Charlotte Wessels

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**Johanna Charlotte, Lady Harrison** (née **Wessels**; born May 13, 1987), better known by the name **Charlotte Wessels** is a Dutch singer-songwriter, who is best known as the former lead singer of symphonic metal band Delain.

## Background

Wessels has been trained in both jazz singing and classical singing. She was first trained in jazz, but later, her instructor suggested classical singing to her. However, Wessels has stated that she found classical training to be very restrictive, and so she likes to do something "in between the classical and the jazz stuff, and if you look at classical 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 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 which 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.

### 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 titled *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.

## Discography

*Main article: Charlotte Wessels discography and Delain discography*
* *Tales from Six Feet Under* (2021)

## 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 vegetarian. 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."

Wessels is married to James Harrison, guitarist of symphonic metal band Celestial Sphere. They first met in 2005 when Harrison helped to provide vocals and songwriting on Delain's debut album *Lucidity*. The began dating shortly after and were engaged in 2008 and married on June 9, 2009. Together they have two daughters Nadine (b. 2010) and Jasmijn (b. 2013).