0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains very strong language.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08I've totally changed musical direction and, um...I've just tried
0:00:08 > 0:00:11to be a bit more under the radar because essentially, fame sucks.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14So I have...
0:00:14 > 0:00:17I don't know, I just wanted to sort of do things on my own terms
0:00:17 > 0:00:22and be a creative entity without having to be sort of paraded around
0:00:22 > 0:00:29and put my face on and wear some pretty shoes and all of that BS.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34# Panis angelicus...#
0:00:34 > 0:00:38At 12, she found fame as the Voice of an Angel.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42Candles everywhere! Hundreds and hundreds of candles!
0:00:42 > 0:00:46In her teens, she became the wild child, hounded by press.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Get your fucking hands off my camera!
0:00:48 > 0:00:50I really, really can't stand him.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52And tried her hand at pop.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54# I love it when you call my name...#
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Aw, I was so little! Didn't have a clue!
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Now aged 28, Charlotte Church is on a new journey.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05Creating her own music and doing it her way.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08I want to do some things on my own terms,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10from my own weird, creative brain,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14which has developed rather weirdly due to my crazy life!
0:01:14 > 0:01:17This is the story of two extraordinary weeks
0:01:17 > 0:01:19in the life Charlotte Church...
0:01:19 > 0:01:23I literally spent the entirety of Sunday just having a cry.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27..As she puts on two big concerts to showcase her new music.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30People are going to be watching this at home in Wales, like,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34"Oh, well, I don't know. I was a bit confused.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38"She looked rather strange most of the time."
0:01:38 > 0:01:41I'm sorry, people of Wales.
0:01:41 > 0:01:42I got a bit weird.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55February, 2014.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Charlotte and her band gather in Cardiff
0:01:58 > 0:02:01for two weeks of intensive rehearsal.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04I'm releasing a new EP, EP Four,
0:02:04 > 0:02:08and we have basically got a ridiculously small amount of time
0:02:08 > 0:02:09in which to put on a huge show
0:02:09 > 0:02:11which has got this crazy concert
0:02:11 > 0:02:15which is sort of performance-arty and this, that and the other.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17It's going to be pretty manic.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19# And then a voice said
0:02:19 > 0:02:25# Can you hear me now? #
0:02:28 > 0:02:31We're not like a band who sort of just turns up
0:02:31 > 0:02:34and does a rock'n'roll thing. We rehearse a lot.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Which is really sad.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40# O-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h. #
0:02:42 > 0:02:44But the music is quite complicated
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and there's loads of interlocking parts
0:02:46 > 0:02:47and loads of stuff going on,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51so we've got to, otherwise it would be total carnage.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54CHARLOTTE HARMONISES
0:03:00 > 0:03:03That was sort of interesting. What were you doing?
0:03:08 > 0:03:11# I can dream
0:03:13 > 0:03:17# I can dream. #
0:03:17 > 0:03:20I sort of got disillusioned with music and stuff and the whole shebang
0:03:20 > 0:03:25and I was thinking about moving away
0:03:25 > 0:03:29to a hut in, er...Nepal.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34And so... And then I sort of thought, "No, I have to do music.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38"I have to sing." I just have to. It's not really a choice.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Um...it's a compulsion.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45After a break from the music industry and the limelight,
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Charlotte has come back with a completely new sound.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52MUSIC: "Nerve" by Charlotte Church
0:03:57 > 0:03:59It's jam-packed full of rhythms
0:03:59 > 0:04:03and, um...funk and loads of riffs
0:04:03 > 0:04:05and lots of hooks.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08# Are you just a waste of my time?
0:04:15 > 0:04:20# Have I let it slip? #
0:04:20 > 0:04:21It's really intense music
0:04:21 > 0:04:24and it's an assault on the senses a lot of the time.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And you have to think about it. It's not really, like,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29chuck it on in the background, a bit of easy listening.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33# Yeah.#
0:04:39 > 0:04:43But without the might a major record label behind her,
0:04:43 > 0:04:44Charlotte faces the daunting task
0:04:44 > 0:04:48of winning over the music industry with her new image and sound.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51She started by revealing her new band
0:04:51 > 0:04:53at an undercover gig in Cardiff.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00This is the stage upstairs in Clwb Ifor Bach
0:05:00 > 0:05:02where we first put Charlotte Church on.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05We didn't call her Charlotte Church, we called her Banded Puma.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Bit worried that people wouldn't come
0:05:13 > 0:05:14if it was Charlotte Church,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18so we thought we'd come up with an anagram of a made-up band.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22And then realised an anagram of made-up band was Banded Puma.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24So in the programme for the festival,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27we put Banded Puma on between a couple of other acts.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29There were 200 people here.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32People suddenly realised, "Oh, is that Charlotte Church?"
