Los Angeles · 2026
A session vocalist, twenty-six years in.
For more than 26 years, Charissa Nielsen has made a career behind the mic — singing on major films, television, records, and national campaigns. From La La Land and Star Wars to Neil Young, Post Malone, Smashing Pumpkins and countless commercials, her voice has shown up in some pretty incredible places.
Charissa is also the person producers call to build the rest of the vocal picture — contracting singers and choirs, creating vocal arrangements, and coaching performers in the studio and on set. Based in Los Angeles, she brings great singers, great instincts, and a whole lot of experience to every room she walks into.
LOS ANGELES · SESSION VOCALIST · VOCAL CONTRACTOR
The story
She learned the industry from the inside.
Charissa’s first real education in the music business wasn’t behind a microphone — it was as a personal assistant, working around some of the biggest names in music. In a single week she might cross paths with Leonard Cohen, the Dixie Chicks, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Justin Timberlake.
Not a bad introduction to the industry.
She started singing professionally in 2000 and quickly found herself in recording studios, on scoring stages and commercial sessions, learning not just how to sing the part — but how the whole machine works. Show up prepared. Read fast. Blend faster. Take direction. Know when to bring an idea and when to simply nail what’s on the page.
Twenty-six years later, that work has taken her everywhere from feature scores with composers Michael Giacchino and Justin Hurwitz to Super Bowl commercials, national live broadcasts, and records for Michael Bublé, Post Malone, Neil Young and the Smashing Pumpkins.
And somewhere along the way, people started calling Charissa for more than her voice.
The best thing she learned early? Talent gets you in the room. Knowing how to listen, collaborate, and make the producer’s job easier is what gets you invited back.
Today, she contracts and directs singers and choirs, creates vocal arrangements, coaches performers on set and in the studio, and helps producers figure out exactly what a vocal moment needs — whether that’s one perfect voice or forty of them.
After 26 years, she knows the business from both sides of the glass.
And yes, she still loves getting the call.
People she’s worked with
Rick RubinProducer Neil YoungGrammy-winning artist
Swae Lee Grammy-winning artist
Dan WilsonGrammy-winning songwriter 
Cecilia NoélSinger & bandleader 
Michael GiacchinoFilm composer 
Justin HurwitzFilm composer Institutional
Credentials, specialties, and experience.
01
Union
SAG-AFTRA Member
SAG-AFTRA Singers committee leadership spanning 17 years, with deep working knowledge of union vocal sessions, contracts and the world professional singers work in.
Elected role
02
Education
Loyola University — Music Therapy. Clinical training carried into the studio and the coaching room.
Degreed
03
Language
Spanish language vocals for Commercials
Extensive experience contracting and producing Spanish-language vocals for national campaigns — assembling the right singers and helping productions navigate language, pronunciation and performance.
Across languages
04
Vocal Contracting
CHOIRS – Gospel, Kids & Specialty Ensembles
A go-to for building choirs from the ground up — from powerhouse gospel vocals to kids’ choirs and custom ensembles sized and styled specifically for the project.
Leading vocal contractor & director
05
On-Set coaching
ON-SET VOCAL COACHING — Every Take. Every Note.
Coaching singers and actors on set, collaborating with directors and creative teams to keep vocals, timing and performance camera-ready.
Coaching
06
Performance
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Live vocalist and vocal contractor for The Smashing Pumpkins
Live singer
Also on the schedule
Songwriting & composition.
Original music for film, television, and commercials — short-turnaround compositions when a supervisor needs something tomorrow and nothing in the library fits. It’s a smaller slice of the week than session work, but it keeps the radar wide.
· America’s Next Top Model / original composition
· Third Watch / original composition
· MTV / commercial spot
Work together
Tell me what you’re working on.
Los Angeles · Remote sessions worldwide