Chantal was raised in Charlesbourg, a suburb of Quebec City. She was the youngest of four children. As far as she can remember, her mother had always loved music and had been gifted for singing. She even recorded operetta arias prior to her marriage. It was while crawling that Chantal first hit the piano keys and began playing, by ear, music that filled all rooms of the house. Her older sister listened to the Beatles, Michel Fugain, Jean-Pierre Ferland, Diane Dufresne… her brother was a DJ and bought everything hip and happening.


Her parents traveled much and always returned home with various records: Latin music, French songs, jazz, along with records of local talent. With time, piles of records began to appear in the Blanchais household… this is how Chantal came to spend her days revelling in the world that fascinated her so much: the world of music. "I had a happy childhood; I had as much fun playing the piano with my sister as I did playing baseball with my brothers!" As she entered high school, her father decided to repair the old guitar that had been forever hanging on the wall. She took a few courses and composed her very first song, in English, after watching a TV program on troubled teens. But it was a year later that she really caught the bug when she sang "Stone, le monde est stone", from Starmania, with the Crescendo choir. "I remember that when the song was over, the audience gave me a spontaneous and resounding standing ovation. To this day, that is what feeds me, to know that the audience was touched, that at the end of a show neither they nor I want to leave!"


But, in her family, no one made a living in music and since her school grades were good, she decided to pursue a career in science at the CEGEP level. "I was good in math but I hated the smell of the chemistry labs. Let's just say that science and I didn't mix well. I quickly realized I had lost my way…in fact, I was looking for music, for my home … " The following year, she was accepted in music, with a major in voice, at Sainte-Foy CEGEP. Her heart and all of her time were, from that moment on, given to music and she finally felt like she could breathe again. Her heart beat to the rhythm of her true passion and she discovered the world of opera, vocal jazz and foreign languages. She joyfully learned Italian and German, and one year later, Spanish. Slowly but surely, she became aware of the great artistic movements that moulded humanity. She also became more in-tune with herself and every aspect of the business: discipline, rigor, courage, sacrifice, loyalty and vulnerability…all essential components of the business. She brilliantly completed her bachelor in classical vocal training at Laval University.


Through her study of languages and cultures, she developed a yearning to travel, to discover new people and new worlds. Chantal went on tour for a year with Up With People, visiting about one hundred American and European cities. By then she had sang and danced on various American and European stages! She discovered the world, wrote ample songs, and accumulated an impressive amount of experience, which we profit from today.


Later returning home, she soon won the Festival International de la Chanson de Granby, singer-songwriter category, where Quebec renowned impresario Guy Cloutier noticed her following a TV appearance. He gave her the opportunity to make an album, which was released in 1996. It was possible to hear her songs on the radio from time to time, and her first video clip appeared on Musique Plus. Chantal could also be heard performing as a soloist on 5 other albums (see discography).


In the same year, 1996, she signed an important contract with the Pierre Gravel International agency, to which the likes of Lynda Lemay and André-Philippe Gagnon and other major Quebec artists belong.


From that day on, she never stopped singing! She was regularly asked to perform in her hometown by the Festival d'été de Québec and at the Grand Théâtre de Québec, at the Palais Montcalm, at the Salle Albert-Rousseau, at the Théâtre Petit Champlain, at the Théâtre Capitole, among others. Every year she participated in the Téléthon Enfant Soleil, raising funds for children’s research. In the Montreal area, she can be heard, among other places, at the Coups de cœur francophones, the Francofolies, in many Maisons de la Culture, at the Place des Arts and at the St-Denis Theatre.


Furthermore, she was the opening act for several humorists, like Pierre Légaré and Stéphane Rousseau, and for two icons of French music; Charles Trenet and Gilbert Bécaud. She went on tour in France, in Bordeaux, Périgueux, Provence and in Saint-Malo, where she met such renowned Quebec artists, as Michel Rivard and Daniel Bélanger. Chantal also dabbled in acting when time permitted. During the summer of 1999, she acted, sang and danced at the St-Sauveur Theatre next to Jeannine Sutto and Louisette Dussault.


Capable of performing in seven languages, she excels in all styles, from jazz to opera, while touching upon French, American and Quebec music. Her talent shines around the world in such cities as Toronto, Atlanta, New York, Paris and Hong Kong where she has had the privilege of sharing the stage with very prestigious performers, such as Sister Sledge, All 4 One and Whitney Houston.


Between 1999 and 2002, she was regularly invited to perform at the Paris Casino in Las Vegas. In May of 2002, she made her way to the Las Vegas' Bellagio, where the Cirque du Soleil's show " O " is now being performed. Later that summer, she toured in Bosnia with the Canadian Armed Forces. In February 2003, she opened for Daniel Lemire's latest one-man show, (see Journal de Québec, February 13th 2003). She is now in the process of preparing a new show whose goal will be to bring tears of joy and of sadness to your eyes.