0:05:32 > 0:05:34I think they were expecting to hate it.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37I was listening a lot and people were, like,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39"That was quite good, wasn't it?
0:05:39 > 0:05:42"That was all right, wasn't it?" People tweeting about it.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45So it's really exciting to be part of it. Um...
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Yeah, really special moment to be the first person
0:05:48 > 0:05:51to put her on with this new project.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55I think it must be very difficult for her to overcome
0:05:55 > 0:05:58some prejudices against her because people go,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00"It's Charlotte Church, Voice of an Angel, pop star,
0:06:00 > 0:06:02"Issues and Tissues."
0:06:02 > 0:06:04And she's a million miles from that.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06So to overcome those obstacles
0:06:06 > 0:06:10and people's thoughts of her must be quite hard.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13# She'll wait
0:06:13 > 0:06:16# She'll wait
0:06:16 > 0:06:21# She'll w-a-a-a-a-ait
0:06:21 > 0:06:26# And I rise. #
0:06:26 > 0:06:31It's 16 years since I've sort of being doing this singing lark
0:06:31 > 0:06:34and people have known me for it. Um...
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Yeah, and it's been a crazy ride.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42A really strange, unique,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46weirdly-psychological at times,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50totally exhilarating way of living, really.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54"To tell us more about Caroline, we have her niece, Charlotte Church."
0:06:54 > 0:06:56APPLAUSE
0:06:56 > 0:06:58It all started back in 1997
0:06:58 > 0:07:01when Charlotte gave an impromptu performance
0:07:01 > 0:07:03on The Big Big Talent Show with Jonathan Ross.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07So Caroline's your auntie. She sings, I know, beautifully.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Um...I know you have a great voice, as well.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Will you give us a little burst?
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- Can I get a C off the orchestra? - C off the orchestra?
0:07:15 > 0:07:17You can try. They haven't been hitting them this evening.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19- ORCHESTRA PLAYS NOTE - There you go, C.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25# Pie Jesu
0:07:25 > 0:07:30# Pie Jesu
0:07:30 > 0:07:37# Qui Tollis peccata mundi
0:07:37 > 0:07:43# Dona eis requiem...#
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Charlotte signed a five-album deal with Sony Music.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Within months, her face was everywhere
0:07:49 > 0:07:52and the Voice of an Angel had sold over a million.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Life for the 12-year-old from Cardiff would never be the same again.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58I went from just going to school
0:07:58 > 0:08:00and just doing all of the normal stuff,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02my mother worked in the council,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04going to my nana's for tea afterwards
0:08:04 > 0:08:06and then my mother would pick me up from my nana's
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and whatever routines we had as a family
0:08:09 > 0:08:13into this crazy life of travelling the world
0:08:13 > 0:08:15and singing all over the shop
0:08:15 > 0:08:19and staying in these really incredible hotels.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24Yeah, I'm a Canton girl, so it was all a bit like, "What is going on?"
0:08:24 > 0:08:27You're going to meet lots of different types of journalists.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30Some of them are going to be nice, some are going to be a bit nasty
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and some of them are going to seem nice, but be nasty.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36When you're a child, you just tend to just go with it.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40You just go with the flow and nothing really fazed me.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- Let me introduce you first to Leah Sydney here.- Hello!
0:08:43 > 0:08:45Hello. Nice to meet you.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49I think for the whole time, I sort of had a good perspective about things.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51I don't know how, I don't know why.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55But I've always understood that all of that stuff wasn't very important.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57It wasn't the be-all and end-all.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00What was the be-all and end-all was the fact that I had my family
0:09:00 > 0:09:03and friends and everybody was healthy and everything was fine.
0:09:03 > 0:09:08And that's all... I've sort of kept that. Everybody's fine!
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Everything is OK.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14And all of the rest of it is just, um...is work.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19# Amazing Grace... #
0:09:19 > 0:09:22From an unknown 11-year-old to a star,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25singing before the President in under three years.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29I feel like I sang for the world and his wife when I was younger.
0:09:29 > 0:09:35Um...the Pope, two presidents, President Clinton and George Bush.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38All the royals numerous times!
