Carmen Consoli was born in Catania on 4 September 1974. At the age of nine she started playing guitar, spurred on by her father who was a lover of black music and blues. At fourteen she performed in her first clubs in Catania with the Moon Dog's Party: they played a wide repertoire of cover songs, from Jefferson Airplane to the Free, from Otis Redding to Janis Joplin. Young Carmen was noticed by Francesco Virlinzi, a producer and the owner of Cyclope Records, an independent Catania recording label, who took her with him to Rome where she remained for two years, playing and writing songs.

In 1994 she returned to Catania with all the material ready for her first album, "Due parole". The album's release was preceded by her appearance at Sanremo Giovani in 1996 with the song "Amore di plastica", written in collaboration with Mario Venuti, previously with Denovo. During the same year, Consoli went on a long Italian tour and took part in several important events (Primo maggio, Premio Tenco, Premio Recanati, Sonoria). Also in the same year she took part in an album-tribute to Franco Battiato, with her own personal rendition of "L'animale".

In 1997 she returned to Sanremo with the song "Confusa e Felice", the title song of her second album released that same year. Between '96 and '97 she did another tour and wrote her new album, released in 1998 with the title "Mediamente isterica". Her fourth album "Stato di necessità", was launched in conjunction with her appearance in Sanremo 2000 with the song "In bianco e nero", an album that also features the single "Parole di Burro", which was awarded many prizes that year. Immediately afterwards, Carmen left on an acoustic tour, while the single "L'ultimo bacio" became the inspiration and sound-track for the film of the same name directed by Gabriele Muccino with Stefano Accorsi and Giovanna Mezzogiorno.

In 2001 the album became "Etat de necessité" for release on the French market. The Taormina amphitheatre concert, from which the CD and DVD "L'anfiteatro...e la bambina impertinente" were taken, was held on 15 July 2001.The Catanian singer published her sixth work, "L'eccezione", in 2002: pieces of an intense Sicilian character, that continue to confirm the artist’s love for her native land.