About
Carmen Royale
Hometown: Mobile, AL
Genre: Pop, Dance and more
Years Active: 2003 - Present
Website: carmenroyale.com
A fresh face to the New York music scene since 2005, Carmen Montgomery (singer/songwriter) was first discovered when the Motown Supremes manager saw her performing at Miami's popular South Beach nightclub Jazzcid in 2003.
Carmen grew up an army brat, traveling the world with her military family (her father, a U.S. Army master sergeant, and mother, a Southern minister). Music and singing were never seriously considered by them as a career. Her youth was extremely devoted to academics and art (attending school every weekend and summer).
Only months after graduating college, she left her home in Mobile, Alabama and set out to pursue advertising; however, music seemed to pursue her. While creating ads and copy, she found herself being drawn into the musical side of advertising, performing voice-over work and singing jingles. Urged by friends, she began pursuing acting and singing, performing in various showcases.
In 2001, she set off on her own to Miami. She soon found that singing was her calling; however, making a living doing what she loved would be a little more difficult than she thought. Nevertheless, she decided a regular" job will be there for her someday, because, as Carmen explains, You get one shot at this [Life]. There is a treasure buried within us, just waiting to be let out.
In 2006 Carmen released songs from her album which will debut in Fall 2009. The album title, Crimson Song, is the Latin translation of her name, and, as the title suggests, is perhaps best characterized as a dark, pop/rock-oriented record featuring several power ballads, all written by the artist.
Influenced by soulful, vocal powerhouse artists such as Whitney Houston and Alanis Morissette, Carmen takes these influences in a different, unexpected direction. Performing her blend of pop and brooding rock ballads, her raspy, yet powerful voice and soulful, southern drawl take you to a time when songs were passionate anthems of youth. Her vivid, story-teller style songs, such as Last Train, transport the listener to moments of love, lost and found.