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Er...yeah.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43And I met loads of incredible people, as well.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46I met Tom Cruise, I met Muhammad Ali,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50I've met David Bowie, I've met loads of incredible people.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54But I stay away from it all. I haven't got any celebrity friends.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I already had so much paparazzi attention, the last thing
0:09:56 > 0:10:00I wanted to do was increase it by hanging out with other famous people.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03So I just came home to Chippy Lane, really.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05LAUGHTER
0:10:05 > 0:10:09I'll just go down Caroline Street, it'll be fine. I don't need London.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Yeah.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13The most remarkable thing about Charlotte Church,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15considering the things she's done in her life,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18which I don't think any of us
0:10:18 > 0:10:22will come close to half or a quarter of what she's achieved,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27she's reached the highest levels of performance
0:10:27 > 0:10:32in terms of artistic endeavour in so many aspects of her carer.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36And she's still sort of Charlotte Church from Cardiff.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39I think if I'd have done any of those things,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42I'd be living in a mansion in LA by now.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47Sometimes people really prod me to sort of try and, er...make me break.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51"Oh, but it must have hurt at some point in your life.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53"You must have missed out." I don't really...
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Because I don't have any other experience
0:10:56 > 0:10:59of what I was missing out on or whatever, I just don't...
0:10:59 > 0:11:02But also, my life is so full and so rich,
0:11:02 > 0:11:07um...that I feel like I've definitely had a good side of the deal.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09I'm very happy to present you finally
0:11:09 > 0:11:11with your double platinum award.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12APPLAUSE
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Charlotte went on to sell over 10 million albums worldwide.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24I've been getting investigated by the taxman year on year
0:11:24 > 0:11:28because the papers keep printing I'm worth £9 million, £11 million,
0:11:28 > 0:11:30£22 million, £25 million.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32So the taxman's looking in my account going,
0:11:32 > 0:11:34"Where are you hiding all this money, then?"
0:11:34 > 0:11:37I'm like, "There isn't that. It's a lie." Yeah.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40So it's always been massively exaggerated
0:11:40 > 0:11:43because it makes a better story. But I will have to work.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46I will have to work for the rest of my life. I can't just sit back and...
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Not only because I'd be totally tonto,
0:11:48 > 0:11:53but because, er...because I have to.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57There are less than two weeks to go until Charlotte's reveals
0:11:57 > 0:12:02her new work to the press at two big concerts in London and Cardiff.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04And she is project-managing the shows herself.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I've been running about all day.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Didn't realise I was going to be filmed.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13I would've put some face on otherwise. Um...but there we are.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15I haven't actually even brushed my hair.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Sorry! Genuinely, I'm a bit like this.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24I just sort of walk around the Canton, Cardiff area
0:12:24 > 0:12:26just looking like a bag lady.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Really. Um...
0:12:29 > 0:12:32But I'm not eccentric, honest.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I've got massively into science and physics recently.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40I say massively, I read the New Scientist.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45And I have dreams of going to university to do a degree in physics.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Um...and anyway, there's a lot of songs on EP Four,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50which is the EP I'm about to release,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54which is what the show's basically based around, um...
0:12:54 > 0:12:57which are sort of...
0:12:57 > 0:13:00some of them are sort of a little bit scientific in nature.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03For example, there's a song called Entanglement,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05which is about entanglement theory,
0:13:05 > 0:13:10which is a quantum, mechanics quantum physics sort of thing.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Um...
0:13:12 > 0:13:15Which is a really complicated physics theory
0:13:15 > 0:13:17which I don't want to describe to you now
0:13:17 > 0:13:19because I will probably get it horribly wrong
0:13:19 > 0:13:21and sound like a silly lady.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Charlotte arrives at the studios of sculptor, Rowley Clay,
0:13:26 > 0:13:31to plan the centrepiece for her science-inspired stage show.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Hello!
0:13:33 > 0:13:35- Hi, Charlotte.- How's it going?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38What the show is, the first half is a slightly different thing.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41The first half will mostly be all of our up-tempo material,
0:13:41 > 0:13:45it should be loads of fun, all bathed in, like, UV black light stuff.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Giving the audience tubes of neon
0:13:47 > 0:13:50so hopefully they can paint their faces
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and be totally involved with it, as well.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Rowley is making a metal cage-like skirt
0:13:55 > 0:13:57that Charlotte will wear during the show.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02I was getting the image that actually, you've got more...
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- You know, like the skirt's more of a thing.- Yeah!- You know?
