Carmen Rasmusen

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Carmen Rasmusen

Background information
Birth name Carmen Rasmusen
Born March 25, 1985 (age 22)
Origin Flag of Canada Edmonton, Alberta
Genre(s) Country
Country Rock
Occupation(s) Singer
Actress
Label(s) R3 Records (2004-2007)
Lofton Creek Records (2007-present)

Carmen Rasmusen (born March 25, 1985 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian-American singer and was a singing hopeful who ranked sixth on the second season of American Idol in 2003. Carmen also plays guitar and the piano, although she prefers the piano.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Days

Rasmusen was born on March 25, 1985 in Edmonton, Canada. She is best known for her love of performing. An accomplished musician, Carmen has performed in public since the age of five. At the age of seventeen, Carmen achieved instant fame and notoriety when she became a finalist on Fox’s 2003 “American Idol”.

[edit] American Idol

Carmen's American Idol promotional picture
Carmen's American Idol promotional picture
American Idol 2 Concert Tour, 2003: Carmen, Kim and Julia.
American Idol 2 Concert Tour, 2003: Carmen, Kim and Julia.

Carmen's audition was in LA and she was put through to Hollywood, but she was eliminated on Top 100. After this, on American Idol 2's Wildcards, Simon, Paula and Randy decided to give a second chance to 4 singers eliminated before Top 32. And they chose Carmen. She performed "Can't Fight the Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes and it wasn't good enough in the judge's opinion. But Simon Cowell put her into the Top 12. She was eliminated in the top 6, when she sang "Love Will Lead You Back" by Diane Warren. Randy Jackson was often one of her harshest detractors.

She has been one of the most outspoken defenders of the show among the second season finalists in the wake of the scandal involving Corey Clark's allegations regarding Paula Abdul. Rasmusen was praised by her fans as having a wholesome, girlish appeal and for refusing to wear outfits she and her mother deemed "immodest" on stage. Her critics, however, were more vocal. In her performances, Rasmusen often had trouble controlling her natural vibrato.

As the only contestant in the second season under the age of eighteen, she had to spend three hours a day with an on-set tutor. Her mother had to accompany her with the other contestants to the special American Idol house, where they all lived during the competition. Carmen was brought back for the wildcard round (along with three other singers) without having competed in the previous rounds of 8.

[edit] Performances

[edit] Post-Idol

Carmen at the recording studio singing "Silly Me"
Carmen at the recording studio singing "Silly Me"

Rasmusen made her acting debut in 2003 in the feature film Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-day Comedy as Charlotte Lucas. In 2004, Carmen released an EP by R3 Records, Carmen.

"Photograph" CD
"Photograph" CD

On December 15, 2005, Carmen married Bradley Herbert, the son of Utah Lt. Governor, Gary R. Herbert in Bountiful, Utah. Their marriage was announced on FOX 13 News in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Carmen signing with Lofton Creek Records.
Carmen signing with Lofton Creek Records.

Carmen also appeared in a three episode series of NBC's Fear Factor, aired on June 13th, 2006 to 27th, 2006 respectively. In the first episode, she was teamed with Anthony Fedorov, and won the first challenge involving a demolition derby, ultimately winning a trip to Africa. She finished in second place.

In June of 2006, Carmen played a news reporter in commercials for Maverik, a convenience store in the western USA.

In February of 2007, Carmen signed with Lofton Creek Records. Her single is called "Nothin' Like the Summer" and the anticipated release date is set for April 30th. Her full album will be released about a month later. On March 19, 2007 she began a three month, country wide radio tour to promote her first single.[1][2]

[edit] Awards and Nominations

New Music Weekly Awards

  • 2005: Won - New Country Artist of the Year

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Album Statistics
Carmen EP
Carmen's 1st Full-Length Album from Lofton Creek Records

[edit] Singles

Year Cover Song U.S. U.S. Country Album
2004 "Photograph" - - Carmen EP
2007 "Nothing Like the Summer" - - TBA

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

American Idol Season 2
Ruben Studdard | Clay Aiken | Kimberley Locke | Josh Gracin | Trenyce | Carmen Rasmusen
Kimberly Caldwell | Rickey Smith | Corey Clark | Julia DeMato | Charles Grigsby | Vanessa Olivarez
In other languages