Charmaine Náyade Carrasco (born June 17, 1984), is better known by her

mononymous A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

stage name Charmaine, is a

Christian pop Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

musician. Her parents are Chilean, but she holds dual Australian and United States citizenship.

Background and early life

Charmaine was born Charmaine Náyade Carrasco on June 17, 1984 in

West Covina, California West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, located east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and is part of Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 106,098 at the 2010 census. West Covi ...

to Chilean parents Werner and Najee Carrasco ('' née'', González), which is why she holds United States citizenship. However at an early age, her family moved to Sydney, Australia, so she gained Australian Citizenship through naturalization. In addition, Charmaine is an only child.

Music

Charmaine says that artists such as

Kate Havnevik Kate Havnevik (born 27 October 1975) is a Norwegian film composer, songwriter and singer. Her debut album, the critically acclaimed electronica-infused ''Melankton'', was released in March 2006 on iTunes and April 2006 (on physical CD) in Norw ...

Imogen Heap Imogen Jennifer Heap (born 9 December 1977) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Her work has been considered pioneering in pop and electropop music. Heap classically trained in piano, cello and clarinet starting at a ...

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings public ...

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

just for "anthems in the choruses", Cigaros and

Jónsi Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (; born 23 April 1975) is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his "angelic" falset ...

are who she credits as influences in her music making. Also, she states that DC Talk,

Crystal Lewis Crystal Lynn Lewis (born September 11, 1969) is an American contemporary Christian and jazz singer, songwriter and actress. Lewis has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, and has won multiple GMA Dove Awards. Additionally, she has released ...

and

Jaci Velasquez Jacquelyn "Jaci" Davette Velasquez (Spanish ''Jaci Velásquez'', born October 15, 1979) is an American actress and contemporary Christian and Latin pop singer and songwriter, performing in both English and Spanish. Velasquez has sold almost ...

are the musicians and bands she listened to while growing up, and she believes that her music sounds like

Rachael Lampa Rachael Maureen Lampa (born January 8, 1985) is an American contemporary Christian singer, songwriter and record producer. At age 15, she rose to fame and critical acclaim in 2000 with the release of her debut album, '' Live for You''. Early ...

. She says her album ''Love Reality'' is simply pure pop music with electronic dance elements. Her second album received a five star rating from Jesus Freak Hideout's founder John DiBiase.

Personnel life

Charmaine is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Discography

Studio Albums EPs * ''The Journey EP'' (independent) - 2008 * '' Love Somebody EP'' (independent) - June 17, 2014 Other appearances

References

External links

Christian Music Zine interview

CNN en Español interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charmaine 1984 births Living people Australian Christians Australian women singers American performers of Christian music Australian performers of Christian music American women pop singers Singers from California Musicians from Sydney Naturalised citizens of Australia People from West Covina, California Australian songwriters Songwriters from California American dance musicians Australian dance musicians American synth-pop musicians Synth-pop singers American emigrants to Australia American people of Chilean descent Australian people of Chilean descent Hispanic and Latino American musicians 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century Australian singers American women in electronic music Hispanic and Latino American women singers