Charlotte Ann Martin is an American singer-songwriter, who performs predominantly on the piano. She has written several studio albums, two of which have received mainstream commercial releases, 2004's On Your Shore and 2006's Stromata.
Martin grew up in Charleston, Illinois. She won the Miss Illinois Teen USA 1994 title on June 26, 1994 and went on to represent in the Miss Teen USA pageant broadcast live from Biloxi, Mississippi on August 16. Martin graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in vocal performance, majoring in opera. In 1999, Charlotte moved to Los Angeles. On September 30th, 2005, she married musician/producer Ken Andrews.
Martin's father, Joseph Martin, is a music professor at EIU. Her mother, Becky Martin, is an administrator of a program for developmentally disabled adults.
Prior to the release of Martin's major-label debut On Your Shore, she had written two full length albums and two EPs. Her first foray into song writing came in the form of Mystery, Magic & Seeds: an album written as a result of a friend's death. Another album One Girl Army remained unreleased, though an EP was released independently containing a few songs from the album and many of the songs are still performed live. The masters for this record are now owned by her former label, RCA Records.
In 2002, Test-Drive Songs, a limited edition EP containing eight tracks, was released independently. The hard copy is out of print but it is still available for download at digital outlets, including Martin's official site.
Before the release of On Your Shore, an EP titled In Parentheses was released on RCA Records. It contained four tracks, one of which ("Your Armor") was also included with additional strings on On Your Shore. Released August 5, 2003. A video for the single, "Your Armor", was released later in the year.
On August 10th 2004, On Your Shore, Charlotte Martin's first full-length album on a major label, RCA, was released. A video for the single, "Everytime It Rains", was also released.
To help promote the album, Martin toured on the "Chicks With Attitude" tour with Liz Phair, The Cardigans, and Katy Rose in the summer of 2004.
Whilst touring, two EPs were released in preparation for Martin's second album Stromata, showcasing Charlotte's darker and more experimental sound. The first EP, Darkest Hour was available exclusively on her summer tour 2005 and included 6 tracks (including a cover of Depeche Mode's "Judas" and two remixes). The second EP, Veins was pre-released on her 2005 fall tour and then released online in the November of that year.
On May 1st 2006 a DVD of live recordings, titled Something Like A DVD, was released via Musictoday.
Martin co-wrote and contributed vocals to "Glass Breaker", a song by The Crystal Method, released on the soundtrack for the Chris Evans / Jessica Biel movie London.
On September 12th, 2006, Martin's second full length album on a major label, Stromata, was released worldwide on Charlotte's own label Dinosaur Fight Records. Two digital singles were released on iTunes and other outlets in Summer 2006, containing four b-sides from the album. A third digital single was released early in 2007, also available on iTunes. A video for the single "Stromata" was released online and is available for purchase on online outlets. Two bonus tracks were also made exclusively available to iTunes, "Habit" and a remix of the title track. The album showcased a darker sound, with keyboards and other electronic instruments being predominant in the mix (as opposed to the more acoustic piano-based feel of previous records).
On May 1st 2007, Something Like A DVD was re-released as a DVD/CD dual package, including exclusive b-sides to Stromata and backstage footage surrounding the making of On Your Shore. The DVD is described as being the bridging piece between On Your Shore and Stromata by Martin's publicity releases.
Martin co-wrote and contributed vocals to the song "Sweet Things" on DJ Tiësto's 2007 album Elements of Life.
Martin co-wrote and contributed vocals and piano to the song "Is This How Love's Supposed to Feel" on Ben Lee's 2007 album "Ripe".
Martin co-wrote and contributed vocals to the song "Feed the Monster" for BT's forthcoming album.
A complete list of Martin's discography is available on her official site.
