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

Despite being eliminated, Rasmusen released an EP by herself, called Carmen featuring her first single, Photograph. Three years later, Rasmusen signed a record deal with an independent country record label, Lofton Creek Records. Her debut single, "Nothin' Like the Summer" was released on April 24, 2007 and the debut album with the same name will be released on August 28, 2007.

Early Days
Rasmusen was born of Norwegian heritage on March 25, 1985. The second of four children, Rasmusen began playing piano at the age of six. She spent most of her childhood performing: singing, dancing (includes cheerleading, tap, ballet and hip-hop dance) until going to Hollywood in early 2003 and becoming one of the Top Twelve Finalists for American Idol. She has performed in public since the age of five. Rasmusen graduated Woods Cross High School, Class of 2003.

American Idol
Rasmusen auditioned initially in Los Angeles and was put through to Hollywood. She was originally eliminated by the judges during the Top 100 stage. In a surprise move, Rasmusen and three other young female singers were brought back to compete in the Wild Card show. No clear reason was made public, but speculation at the time centered on the show's producers wanting to provide a greater demographic diversity in the Final 12.

Rasmusen performed "Can't Fight the Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes for her Wild Card performance. Although the judges, including Simon Cowell, opined that it was not a good enough performance to advance, the next night Cowell chose her as his "judge's choice" to move into the Top 12. Carmen survived for seven weeks in the finals, earning generally mixed reviews from the judges throughout her stay. Her performances of "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Turn the Beat Around" received relatively high marks from both judges and viewers, while her rendition of Blondie's "Call Me" during Billboard #1 Hits Night drew brickbats. Judge Randy Jackson was often one of her harshest critics.

American Idol 2 Concert Tour, 2003: Carmen, Kim C. and Julia. Rasmusen was praised by her fans as having a wholesome, girlish appeal and for refusing to wear outfits she thought were inappropriate for her. Fans also cited her on-stage energy and strong vocal projection. Detractors pointed to her recurring difficulty in controlling her natural vibrato and her tendency to yodel when changing registers. She was also 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.

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.

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