In the late 1990s and early 2000s, no child singer was more widely acclaimed than Charlotte Church, the young Welsh soprano behind “Voice of an Angel” and “I Dreamed a Dream.”
By 2002 — at just the age of 16 — she ended her classically music career to focus on pop songs. The transition initially seemed to be going well as she released four singles that performed semi-successfully on British charts. She also pursued an acting career and was named “Best Female Comedy Newcomer” at the British Comedy Awards in 2006.
However, controversies in her personal life largely overshadowed her professional successes after she retired from classical music. Among the issues analyzed by the tabloids were her drinking habits, the fact she had two children out of wedlock and her unpopular opinions about Queen Elizabeth, Pope Benedict XVI and The X Factor.
In a 2011 inquiry, she bemoaned the media’s portrayal of her wild times, saying she was unfairly pigeonholed.
Perhaps I am a little cynical, but since the age of 13 I have thought that the media were trying to apply the stereotypical narrative of ‘the child star who goes off the rails’ to me, willing me to fulfil that narrative in the worst way… The fact is that my behaviour has followed a reasonably typical pattern for a teenage girl and then a young woman who would occasionally go out with her friends and enjoy herself.
Now 28, Charlotte recently said she wants to go back to school to earn a physics degree. However, she told The Daily Mail this week that she doesn’t have the luxury of formally retiring from music.
“I will have to work for the rest of my life. Not because I want to but because I have to,” said Charlotte, who was estimated to have $42 million at the height of her career in 2003. “The tax man is looking at my accounts wondering where I’m hiding all my money.”
Charlotte is in the midst of releasing a set of five EPs, titled EP ONE, EP TWO, etc. Her most recent music video was released in March and has 6,000 views on YouTube. She is also filming an adaptation of Under Milk Wood for BBC Wales.
