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The Independent
published Charlotte's diary from the past week
of her USA Tour and since Houston marked the intermission
of her tour for a week we've published it here:
My
Week: Charlotte Church
Independant (UK) 3.17.01
Sunday
We decide that we should take it easy this morning and
head down to Palm Beach to go boogie boarding. There are
massive waves, so conditions are perfect. Suddenly we see
some sharks about 50ft away. They're about six-foot long
and are jumping out of the water - we're not afraid, as we
are told that they're only looking for fish. Still, I just
paddle around in the same place, near the shore, because I
don't fancy running the risk of being eaten.
This afternoon I have to do a sound check for tonight's
concert. It's taking place in the Kravis Center for the
Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. I'll be performing
with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, with Matthias
Bamert conducting. The sound check goes well and only
takes an hour and 20 minutes. Before the concert we're
pleased to hear that the Hall is a sell-out; all 2,700
seats are filled. I'm lucky in that I don't get nervous
before concerts, but I do find it difficult to remember
names and conductors always seem to have really
foreign-sounding ones.
I open with "Tonight" from West Side Story,
followed by "Amazing Grace", "Pie Jesu",
"La Pastorella", "Bridge Over Troubled
Waters", "If I Loved You" and
"Summertime". In between the songs, the
orchestra play some musical arrangements. I can't overuse
my voice, because I'm so young and I could damage it, so
I'm not supposed to sing for too long at any one time. I
receive a standing ovation at the end of the night, but
I'm not particularly surprised as American audiences are
always enthusiastic and more demonstrative. They ask for
an encore for "Danny Boy".
When the concert finishes at 11, I have a business meeting
with my new manager, Irving Asof and his partners. We go
to a trendy restaurant in Palm Beach called Taboo and my
parents, aunt and tutors join us. It's a late night.
Monday
This morning I feel very happy about how last night went.
I tend to get overly excited after every concert, but last
night was wicked. Today we are driving to Orlando and
we've been told it should take around three and a half
hours. This is the perfect amount of time to get my
schooling in. When I'm away from school and on tour, I
have some tutors that come with me and tutor me in all my
school subjects apart from sciences, because you can't
really bring Bunsen burners in your suitcase. Our aim
today is to get to Disney World before our flight this
evening to Houston, Texas. It's a fantastic place, Disney
World, and we go on just about every ride. The big
rollercoasters are excellent fun. We arrive in Houston in
the evening and go to our hotel.
Tuesday
After three hours of school, I go shopping at the mall for
some nick- knacks and boots. I love clothes and fashion
and I love getting dressed up for the concerts. I have
four outfit changes during the course of a concert and
they're all quite different. After the mall we go for
dinner in the hotel and have steak and chips, followed by
an early night.
Wednesday
The usual three hours of school and then a sound check
with the Houston Symphony Orchestra before the concert
tonight. Again, I am not nervous before I go on stage, but
the evening goes fantastically well. I am in better voice
than I have been during this tour and the audience is more
responsive. The concert is in the same format as the one
in Palm Beach and again I receive a standing ovation,
which makes me really happy. They are a particularly
lovely audience tonight. I'm absolutely ravenous after the
concert, as I'm not allowed to eat anything for four hours
before I sing because it affects my abdomen and therefore
my voice. I tuck into a huge steak.
Thursday
The tour has come to an end and we're going back home
tonight. We have to fly to Miami before we get our
connecting flight to the UK. It's going to be a long day
but I'll just be relaxing on the plane. I drink loads of
water on the flight to avoid DVT and keep my skin well
moisturised to avoid it drying out.
Friday
Our flight lands at Heathrow at six this morning and we
don't get home to Cardiff until about 10. Unfortunately,
all my friends are still in school so I won't get to see
them until tomorrow, but I have Traffic on video, so I can
watch that instead and text my friends. The tour has gone
really well, and I'm going back to the States in 11 days
to continue the tour for five weeks. I'm really looking
forward to it but in the meantime, I'm going to hang out
with my friends and see if there are any good parties in
Cardiff.
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