanted to listen. Fast-forward three years, and the 21-year-old Montreal native is set to release her EP, Big Boy, on Friday (July 15) via Cult Nation. Myspace had the opportunity to speak with the soulful singer about her musical beginnings, the EP and what it's like singing in two different languages.

Age: 21

Hometown: Montreal

What first drew you to music?

My mom always wanted my sister and me to take music lessons. For her, it was really important that we learn any kind of instrument, whether it’d be singing or whatever we wanted to do. So I started taking piano lessons when i was six, and I stopped when I was seven because I didn’t like it. So when I was eight, I switched to singing lessons, and I really, really liked it. So I kept doing it for 10 years, but it was just a hobby and for fun. I always sort of had an ear to sing on key, but I didn’t think I could actually do it for a living.

So I would do school shows and shows from my singing lessons at the end of the year where I’d invite my family. But a few years ago, I got more into writing and doing my own music. And I was on La Voix, that’s the French version of The Voice that we have here in Canada. It was a coincidence that I ended up at the show. I didn’t know I necessarily wanted to, but it sort of happened. And that’s when I realized that music was what I liked doing the most and what my passion was.

What was your experience on La Voix, especially since music for you was initially for fun?

It was a really amazing experience. It taught me so much because I never did music professionally in any way. So it just put me in front of millions of people who would watch the show. I learned how to deal with pressure and learned how to perform and learned what the TV world was like. It just pushed me to learn really fast. It went by so fast, and you’re there for a couple of months. You get super famous, but it doesn’t last long. It taught me to deal with pressure. And now when I perform with smaller audiences, I’m able to deal with the nerves and pressure better than if I never was on the show.

What was the first song you wrote about?

I think it was in eighth grade, and it was for my English class. We just had to write songs, but I pushed the project further. We were only required to write lyrics, but I ended up adding music to the song and singing it in front of the class. I think it was about war and peace and how humans are being terrible to each other and how we all need to be nicer to each other.

Since you sing in both French and English, do you approach your music differently in the two languages?

I don't approach it differently. I think it just comes out that way. I've gotten that a lot. Even the sound of my voice changes in the two languages, but I don't do it on purpose. It's just what comes out. It's the same when I talk in French versus when I talk in English, it's just different. I don't plan it or try to do it. It just happens.

Your video for “Faufile” dropped recently. The song and visuals are beautiful. What’s the song about and the premise behind the video?

We shot the video in London and Paris. We had a few shows there, so we brought a camera with us. And when we found a good spot, we would start shooting with all the people around. It was fun.

The song is about people in your life who can’t really get a grip on, people you think you know but they end up slipping away when you least expect it. So the video is a metaphor of me wandering through the streets in different cities, looking for that person that slipped away.

Your EP is called Big Boy. It’s a track on the record, but why did you go with that title?

First of all, all the songs on the EP are about relationships, and most of the songs I write are about relationships. So it kind of made sense to have that title. It’s not humorous, but it’s a little bit sarcastic as if all the songs were written about the same person, which they are not. It’s sort of gives that idea. I thought it also just worked, too. “Big Boy” just sounds like a round kind of title. It sounds good, and it seems that all these songs are written about this one “Big Boy,” which is actually a fictional character.

What song off the EP are you most excited to perform?

I love performing “Talk Talk.” It’s a really fun one to perform. I perform with a drummer and a bassist, and my bassist has a Moog, which is a synth-bass. So for that song, he goes to my keyboard, and I go to his Moog. And I play the bassline while I sing. It’s so much fun because it switches things up during the show and makes me feel badass to play the bass.