Born Carmo Rebelo de Andrade and hailing from Lisbon, she is the daughter of fado singer Teresa Siqueira. She cites influences that include fado legends Lucília do Carmo, Fernando Maurício, and Amália Rodrigues as well as pop/rock legends Queen and the Beatles.

Carminho made her recording debut in 2003 on Saudades do Fado: Tertúlia de Fado Tradicional, a collaborative album produced by guitarist Luis Penedo on which she is featured as a vocalist. Critically acclaimed, she won the Prémio Amália Revelação award in 2005 and was later featured prominently in the Carlos Saura film Fados (2007).

Carminho debuted with Fado (on EMI) at the relatively young age of 25. Produced by Diogo Clemente, the album features musical backing by an all-star group of Portuguese musicians including Ricardo Rocha, José Manuel Neto, Bernardo Couto, Ângelo Freire, Marino de Freitas, and Carlos Barretto.

Critically acclaimed as well as commercially successful, Fado reached number two on the Portuguese albums chart and spent a few weeks in the Top Five. Two songs were released as promotional singles, "Escrevi o Teu Nome No Vento" and "A Bia da Mouraria."