Voice of an Angel sings again
Charlotte Church found fame when she was only 11. Now aged 31, the Welsh singer has spent most of her life as a star.
When she was only nine years old, it became clear that Charlotte Church had something special. She went to singing lessons, where her raw talent became obvious: a voice so rich and powerful that a future in music seemed like a certainty. By the age of
11, she was singing on television so beautifully that she earned the nickname
Voice of an Angel.
Over the course of her early career, she met many of the world’s most important leaders and went to some amazing places. She sang for the Pope, and at the inauguration of US president, George W. Bush (the ceremony where a president gets sworn into office). After she performed for the new president, she sat one of her GCSE exams in the White House, the US president’s official residence. She also remembers how former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, once “helped my mum down the stairs with a suitcase”.
Although her life was chaotic and unusual, Church got a dose of normality every time she returned home to Wales. As a 14-year-old, she found that her friends couldn’t care less about her celebrity life. “I’d get back and they’d be like, ‘Whatever...’” she said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper. Her friends were more interested in filling her in on the gossip: “...who was going out with so-and-so... That was the most important thing”.
It wasn’t all easy, though. Some newspapers treated Church unfairly, telling stories about her private life and accusing her of being “gobby”, or outspoken. Church, however, says she has never gone out of her way to be difficult. “I’ve just got strong opinions,” she says.
Over the years, her interest has turned towards politics. To learn more about the subject, she read, although she also likes arguing with people, too, “just to try and understand what people thought”. She even thinks she might try to become a politician in the future, although she’s not keen to do it any time soon. For now, she’s focused on the music that’s been her profession for most of her life. Next year she plans to release a “cracking album”. “I just want something that is undeniably brilliant,” she says.