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Everybody's going to go out for the intermission
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- and when they come back in, the skirt will be set in place.- OK, yeah.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14So that even when they walk in and it's just like,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18"What on earth is that?" It just looks odd.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21- Like a sculpture, like a light sculpture.- Yeah, yeah.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24It's weird to think, really, that she is doing it all herself.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27People who say they're doing it all themselves often have
0:14:27 > 0:14:31people higher up with lots of money to help them with.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35And, you know, with very influential music business friends.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38But she really is doing it all on her own
0:14:38 > 0:14:45and she seems to be loving it and savouring every moment.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47So they'll have the lights, but hopefully they'll be sequenced
0:14:47 > 0:14:51so they cascade with different coloured lights going down.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54There's more of these lights and they sort of start snaking out.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57It needs to flow straight from the lines of light off of the skirt.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01And it will just look like this weird tentacle fish thing.
0:15:01 > 0:15:07She seems to be taking on the role of an ambassador
0:15:07 > 0:15:10for people who want to do it themselves, as well.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13It's almost as if it's a new world, which is fascinating, really.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17I think a lot of people who go to the gigs will be, like, "Why? Why?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19"You know, we're just here to watch some music.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21"Can you stop making it so complicated?"
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Although she's planning the show alone,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27it's not a one-man band when it comes to the music.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31In 2010, Charlotte met her partner, musician Jonathan Powell.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34And the pair started writing together.
0:15:34 > 0:15:42# Flood my lungs
0:15:42 > 0:15:44# Won't you pull me out...#
0:15:44 > 0:15:45It's not, "Pull!"
0:15:45 > 0:15:47# Pull me out. #
0:15:47 > 0:15:50My mother has known his mother for a long time
0:15:50 > 0:15:53and my mother had been banging on about him for ages.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56"He's got an incredible voice. He's such a great songwriter."
0:15:56 > 0:16:00Then I eventually met up with him and heard some of his stuff
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and then we started writing together
0:16:03 > 0:16:07and I really found my feet as a writer and he really supported me
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and gave me loads of confidence.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Because I'd never really thought of myself as a writer either.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15And he was, like, "Yeah, you are. Yeah, you just can be.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17"You can do whatever you want."
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- Can we stick on one problem at a time, please?- Yeah.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22- Um...- Ending.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24The ending of that section.
0:16:24 > 0:16:30Creatively, we...we're on a similarish sort of wavelength,
0:16:30 > 0:16:36but I can get a bit Veruca Salt about stuff, as well.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40I scream and scream until I'm sick! I don't, actually. That's not true.
0:16:40 > 0:16:41I'm totally reasonable.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46I don't want you to make it anything else! If you want it elongated, do...
0:16:46 > 0:16:48# De-neh-neh-neh-neh-neh-neh-neh. #
0:16:48 > 0:16:50So it just feels like it's on a loop.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Oh! I've got to go out and have a fag.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56Over the past two years,
0:16:56 > 0:16:58the pair have been creating a series of EPs
0:16:58 > 0:17:01all recorded at Charlotte's home studio.
0:17:01 > 0:17:02This is the live room.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05So this is generally where, like, generally,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Johnny will be playing the guitar by there, he'll have his amp in the toilet
0:17:08 > 0:17:11because that's the best isolation of sound we can do.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14We had the choir in the house because they wouldn't really all fit in here.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16There was about 18 of them.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25# Mountain water. #
0:17:25 > 0:17:27So that was interesting.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32The dogs were, like, "What's going on? What the hell is this?"
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Waa-aa-ter.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38# Mountain water. #
0:17:38 > 0:17:41I've never, ever considered myself really a very creative entity before.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I bloody well do now!
0:17:43 > 0:17:45LAUGHTER
0:17:45 > 0:17:49But, um...that's only because I've really pushed myself, I feel.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Um...yeah.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55And it's been an incredible thing to do.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05Charlotte's creative journey doesn't end with the music or the gigs.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07It's really fucking cold!
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Whether it means freezing in a river...
0:18:10 > 0:18:12While I'm singing, I'm trying to push my bottom lip,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14but it's starting to...
0:18:14 > 0:18:17..or covering her face with glitter...
0:18:17 > 0:18:22# I've got glitter in my wounds...#
0:18:22 > 0:18:24..there are music videos to produce.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29# Since I was glitterbombed by you... #
0:18:33 > 0:18:35And with the release of the new EP just few weeks away,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Charlotte needs to take valuable time out
0:18:38 > 0:18:41from planning her shows to shoot her latest video.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45I'm filming a video for Little Movements, which is...
