Biography
 |
Charlotte Church has garnered worldwide acclaim for offering
audiences something completely unique: herself. It's a
quality that comes across not only in the dynamics and
diversity of her repertoire--which includes Broadway
musicals, opera, chamber music, Gaelic airs and contemporary
songs--but in the captivating charm and poise of this 16
year-old Welsh singing sensation. Charlotte Church not only
has "the voice of an angel," but a "wicked" flare for life.
Over the course of four albums in as many years (1998's
Voice Of An Angel, 1999's Charlotte Church,
2000's Christmas
offering, Dream A Dream, and 2001's Enchantment), she has
racked up international sales in excess of ten million
units, earning a spot as one of Billboard's Top Ten best
selling female vocalists worldwide for the year
2000, a list
that included Madonna and Janet Jackson, among others. Her
concerts are consistent sellouts--from the Hollywood Bowl to
an appearance before 70,000 fans in London's Hyde Park--and
she has shared the studio and stage with a wide array of top
artists: from Placido Domingo to Wyclef Jean; Billy Gilman
to the London Symphony Orchestra. Charlotte Church is the
youngest artist to ever have a #1 album on the UK Classical
charts.
In spite of her extraordinary success, Charlotte Church has managed
to keep a firm grip on the essentials of growing up. At home
in Cardiff, she maintains a lively circle of friends, with
whom she shares the vital interests of every adolescent
girl--fads, fashion, boys and music. Her musical tastes run
from opera to hip-hop to soul.
"I'm sixteen," Charlotte cheerfully admits. "I go with the
flow. I'd say it's important to meet challenges head-on. If
there's something you really want to accomplish, but you're
scared to try, that probably means you should give it a go.
You only live once."
It's a maxim Charlotte has followed throughout her
extraordinary career. A gifted singer from the age of nine,
she landed a major recording contract after a single
appearance on a local TV talent show and, while she's never
looked back, she also remains remarkably levelheaded about
her success. "I never wanted to be famous," she asserts. "I
just wanted to sing. But at the same time, I didn't want to
be just another pop star. I love so many different styles of
music, I wanted to be able to do them all."
True to her conviction, Charlotte Church set out to carve a
completely unique musical niche for herself, creating, in
the process, a worldwide following that spans borders as
easily as it does generations, reaching audiences of every
musical persuasion.
"I don't mind being considered a classical artist," she
reveals, "because that's what my background and training
have been. But I don't want to be stuck in any one category.
It's true that, because of my age, I don't have the life
experience to sing about things like love and death. But, as
I get older, I find I can be a bit more of a narrator,
telling the story and conveying the emotion of a song. And
that opens a whole new world of possibilities."