Charlotte Church .net

Transcript

AOLiveMC1: Welcome to AOL Live, Charlotte Church. It is great to have you with us this evening! Ready to answer some questions?

Charlotte Church: Yes.

AOLiveMC1: Great! Here is our first audience question.

Question: Charlotte, you have a tremendous wit for someone your age. To whom or what do you attribute your wonderful, dry sense of humor?

Charlotte Church: Well, my father really has a fantastic sense of humor, so I learned a lot of my tricks from him. Everything in life is all a joke.

Question: How does it feel not going to a regular school? Do you like it better?

Charlotte Church: I still go to regular school when I go home. My mother builds in the block-out periods into the schedule so I spend three or four weeks in school each term. For the holidays, I'm having four weeks off. In the summer, I'm having six weeks off to study for my exams.

Question: I am trying to be a recording artist -- are there any tips that you could give me?

Charlotte Church: I got it very lucky. Fame kind of fell into my lap and the recording deal as well, so I'm afraid I can't give you any advice. But if you want to be a recording artist, you should get a demo tape done and send it to all the recording companies you know.

Question: How often do you sing in public?

Charlotte Church: I sing in public about -- as in concerts -- I do about one every two months, but I do about three television shows a week, at the moment. But that's only while I'm promoting the album; the rest of the year, I don't do any TV.

Question: Now that you're famous, is there anything that you're able to do that you couldn't do before?

Charlotte Church: No, not really. When I go out shopping, etc., I get recognized a lot, but that just comes with fame.

Question: Can you please tell us about your family? Siblings?

Charlotte Church: I have no brothers or sisters, but I and my family are very, very strong, and I see my grandmother, my grandfather, my auntie, my uncle, my cousins, my mom, my dad every day when I'm at home.

Question: Do you have a boyfriend?

Charlotte Church: No, I go to an all-girl school, and my life is a bit busy at the moment.

Question: I am trying to be a recording artist -- what is the best and worst part of the job?

Charlotte Church: The best part is going to premieres, selling lots of records, being successful, staying in nice hotels; and the worst is having to work really hard. I get up very early for radio and TV shows, and working when you got jet lag.

Question: Charlotte, how long did it take to record "Voice of an Angel"?

Charlotte Church: Five and a half days of hard work.

Question: Charlotte, I saw you on "Leno" last night. You were great. How many albums have you released to date?

Charlotte Church: Two: "Voice of an Angel" and "Charlotte Church."

Question: What is the biggest difference you've seen between US and European audiences?

Charlotte Church: The US audiences are more quick to praise, whereas the British audiences are more quick to criticize.

Question: Which song do you like the best off the album? -- Pam.

Charlotte Church: On "Charlotte Church," my favorite songs are "Summertime," "'Tis the Last Rose of Summer" and "She Moved Through the Fair." And off "Voice of an Angel," my favorite songs are "The Lord's Prayer," "Amazing Grace" and "Danny Boy."

Question: Hi, Charlotte! How was it working with N' SYNC on "Touched By An Angel"?

Charlotte Church: It was really great. They were lovely guys, and I really enjoyed them.

Question: Have you gotten to the US much, and do you have a favorite city or area?

Charlotte Church: Yes, I've been to New York 10 times, I've been to Los Angeles 5 times, I've been to Las Vegas twice, I've been to Washington twice, I've been to Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Dallas. My favorite area is Los Angeles.

Question: Charlotte, do you have AOL?

Charlotte Church: Yes, I do.

Question: Hi, Charlotte. I saw you on "Touched By An Angel." Are there any plans to do acting full time? It seems like this is another talent of yours. You seemed like a seasoned veteran. Also, where can we write you or e-mail?

Charlotte Church: Well, I would love to do some movies, and there have been suggestions. You can write to me on my website: www.charlottechurch.com.

Question: How do you handle so much pressure at such a young age?