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Sorry, and I'm poorly, so I'm feeling really sorry for myself.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Shall we have a little practice, guys?
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Really, a prize.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57She's decided to film in her home town, starting at a local primary school.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01I've lived in Cardiff all my life.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I love Cardiff, but I've never really done anything here
0:19:04 > 0:19:06in terms of work and stuff,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08so I just thought maybe I should do an awesome video here
0:19:08 > 0:19:12and just get all the people of Cardiff to just come and dance.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25I love it. It's just home. There is no place like home!
0:19:28 > 0:19:30That was super-awesome!
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Ghetto blaster in hand, Charlotte hits the streets of Cardiff
0:19:44 > 0:19:47to persuade people to dance for her music video.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Hey, guys. We're filming a music video in Cardiff.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53Basically, we're just going around to all different places in Cardiff
0:19:53 > 0:19:55and asking people to do, like a 20 or 30 second dance.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58I'm not dancing. Sorry!
0:19:58 > 0:20:03- What have I got to do, Char? - Dance like nobody's watching.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07- How's that?- Nice! - Oh, we're rocking now!
0:20:07 > 0:20:08I like the people.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13I really like the people. I think the people are great. Um...
0:20:13 > 0:20:15I love the history.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I don't like the weather all the time, but apart from that,
0:20:18 > 0:20:23you know, everything about it, the landscape, I love it.
0:20:23 > 0:20:24I love Wales.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27MUSIC: "Little Movements" by Charlotte Church
0:20:30 > 0:20:32LAUGHTER
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Next stop, the betting shop to meet Grandad.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41My bampy comes here to have a little flutter on the gee-gees occasionally.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46Which I also don't condone. I don't know, I don't know. Whatever!
0:20:46 > 0:20:48But, er...Yeah,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51so I just thought we'd get him in his natural environment.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54- You ready?- Yeah. What we doing? - We're going to go straight to it.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57He's got a new knee, so that one should be quite groovy.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01It should be able to do a bit of the old...twist and whatnot.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Won't last long before the legs start to give up.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06LAUGHTER
0:21:08 > 0:21:13He's totally awesome. He's loved wherever he goes.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16He is Mr Gary Cooper.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18- Thank you.- All right, sweetheart? All right, darling?
0:21:18 > 0:21:20I'll see you after.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Word of Charlotte's video shoot has got out to the press.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- Where have all these guys come from? - Sorry?
0:21:27 > 0:21:30And it's not long before the paparazzi show up.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Guys, out of the frame!
0:21:35 > 0:21:38I know they're people as well and everybody's got to make a living,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42but that's a pretty low living, just to wait around for people.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46It's creepy. Sorry. Whichever way you look at it, it's just creepy.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53# With all respect
0:21:53 > 0:22:00# I have to tell you you're incorrect
0:22:00 > 0:22:06# What you won't buy you wouldn't get...#
0:22:06 > 0:22:10At the height of her fame, Charlotte was hounded by the paparazzi.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14It was horrendous! It was horrendous for years and years.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17There would literally just be, like, four or five guys
0:22:17 > 0:22:20sat outside my front door from morning to night.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Just following me wherever I went.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25I just want to go.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27This press intrusion reached its peak
0:22:27 > 0:22:29when Charlotte got together
0:22:29 > 0:22:32with Welsh rugby star, Gavin Henson, in 2005.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35It was tough. It was really tough at the time.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37And I am very, very happy
0:22:37 > 0:22:39that I don't have to deal with that any more.
0:22:39 > 0:22:42Because if somebody was waiting outside my door nowadays
0:22:42 > 0:22:44with my kids...I'd just go off.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47There was a couple of times... See, that's when it...
0:22:47 > 0:22:51There was a couple of times when they turned up at the kids' school, or,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54you know, they followed me with the kids and then I was just, like...
0:22:54 > 0:22:59"I will kill you. Get out of my face now, before I kill you."
