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Text I'm no angel
VICTORIA NEWTON
Showbiz Editor, SUN
CHARLOTTE CHURCH wants to make one thing absolutely clear – the little girl singing star is growing up fast.
The child prodigy found fame at just 12 when her album Voice Of An Angel became a global best-seller.
Three years later the bubbly youngster from Wales has been transformed into a trendy teenager with all the same likes as other adolescent girls - clothes, boys and make-up.
Gone are the frumpy school frocks, white socks and straight brown hair.
Charlotte is now a young woman with a figure many other 15-year-olds would envy, a funky new hairstyle and a wardrobe to make Britney Spears jealous.
As we meet at the London HQ of her record company Sony, Charlotte can't stop talking about a pair of black spikeheeled boots she has bought in New York and hasn't stopped wearing.
Sum-thing else ... Charlotte at school in '98
Charlotte says: "I'm not consciously trying to look sexier but I can't be expected to stay like the 12-year-old angel I once was.
"My look changed but that's just down to me growing up rather than me trying to change my image.
"The truth is, the 12-year-old angel is now almost 16 and let's face it - I can't carry on wearing white choral outfits or ballgowns forever, can I?
"But I rarely show off any flesh and I am certainly not about to rush off and do any photo shoots in a sleazy lads' mag - that really wouldn't be me.
"When I'm not working I just prefer to put on a pair of jeans or baggy trousers. I do most of my shopping at places like Top Shop and I think I'm just like any other normal 15-year-old."
In fact, Charlotte is one of the most intelligent
15-year-olds you could ever meet and it comes as no surprise that she has enjoyed such phenomenal success.
She has sold more than eight million albums, made an estimated fortune of around £10million and performed for US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush, the Pope, the Queen and Prince Charles.
She has just released her fourth album, Enchantment, and could even be up for an Oscar next year with the soundtrack she recorded for a Hollywood movie, A Beautiful Mind.
Aspiring star ... young Charlotte
While many a child in her position could be forgiven for turning into a spoilt, demanding brat, Charlotte has kept her feet firmly on the ground.
She understands perfectly the fickle nature of stardom and takes hobnobbing with celebrities in her stride.
She says: "I don't really get excited about meeting famous people. I'm not into boy bands. My favourite artist at the moment is Alicia Keys.
"But there's no one I have met that I've thought, 'Wow.' Of course, half the time it is because I'm so young that I don't really realise what legends some of these people are.
"Take Barbra Streisand, for example. My mum was going crazy about meeting her and when she asked me to sing for her, I think my mum nearly died. But I wasn't that bothered."
Charlotte is also keen to set the record straight over recent reports that she had found herself a boyfriend, 17-year-old student Max Hoare.
She says: "I don't really have time for a boyfriend at the moment. The papers said I was going out with Max but he's just a friend.
"At home I hang out with a really tight group of girls and boys and Max is part of that group.
"But I would rather go out with a normal boy than a celebrity.
"There's no way I could have a famous boyfriend. The main reason is I can't imagine I would find someone famous that I really gel with."
But Charlotte has already found that fame brings problems when it comes to the opposite sex. She says: "It's either one way or the other with boys. Sometimes I'll go to parties and guys won't even look at me. Other times they're all over me and I don't really like that.
"In those situations I'm thinking, 'Just go away, leave me alone.' I can tell if they are genuine or if they just want to be able to say they're going out with Charlotte Church.
"The problem is that I can't really be anonymous. I have to be aware that if I'm not sensible, then it could end up being all over the papers.
"But I'm quite a good judge of character and I think people are often quite obvious about their intentions at that age because their minds are not that developed. It's usually easy for me to judge with people my own age whether they are interested in me because I'm famous or for the real me."
Charlotte is studying for her GCSE exams. When she is working abroad she has two tutors with her to make sure she doesn't get behind and so far she has earned top marks in every subject.
But back home in Cardiff, Charlotte is like any other of her classmates who works hard, plays hard and has fun.
She says: "When I go back to school it's just like I've been off on a long dentist's appointment - I slot straight back in.
"Some of the younger ones, if they've started school while I'm away, are a bit like, 'Look, there's Charlotte Church', but apart from that they treat me normally.
"And so do the teachers - I still get detention if I do something wrong. I don't tend to get too much jealousy from others because none of my friends at school are performers and they don't want to be famous. I think if I was in a stage school it would be awful - I'd hate it because of all the bitchiness."
Charlotte and her family have taken care to keep a level-headed attitude to her new-found wealth.
Racy ... Charlotte at a charity concert earlier this month
Her mother Maria has stashed away most of her earnings in a savings account that she can't touch until she is 21. She gets £20 a week pocket money and is forced to look for bargains in the High Street stores like other teenagers.
Maria, 35, and dad, 37-year-old James, work as chaperones and personal assistants for their daughter.
Charlotte says: "I can't comprehend how much money I've made because it doesn't seem real to me.
"My family certainly weren't rich so from a young age I've been taught to look after my money.
"My mum is very good at teaching me to economise and learn the value of money. When we go shopping she makes me look at the price first and work out whether I can afford it from my pocket money.
"Occasionally, if I need a dress for a special event like a concert, then she will let me dip in to my savings to buy it."
At 15 Charlotte has achieved more than many do in a lifetime.
But she reckons there is a lot more she still wants to do - and she is determined to do it.
She says: "I want to travel and go to university to study. I'd like to do something like clinical psychology or philosophy. That would be really cool.
"I would love to be a student but who knows? I may have changed my mind by next year.
"I'll carry on being famous for a while and just singing.
"But I can't see myself ever doing a pure pop album. I would like to develop my own different genre of musical styles - I'd love to do a duet with Wyclef Jean.
"I don't like pop music and I don't think I'm thin enough to be a pop star, even if I wanted to be.
"That's because I've got a very sweet tooth and I love my food.
"But I don't worry that I'm not that thin. I'm a 15-year-old who sings popular new music and that's fine by me."
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