Charlotte Church: I don't find it pressure, because my parents somewhat take it off. And Sony does as well.

Question: Were you in a choir when you were younger?

Charlotte Church: Yes, I went to a choir school, but I hated it!

Question: What was it like to sing for Prince Charles?

Charlotte Church: It was really fun, and meeting Prince Charles was really good. He was lovely.

Question: What was the inspiration for the "Wave Hello" song?

Charlotte Church: A guy called Danny Beckman wrote it, and when we heard it, we knew we had to do the Ford commercial, because the song was so special.

Question: Charlotte, do you ever envision doing a pop album?

Charlotte Church: There has been talk about doing a pop album, but of course we're not certain, we don't know yet.

Question: How did you decide what career to have?

Charlotte Church: Well, I don't know, it just happened. Singing in my family is natural, so it was just normal.

Question: How often are you home? I mean, do you get to spend a lot of time with your family?

Charlotte Church: I do get to spend a lot of time with my family, not as much as I would like to, but I get home three days every two weeks.

Question: Do you plan on singing live anywhere in the US in the future?

Charlotte Church: Yes, but nothing that we can confirm, but I'd love to, because I love US audiences.

Question: Charlotte, I am a huge admirer of yours! Your talent is amazing! I love to sing, and I do it all the time. I have a little problem with getting really nervous before a performance when I sing by myself. Any suggestions?

Charlotte Church: Well, everybody says the best thing for nerves before you perform are big, deep breaths. But the best thing is to say you're not nervous and act like you're not nervous, and then you fool yourself.

Question: Charlotte, who is your inspiration?

Charlotte Church: My Auntie Caroline and a writer called Bryce Courtney.

Question: Loved your Christmas special and "Jay Leno" performances. I was wondering, with these two Christmas performances, are you going to be making a holiday album, maybe for next year?

Charlotte Church: That has been talked about, but again, we don't really know what's going to happen. The third album is in early development.

Question: How did you decide what you were going to do on New Year's Eve?

Charlotte Church: I got offered to sing for the President, the Pope, the Queen of England and at the pyramids in Egypt and in New York, but family wanted me to come home, and I wanted to spend Christmas and the millennium with my family. Making the decision would have been very difficult between the choices, but I was flattered anyway.

Question: How many years did you take voice lessons, and when did you start?

Charlotte Church: I've taken voice lessons for four years now. I started when I was nine and a half.

Question: How much time do you spend online?

Charlotte Church: I spend quite a lot of time online. I like going into chat rooms and disguising myself, and I also try and write a diary on my website as often as possible.

Question: Do you like "The Nutcracker"? And what is your most precious item?

Charlotte Church: I've never seen "The Nutcracker." And my most precious item, that is so difficult... my rosary beads blessed by the Pope.

Question: Would you like to sing in an opera?

Charlotte Church: I'm not sure. I change my mind every five minutes, at the moment. One day I want to be a pop singer, then a musical singer, then an opera singer, then a movie star.

Question: What language are many of your songs in?

Charlotte Church: Italian, French, Latin, Welsh and, of course, English.

Question: Do you have a video phone?

Charlotte Church: No -- that would be fun, but no, I haven't got one.

Question: Where are you from, and are there disadvantages in being famous?

Charlotte Church: Yes, you have to act happy when you're in a bad mood and get up early and be happy. I'm from Wales.

Question: Hey, Charlotte!! How many TV shows have you done so far, and what's coming up for you?

Charlotte Church: I've probably done 100 TV shows, and I'm going next year to Australia, Japan, Korea, and America and Europe as well. I've done 100 TV shows over two years.

AOLiveMC1: Thank you, Charlotte, for spending some time with us this evening!

Charlotte Church: That's okay. Thank you for your questions! Bye!

AOLiveMC1: And thanks to the audience for joining us and sending in such great questions and comments. Good night! :D

Thanks to Tim DeWees and Illuminatus for providing this transcript.