Dutch singer-songwriter (born 1987)

Musical artist

Johanna Charlotte Wessels (born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as the former lead vocalist for the Dutch symphonic metal band Delain.

Contents

• 1 Background
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 To Elysium (2000–2005)
  • 2.2 Delain (2004–2021)
  • 2.3 Phantasma (2015–2017)
  • 2.4 Solo career (2020–present)
• 3 Influences
• 4 Personal life
• 5 Discography
  • 5.1 Solo
  • 5.2 Delain
  • 5.3 Phantasma
  • 5.4 Guest appearances
• 6 Filmography
• 7 References
  • 7.1 Sources
• 8 External links

Background

Wessels has been trained in both jazz singing and cl*ical singing. She was first trained in jazz, but later, her instructor suggested cl*ical singing to her. However, Wessels has stated that she found cl*ical training to be very restrictive, and so she likes to do something "in between the cl*ical and the jazz stuff, and if you look at cl*ical music with high vocal lines, then you kind of get to gothic very soon!"

Career

To Elysium (2000–2005)

She joined a gothic metal band named To Elysium around the age of fifteen or sixteen. She mentions in an interview that her parents had to sign a contract because she was still underage.

Delain (2004–2021)

Wessels (right) performing with Delain in 2019

Wessels became involved with Delain in 2004 when she met Martijn Westerholt formerly of Within Temptation. Since the band was meant to be a studio project only, Westerholt asked if she could write some lyrics and vocalize. She thought it was going to be a one-time thing. In 2005 they signed a deal with Roadrunner Records. She was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band.

She departed the band in February 2021, with Delain reforming as a solo musical project of Martijn Westerholt as well as announcing that she would be launching a solo career. In Wessels' statement on her departure, she wished the other departing members and the fans well:

"I hope that Delain remains a positive force in everyone's lives. We Are The Others, always will be, and none of this changes that."

In May 2021 during an interview, she reflected on her departure from Delain in February, stating that she was grateful that she got to work with the other musicians in the band.

Phantasma (2015–2017)

Wessels, along with Georg Neuhauser from Serenity and Oliver Philipps from Everon, formed a symphonic rock group named Phantasma. They were signed to Napalm Records and released a concept album *led The Deviant Hearts. Wessels not only sings on the album, but also wrote her debut novella called The Deviant Hearts especially for it. The novella is included with the album's physical release.

Solo career (2020–present)

In August 2020, Wessels released the single, "Lizzie" which features Alissa White-Gluz as part of a collaboration.

Following her departure from Delain, Wessels had released a solo single, "Soft Revolution" via her Patreon which was Song of the Month in January 2021. On 14 May 2021, Wessels released a cover of Gerard McMahon's "Cry Little Sister", a song featured in the 1987 film The Lost Boys. On 30 June 2021, she released a music video of the single, "Superhuman".

On 1 June 2021, Wessels announced the *le of her first studio album, Tales from Six Feet Under, a collection of multiple genres ranging from indie pop to synth-infused rock. It was released on 17 September 2021. All of the songs were made in her home studio, where she wrote, produced, and performed all the instruments on the record.

Following the release of her solo album, she released her new song "Tonight" on 25 November 2021.

Influences

Wessels performing at Summer Breeze Festival 2017

When asked in 2014 who her influences are, Wessels said

My parents had quite good taste in music so I had some of the cl*ic rock influences; Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Genesis, Led Zeppelin, and Kate Bush. My brother really got me into metal, those were really the high days of Metallica. Actually, Toxicity (2001) by System of a Down is still one of my favorite records ever. Right now, I am really into the alternative rock scene, Radiohead is my favorite band ever. I adore Muse and Nick Cave. Then there is the corner of the great female songwriters like Tori Amos, Björk. That pretty much covers it. I can go on for hours but I think these are the few directions which have influenced me most.

When asked in a Loudwire interview who she gets inspired by vocally she mentions Australian singer Sia, she admires Sia's voice and also her songwriting.

On 15 January 2018, Charlotte Wessels said on her Instagram that Dolores O'Riordan's voice was one of her main inspirations to start singing.

Personal life

She is a cousin of Dutch hardcore DJ DaY-már. Wessels has an art history degree and also has a master's degree in gender studies. She is a vegan. She considers herself a feminist and she doesn't like the female-fronted metal term: "It's just really weird that the gender of one person in the band defines what kind of music you make! I think that it's one of the things that really indicates that the bias is still there."

In September 2017, Charlotte revealed that she married her partner of twelve years.

Discography

Guest appearances

• "Embrace the Night" – DaY-már (2006)
• "Serenade of Flames" – Serenity (2010)
• "Please Come Home" – Knight Area (2011)
• "High Enough" – Nemesea (2011)
• "Under Grey Skies" – Kamelot (2015)
• "Beautiful Apocalypse" – Kamelot (2015)
• "Aquarium" – Dark Sarah (2016)
• "Ceres OST" – Harrold Roeland (2018)
• "Under Grey Skies (live)" – Kamelot (2020)
• "May It Be" – The Dark Side of the Moon (2022)

Filmography

• Soaring Highs and Brutal Lows: The Voices of Women in Metal (2015)

References

Sources

• Kirtland, Jill (2014). Not Just t... in a Corset: Celebrating Women in Metal. ISBN:978-0-9915015-0-2.

External links

• Charlotte Wessels Official Blog
• Charlotte Wessels on Delain's website
• Delain's Official Page