Soprano, born in Cardiff, S Wales, UK. She began singing lessons at age 9, and at 11 performed Pie Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem on a television talent show. The Sony Music Corporation immediately signed her to a recording contract, and she has gone on to international success. With her debut album, Voice of an Angel (1998), she became the youngest ever artist to make number 1 in the UK classical charts. Later albums include Dream A Dream (2001) and Prelude (2002). Her first pop album, Tissues and Issues, was released in 2005. She made her acting debut in the film I'll Be There (2003), and in 2006 began hosting the weekly Charlotte Church Show for Channel 4 television.
| Charlotte Church | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Charlotte Maria Reed | |
| Born | February 21, 1986 (age 20) | |
| Origin | UK | |
| Genre(s) | Pop, Opera, Classical | |
| Years active | 1998-present | |
| Label(s) | Sony | |
| Website | CharlotteChurch.com | |
Charlotte Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed on February 21, 1986) is a Welsh pop singer who rose to international fame in childhood as a popular classical singer.
Early life
Church was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
Classical career
Charlotte was then introduced to the Cardiff-based impresario, Jonathan Shalit, who later became her manager, and negotiated a record contract with Sony BMG.
Church later appeared on numerous PBS specials and television commercials, most notably in the acclaimed Just Wave Hello campaign for the Ford Motor Company.
In 2000, she released Dream a Dream, principally an album of Christmas carols, but including Charlotte's first foray into a more pop-influenced genre: the title track Dream a Dream, a memorable song borrowing the melody from Fauré's Pavane and featuring young American country singer Billy Gilman.
In 2001, Charlotte Church added more pop, swing, and Broadway to her classical repertoire with her album Enchantment. Since Celine Dion was not available to perform the film's end title song, "All Love Can Be" (Dion was beginning her concert engagement in Las Vegas), composer James Horner enlisted Charlotte to handle the vocals, and the song was re-written to Church's vocal range.
In 2002, at the age of 16, Charlotte Church released a 'best of' album called Prelude, and took part in the Royal Christmas tour alongside Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, concluding her classical music career.
Church has also sung in religious services in Taizé.
Pop career
Charlotte made her first venture out of classical music in February 2003 providing haunting vocals for Jurgen Vries (aka DJ and producer Darren Tate's) single "The Opera Song".
In 2005, she issued her first pop album Tissues and Issues and the first four singles have all been at least moderately successful in the UK with "Crazy Chick" reaching #2, "Call My Name" reaching #10, "Even God" reaching #17 and "Moodswings" reaching #14.
Acting and television career
Church has made a number of cameo appearances on the television;
The Charlotte Church Show
Wikinews has news related to: Paris Hilton too costly to ridicule: Charlotte ChurchIn the summer of 2006, Charlotte began work on her own entertainment TV show, "The Charlotte Church Show."
The show, hosted by Charlotte and featuring two celebrity guests each week, involves a mixture of sketches, reality TV, interviews and music, as well as a recurring Welsh theme (the first show included a Wales vs.
The show has been a huge success for Charlotte and Channel 4 alike - it averaged 1.9 million viewers and 10% of the available audience, well above average for a new show - and on 6 October 2006, it was announced that Channel 4 had commissioned a further two series of the show. However, the show's ratings are far below those of Jonathan Ross' chat show, which competes with the Charlotte Church Show in the same timeslot.
Personal life
Church's personal life has often been portrayed in the sensationalist tabloid newspapers in the UK, rather more frequently than her career (inspiring the song "Let's Be Alone" on her album Tissues and Issues).
Church has lent her support to design limited edition T-shirts or vests for the 'Little Tee Campaign' for Breast Cancer Care which donates money for breast cancer research.
Controversy
Controversy surrounds the circumstances of the dismissal of Church's first manager, Jonathan Shalit.
Church has provoked controversy on some occasions with comments and criticisms (in an interview with Davina McCall, Charlotte agreed that being diplomatic was "not in [her] nature"). More recently, the Daily Mail reported that the pilot episode of Church's new show, The Charlotte Church Show, provoked a backlash from some religious groups, as Church reportedly mocks the Catholic Church and makes some controversial comments about Pope Benedict XVI, calling him a "Nazi" in reference to his compulsory time in the Hitler Youth and German Army, where he served briefly on an anti-aircraft battery.
Discography
Albums
Voice of an Angel (1998) #4 UK, #28 US, #22 AUS Charlotte Church (1999) #8 UK, #40 US Dream a Dream (2000) #30 UK, #7 US, #64 AUS Enchantment (2001) #24 UK, #15 US A Beautiful Mind: Music from the Motion Picture by James Horner (2001) Prelude: The Best of Charlotte Church (2002) #76 US Tissues and Issues (2005) #5 UK (sales: 236,000)Singles
| Voice of an Angel "Pie Jesu" "My Lagan Love" "In Trutina" "Panis Angelicus" "Amazing Grace" Charlotte Church "Just Wave Hello" #31 UK "La Pastorella" "She Moved Through the Fair" Dream a Dream "Ave Maria" "Dream a Dream" with Billy Gilman | Enchantment "Tonight" "Carrickfergus" "The Prayer" with Josh Groban Prelude: The Best Of... "It's the Heart That Matters Most" "All Love Can Be" Tissues and Issues "Crazy Chick" #2 UK, #39 AUS, #33 NZ, #10 IRL "Call My Name" #10 UK, #60 AUS "Even God Can't Change the Past" #17 UK "Moodswings (to Come at Me Like That)" #14 UK, #1 MEX Guest appearance: "The Opera Song (Brave New World)" #3 UK, #62 AUS |
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