Tissues and Issues

Welsh soprano Charlotte Church became an overnight classical superstar in November 1998 with the release of her debut album Voice of an Angel, issued when she was just 12 years old. A self-titled effort followed in 1999. Dream a Dream, a Christmas album, was released in 2000 and her fourth release, Enchantment, appeared in the fall of 2001. Charlotte Church seems adept at overturning expectations. In a country where sneering at the rich and famous is a national pastime, the multi-million-selling Cardiff singer is the one celebrity that everyone seems to like without qualification. She has achieved this feat by adhering to a radical and daring new concept in celebrity PR management, which involves behaving at all times like a normal human being. She has eschewed making fitness videos or bearing her soul on reality TV, preferring to smoke, row with her mum and date a succession of ne'er-do-wells. Even Liam Gallagher has had to admit that Charlotte Church is a model of bad behavior. No surprise, then, that now the party-loving Welsh soprano wants to ditch the classical singing for a while and break into the rather less constrained world of pop with her fifth album Tissues And Issues.

Heralding a major musical change of direction for Charlotte, the album is a scintillating journey through a whole range of genres and moods. From out-and-out pop anthems to Motown-infused tracks and heartfelt ballads, Charlotte radiates confidence and maturity. It's all held together by Charlotte's flawless voice, which shows up many of her rival female pop stars. Show A Little Faith, with its string and choir backing, and catchy chorus, is a winter warmer. The personal and somewhat mini-epic Finding My Own Way is another decent track, layered with piano strings and a pitch that better suits Church's voice than say Crazy Chick, which despite being one of the pop songs of the year, isn’t "made" for her powerful voice. Confessional Song is an introspective look, although perhaps somewhat tongue-in-cheek, at Charlotte's life. Album highlights include first single Crazy Chick, Finding My Own Way, the intimate Confessional Song and the intriguing and addictive Casualty of Love. By turns exuberant and impassioned, heartfelt and accomplished, Tissues And Issues is the perfect showcase for Charlotte’s own unique style. "I have grown up", she says simply.

Tissues And Issues has been assembled on a production line overseen by a factory's worth of talent: songwriting guns for hire such as Guy Chambers, Gary Barlow and Marcella Detroit have been brought in. This album is a chance for Charlotte Church to finally make people talk about her music rather than her private life and get her singing career back on track again. Charlott'se development from child star to wild child teen has been well documented but can she make the transition from classical Voice of an Angel to pop diva with as much flare? Time will tell…But Church definitely has personality to spare – she's one of the few people who is as honest now, after years of tabloid opprobrium and dirt-dishing, as she was when she was a callow unknown. In pop, this is the equivalent of keeping your currency in bullion: it'll never depreciate in value.