At 13, Charlotte Church was already listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest artist ever to hit No. 1 on the classical album charts. But for the diva-in-training, now 14, that's just another chapter in the rather short story of her rise to fame.
As she sits for an interview, Church twirls bubble gum around her finger, steps over a few teddy bears, and pushes her homework out of the way all of which makes her matter-of-fact references to marketing, image, and other music biz terms somewhat disconcerting. But in that respect, she's no different from other teens with platinum discs.
The distinction is that this beguiling soprano with the astonishing voice is not a pop act, though she's being marketed as one. And it's working.
Church's self-titled second album has been stuck in the No. 2 position on Billboard's classical crossover chart only because her debut album, Voice of an Angel, recorded when she was 12, has held the No. 1 spot for more than half a year. Voice of an Angel has sold more than 1.2 million copies in the United States, while Charlotte Church has moved almost 700,000.
Angel earned Church not only appearances on Letterman, Leno, Rosie, and Oprah, but also audiences with the pope, the Queen of England, and the Clintons. And though some opera fans criticize her technique, Church is in demand because of her undeniable talent. But her label, Sony Classical, also is doing some canny marketing to raise her profile.
"Most opera stars just don't do promotion," Church observes while resting her feet on a large desk at Sony's New York offices. Clearly, she's shattering opera-world convention, and she's just getting started. A native of Cardiff, Wales, she began taking voice lessons at the tender age of 9 on the advice of her aunt, a cabaret singer.
After stunning a TV audience with a quick rendition of "Pie Jesu" at age 11, she found herself with a recording contract and the promise of a trip to Disneyland.
"I was kind of numb it happened so fast," Church says. She thought that the album would sell about 2,000 copies.
Instead, it put her in the unusual position of debuting the lead track of her new album as a jingle for a Ford commercial. In November, the carmaker engineered a simultaneous worldwide broadcast of a two-minute ad featuring Church singing "Just Wave Hello," a song the company commissioned for her.
According to Church, an ad exec heard her on the radio and liked her voice. Then he learned her age and insisted, "I've got to have her."
His reaction to her remarkably mature-sounding voice is typical. But even though she also looks older than her years, she won't be doing any sexpot photo spreads in the near future.
"My image is really quite young," Church says. It's also wholesome and casual just right for an adolescent who loves Tommy Hilfiger and detests dresses.
Though she's admittedly an already-spoiled only child, fame doesn't mean that she always gets her way, which sometimes leads to typical teen pouting and threats to leave home. To her parents, that's a good sign; it means their attempts to keep her "normal" are working.
Quick-witted and full of youthful confidence, Church nonetheless confides, "It's so confusing growing up as a teenager in the public eye."
But Church's father says she's always been an attention-getter, and right now, she's thrilled to be achieving the recognition. And with her voice and personality, she's likely to earn much more. Lynne Margolis
