Crystal Plamondon (born in 1963 in Plamondon,

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada) is a trilingual singer and performer of

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

and country music. Plamondon's birth town was founded by her great-grandfather. She began singing publicly at the age of ten but didn't record until 1990 when she made her own cassette. Plamondon lists her musical influences as

Daniel Lanois Daniel Roland Lanois ( , ; born September 19, 1951) is a Canadian record producer and musician. He has produced albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and Harold Budd ...

Zachary Richard Ralph Zachary Richard (born September 8, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and poet. His music is a combination of Cajun and Zydeco musical styles. Biography Zachary Richard began his musical career at the age of 8, as soprano in the Bish ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

, and

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...

. Her CDs include ''Carpe Diem'' in 1993, ''La Rousse Farouche'' in 1996, and ''Plus de Frontières'' in 2002. ''Plus de Frontières'' (English: No Borders) was nominated for a

Western Canadian Music Award The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) is an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Brit ...

for "Outstanding Francophone Recording" in 2003. She speaks three languages:

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

. In 1992, she received the Molson Canadian ARIA (Alberta Recording Industry Association) Performer of the Year Award. In 1993, she was nominated for YWCA's Tribute to Women Award, for Arts & Culture. In 1994, Plamondon was given formal recognition of her talents by being made an honorary citizen of

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana Breaux Bridge (;Jack A. Reynolds. "Breaux Bridge" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 77. ; ) is a city in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,51 ...

. Her music videos, ''Rendez-vous en Louisiane'' and ''Cajun Girl/ La Cajine'' filmed in Plamondon, Alberta, receive regular play in the southern U.S. and in Canada. Plamondon had a television special filmed in Benin, West Africa and in her Alberta home in November, 1998 called ''Passeport Musique'' for Radio Canada. She has also performed live on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

in 1997 for the

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

celebration; and on October 18, 2000, Crystal sang the ''Famous Five Anthem'' for the inauguration of the "Women are Persons!" monument on Parliament Hill to commemorate the day that women were declared "persons" in 1929. Four of Plamondon's songs have been featured in the CBC TV show '' Heartland''. After living in southern Alberta and Louisiana, Plamondon is now living in the Plamondon area, and performs at the

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, fair, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year a ...

, local venues and at tour stops in Canada.

Discography

Singles

* ''Carpe Diem!'' (1993) marked Crystal's first #1 hit "Capitaine" followed quickly by "On va faire le rigodon" in France.

Albums

;Solo * ''Carpe Diem! ''(1993) * ''La Rousse Farouche/ Wild Red'' (1996) * ''Plus de Frontières - No Borders'' (2002) This CD was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award for "Outstanding Francophone Recording" * ''On a Song and a Prayer / Une Chanson, une prière'' (2009) * ''TORCH! ''(2010) * ''Half Gospel, Half Heartbreak'' (2015) ;Contributing artist * Big Valley Jamboree (1993) * ''

The Rough Guide to the Music of Canada ''The Rough Guide to the Music of Canada'' is a compilation album originally released in 2003. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, it gives a wide overview of the music of Canada. Though contemporary styles are represented, the al ...

'' (2005)

References

;Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Plamondon, Crystal Living people People from Lac La Biche County Franco-Albertan people Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters Singers from Alberta French-language singers of Canada 1963 births