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Scans
Thanks to Barbara

Teen with angelic voice
is racking up platinum LP sales 

By RUTH BASHINSKY 
Daily News Feature Writer

Sprawled on the couch of her New York hotel room, her bare feet swinging in the air, 15-year-old Charlotte Church is every inch the teenager. 

Talking a mile a minute, Church, like most teenage girls, loves junk food, shopping, sleeping late, going to parties with friends and, naturally, boys.

But she is also an internationally renowned vocalist who happens to be one of Billboard's Top 10 best-selling artists. And she doesn't rely on the kind of thong-and-navel appeal that has helped propel such artists as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera ever higher on the charts.

Charlotte Church 

"They are completely different from me," says Church of her fellow female teen singers. "They are older than me. We don't have the same demographic. We are not marketed in the same way. They are marketed through MTV and VH1. I think Britney Spears looks great. I am happy that I am not under that pressure and have to look like that — that it is all about my music rather than how I look, I hope." 

The maturity she possesses, manifest in her business-like assessment of her own place in the music industry, is another trait that separates Church from her Spears. Make that peers.

"The reason I appealed to the general public is because I provided the innocence that was lacking from the entertainment industry," says Church matter-of-factly. "I think in America, especially, they accept that I am getting older and that my image is changing. In other countries, like Britain and Australia, they are just getting annoyed and [are] not as accepting that I am changing as an artist and a person."

And changed she is. She describes her new, mature look as "jujjy" (Church's translation: sexier, quirkier, more sophisticated).

"It wasn't a conscious thing," she says. "Nothing is provocative. I am just growing up and experimenting with different looks to see what suits me best. I love playing with different images. I am completely covered up in every photo. I don't feel that I have to show all of my flesh to sell records."

Night of 'Enchantment'

Her track record at pushing platters is impressive.

Each of the classically trained prodigy's first three albums — her debut, 1998's "Voice of an Angel" (released when she was 12), 1999's self-titled record and last year's Christmas album, "Dream a Dream" — have gone platinum in the U.S. Her latest offering, "Enchantment," made its debut at No. 15 before slipping to 55 this week, but it should get a boost on Saturday night when Church's live TV special, originating from her hometown of Cardiff, Wales, airs locally on the PBS station WLIR (Ch. 21) at 8. The special will showcase material from "Enchantment," which includes a mix of Broadway hits, classic arias, Celtic music and contemporary ballads. 

Church plays down any comparisons to Spears, who just had her own special on HBO. "I think she is brilliant," says Church. "She is a brilliant dancer and a fantastic entertainer. She works her guts out. I have a lot of respect for Britney Spears. They criticize her because she always mimes, but she does seem to work hard and she is good at what she does."

But she does level a critique at Spears, Aguilera and Co. concerning appearance and eating habits. "The only thing that is troubling with all these people is that they are all absolutely stick-thin," she says. "If everyone wants to be famous and everyone looks up to these famous people as idols, having the perfect figures and feeling pressure to look like that ... I think a lot of these eating disorders do come from that.

"I don't have an eating problem," she continues. "I am quite a healthy size. I am not skinny and I don't mind not being skinny. I am happy looking normal. Of course, everyone looks at Britney Spears and says, 'I want her figure,' but I can't be bothered to give up chocolate and sugar. Forget it. I am happy with what I look like and being able to eat McDonald's and stuff that is not healthy for me. I am a junk-food junkie."

Despite her achievements, the full-figured Church is still under the supervision of her parents (they travel with her on tour) and, like any young adult, she bickers with them about homework, spending too much time on the telephone and basically doing what she wants to do when she wants to do it. 

"It is a privilege to have my parents with me, although it can be a pain because it's difficult to be with parents 24/7 when you are 15," she admits. "But they are the only people who are in this for me. Everything they do is for me to ensure my success and my happiness, while other people might have ulterior motives, and they don't."

Still, though her parents are bosses in the family department, Church is in charge when it comes to managing her career.

"I make all the decisions," she says, "because at the end of the day this is my career and this is my life — it is my face going on the CD covers, so I want to be involved in every decision." 

When in Manhattan, aside from shopping, Church likes to catch a show and indulge in her favorite New York treat, a frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. Getting to Zara (her favorite clothing store), however, is going to tax her negotiating skills. 

"I have been a bad girl with attitude, so I have to see if my father will let me go," she says, exhibiting a pouty expression.

"Every 15-year-old is cheeky and mouthy, and I am the same way — but my parents don't put up with it." 

Little Time for Amour

When Church isn't testing the waters with her folks, she is busy following a jam-packed schedule that leaves little time for romance, a territory she'd like to explore. 

"I do date boys, but it is difficult," she says. "On one hand, I say I am young and have plenty of time, on the other side I feel like I need to learn about relationships for the future," says Church. "I need to learn how to cry and know how to break up."

Church, who travels with two tutors when she is on tour, has been able to maintain a straight-A average. When she isn't studying, she enjoys reading anything from "Harry Potter" to Kafka's "Metamorphosis." In fact, Church is already thinking about college and majoring in either clinical psychology or philosophy.

"I am undecided on whether it would be in America or the U.K.," she said. "I want to work and play, so I wouldn't go to Harvard or Yale, because it seems too boring."