Charlotte Cardin - Une semaine à Paris EP Review

In mid-November of 2023, Montreal’s very own Charlotte Cardin released her Francophone EP, Une semaine à Paris following the singer’s week-long stay in the French capital. The short and sweet 4-track work was released after the drop of Cardin’s second studio album 99 Nights, and continued her careers’ upwards trajectory. Une semaine à Paris encapsulates the intense passion within Cardin’s relationship with actor Aliocha Schneider and the ebbs and flows of emotional intimacy. 

Cardin’s discography is one of versatility in language, genre and execution. Ergo, Une semaine à Paris was not the first of the Quebec born singers’ venture into French pop music. Cardin’s career has remained consistently in forward motion since her 2013 debut on Montreal’s La Voix, the francophone extension of popular talent show The Voice. While her early-day singles and EP’s offered Canadian listeners a taste into Cardin’s wildly expressive vocals, it was the singer's inaugural studio album that launched her career to a broader audience. Phoenix, released in 2021, includes Cardin’s first ever track to chart in the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Passive Aggressive”. The work marked a pivotal shift in attention towards Cardin’s music however, her success with the album was truly showcased at the 2022 Juno Awards where Cardin became the most-nominated artist at the event, and brought home two armfuls of awards. 

While some in Cardin’s acclaimed position would have allowed such success to fuel their egos and hinder their creativity, she instead took her wins as a sign of creative evolution. Cardin’s now well-seasoned originality exuding from Une semaine á Paris is a testament to her intentional ignorance of industry pressures that surface during an uprise of success. 

Delving into the EP, Cardin and Laylow’s collaboration “Real Love” lures listeners into a complex, emotionally taxing relationship written against a slowed trap beat and deep bass. The production and mixing of Cardin’s vocals create a ghostly sensation mimicking the romantic exhaustion. In such; Cardin’s verses and chorus are quickly met with contradiction in that of Laylow. The back and forth between the two translates to Cardin’s explanation of miscommunication and uncertainty.

Cardin’s evident catharsis did not stop with “Real Love”. The singer's French version of her recent hit “Confetti” speaks to her need to shield her struggles, instead portraying a joyful facade. While the track remains the same as that on 99 Nights, its French translated verses gives it an edge against the track's hard hitting club beat. Similarly, “Feel Good”, an upbeat dance track, illustrates the power of passion and intimacy towards one’s self image, accentuating Cardin’s confident alter-ego. Finally, the work ties perfectly together with a heartfelt slowdown, showcasing Cardin’s delicate falsetto. “Un peu trop” speaks to obsession within a relationship; wanting so badly to be loved by a person and thus doing anything to attract their attention. In its entirety, Une semaine à Paris later became an extension of Cardin’s 99 Nights Deluxe, perfectly tying up Cardin’s sophomore album and giving listeners a little extra post-album release. Une semaine à Paris pays homage to Cardin’s bilingual background and provides listeners with the conflicting back-and-forth relationship album that was missing amongst the works of sheer heartbreak.