Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church (born February 21, 1986) is a Welsh singer and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical crossover singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and is now hosting the third series of her Channel 4 chat show “The Charlotte Church Show”.
Biography
Early life
Church was born Charlotte Maria Reed in Llandaff, a district of Cardiff, Wales. She was raised a Roman Catholic by her mother, Maria, who was separated from Church’s biological father. Church was adopted by her mother’s second husband, James Church in 1998. Her break came at 11 when she sang “Pie Jesu” over the telephone on the television show “This Morning” in 1997, followed by her performance on ITV’s Big, Big Talent Show in 1998. This led to concerts at Cardiff Arms Park, the Royal Albert Hall and opening for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp. She also received a vocal scholarship to Howell’s School Llandaff in Cardiff where she started in 1998. She balanced performing and school with help from tutors for when she was on the road and said in many interviews that she was “just like every other girl her age”.
1998–2002: Classical career
Church was then introduced to the Cardiff impresario, Jonathan Shalit, who became her manager and negotiated a contract with Sony BMG. Her first album, Voice of an Angel was a collection of arias, sacred songs, and traditional pieces that sold millions worldwide and made her the youngest artist with a No. 1 album on the British classical crossover charts.
Church appeared on PBS specials. Her self-titled second album also included operatic, religious, and traditional tracks. One, the soaring and inspirational Just Wave Hello, was the centerpiece of a millennium-themed ad campaign for the Ford Motor Company. The song’s full-length video, featuring Church, won acclaim at the Detroit Auto Show and introduced her to new fans. The track reached #31 in her native UK.
In 2000, she released Dream a Dream, an album of Christmas carols. It included Church’s first foray into a more pop-influenced style in the title track Dream a Dream, borrowing the melody from Fauré’s Pavane and featuring young American country singer Billy Gilman. Church also sang with Gilman in “Sleigh Ride” on his CD Classic Christmas.
In 2001, Church added more pop, swing, and Broadway with her album Enchantment. That year, movie audiences heard Church for the first time in the 2001 Ron Howard film A Beautiful Mind. Celine Dion was beginning a concert engagement in Las Vegas and was not available to perform the film’s end title song, “All Love Can Be”, composer James Horner enlisted Church and the song was re-written for her vocal range. Church also handled other vocal passages throughout the score.
In 2002, at 16, she released a ‘best of’ album called Prelude, and took part in the Royal Christmas tour alongside Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, concluding her classical music career. Her next album, Tissues and Issues, would be a pop release.
Articles emerged in the UK press in March and April 2008 stating that she was still training classically and was contemplating a return to classical crossover at some point. Church has sung in religious services in Taizé. She has also performed before Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and Bill Clinton, the former United States President.
2005–2006: Pop career
Church made her first venture out of classical music in February 2003 providing vocals for the Jürgen Vries (aka Darren Tate) single “The Opera Song”. She was credited on the sleeve with her initials, CMC. The track reached number 3 in the UK charts.
In 2005, she issued her first pop album Tissues and Issues and the first four singles have all been at least moderately successful in the UK with “Crazy Chick” reaching no. 2, “Call My Name” number 10, “Even God Can’t Change the Past” number 17, and “Moodswings (to Come at Me like That)” number 14. Although these were released in Australia as well, they failed to reach the same level of success there, and in March 2006 it was announced that there would be no US releases of Church’s pop work until she had achieved a number 1 hit in the UK.
In April 2006, she performed three concerts in Glasgow, London, and Cardiff, in venues holding between 2,000 and 3,000 people; the dates at London and Cardiff were sold out. Supported by Irish band the New Druids, Church performed a mix of tracks from her debut pop album and a number of pop covers including Prince’s “Kiss” and Gloria Estefan’s “Rhythm is Gonna Get You”. Though Church hinted at the possibility of a full tour in the future, none has taken place to date.
In November 2006, it was announced that she and Sony had parted ways. According to her publicist, this was a mutual decision reached after a series of meetings, ostensibly since her five and later six album deal had come to an end. There was some speculation that Church had decided to take a break from her singing career, in order to focus on her more successful television show. Others suggested that the performance of her pop releases in the charts also contributed to the decision.
Filmography
- I’ll Be There (2003)
- Heartbeat (1999) TV
- Touched by an Angel (1999) TV
Discography
Albums
- Tissues and Issues (2005)
- Prelude: The Best of Charlotte Church (2002)
- Enchantment (2001)
- Dream a Dream (2000)
- Charlotte Church (1999)
- Voice of an Angel (1998)
Singles
- 2006 - Moodswings (to Come at Me like That)
- 2005 - Even God Can’t Change the Past
- 2005 - Call My Name
- 2005 - Crazy Chick
- 2003 - The Opera Song (Brave New World)