0:22:59 > 0:23:01# You just want to see
0:23:01 > 0:23:03# See the other side of me
0:23:03 > 0:23:05# And you don't know...#
0:23:05 > 0:23:09That same year, the Voice of an Angel became the voice of pop
0:23:09 > 0:23:11when Charlotte said goodbye to classical
0:23:11 > 0:23:14and released her album, Tissues and Issues.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19# I love it when you call my name
0:23:19 > 0:23:22# I love it when you call my name...#
0:23:22 > 0:23:25LAUGHTER
0:23:25 > 0:23:28I haven't really got that much to say about that period of my life.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Er... A, just because I feel like, I've said it all.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38B, there was all manner of tabloid shit going on at the time,
0:23:38 > 0:23:43um...but I just don't think it's very interesting any more.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48I'd never really written before, um...so I was just writing
0:23:48 > 0:23:51with lots of different people and this, that and the other.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54See if you can do that last note, Charlotte, just straight.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56Don't go into your viv at all.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00# The situation's up to you...#
0:24:00 > 0:24:03She was kind of semi-successful at it, I think.
0:24:03 > 0:24:04I mean, it wasn't Britney Spears,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08but it wasn't embarrassing by any stretch of the imagination.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12"And now there is no need to lie, I know the truth, just tell me why.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14"Why you were unfaithful."
0:24:14 > 0:24:16I listen back to some of the songs and think,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19"Aw, I was so little. Didn't have a clue!"
0:24:20 > 0:24:24Charlotte reached number two with her single, Crazy Chick.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27# You're driving me to insanity
0:24:27 > 0:24:31# All the things you do, you make me come unglued
0:24:31 > 0:24:32# I just can't help myself
0:24:32 > 0:24:36# I need professional help, help
0:24:36 > 0:24:40# I need professional help. #
0:24:40 > 0:24:43But from the moment she turned 16, the press were on the attack.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46All the headlines, they just wrote themselves.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49"Angel Falls from Grace," this, that and the other.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Um...though my favourite headline was,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54"Charlotte the Scruff has a Puff."
0:24:54 > 0:24:57That was the first time they ever caught me smoking!
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Generally, headlines are, like, "Oh, come on!
0:25:00 > 0:25:03"You could've thought of something a lot wittier than that!"
0:25:03 > 0:25:05But, "Charlotte the Scruff has a Puff,"
0:25:05 > 0:25:06because I was in joggers with a fag on,
0:25:06 > 0:25:08which they said was a huge rollup,
0:25:08 > 0:25:12as though trying to insinuate that I was smoking weed of something.
0:25:12 > 0:25:13It was a Berkeley Menthol.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18Um... But, yeah. I've never been a wild child.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22I was probably more responsible then than I am now.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27I'm pretty responsible, to be fair. Um... But...
0:25:27 > 0:25:32It was a beautiful stereotype for the press to be able to shape and mould.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34And I wasn't willing to curb my behaviour
0:25:34 > 0:25:39because somebody else thought what I was doing was outrageous. I was...
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I always said... And sometimes my nan used to be, like,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45"Oh, but, come on, love, maybe just stay in
0:25:45 > 0:25:48"or, you know, have a drink in the house with your friends."
0:25:48 > 0:25:51I was like, "No. You know, I'm 18, 19,
0:25:51 > 0:25:53"I want to go out and dance and, you know,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56"socialise with other people, like a normal human."
0:25:56 > 0:26:00If I did start curtailing my life and my behaviour and everything
0:26:00 > 0:26:03to what other people thought it should be, then I'd be a wreck now.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06# Why
0:26:06 > 0:26:10# Are we
0:26:10 > 0:26:16# Tangled up?
0:26:22 > 0:26:25# Interrelated... #
0:26:25 > 0:26:26Back at home in Cardiff,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29the Entanglement concerts are just a week away.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34This is so aggressive, Jonny.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36It is.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42ROCK MUSIC
0:26:42 > 0:26:43No!
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Charlotte calls a meeting with her friend and set designer Jo
0:26:49 > 0:26:50and lighting designer Argie.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55This is Argie.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58- Hello. You all right? - Do you want a cup of tea or coffee?
0:26:58 > 0:27:02- Coffee would be lovely. - Real coffee?- Yeah, absolutely.
0:27:02 > 0:27:03Darling, I don't do instant!
0:27:06 > 0:27:09So, within the Entanglement concert, there are two halves -
0:27:09 > 0:27:12the first half and the second half - aptly named, I thought.
0:27:12 > 0:27:13In the first half...
0:27:13 > 0:27:16They've both got quite different feels, so
0:27:16 > 0:27:19whilst the whole thing was supposed to be about trying to
0:27:19 > 0:27:21break down some barriers
0:27:21 > 0:27:23between the audience and performer,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25it just doesn't do it for me any more,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27just sort of...
0:27:27 > 0:27:28Standing on stage and not being
0:27:28 > 0:27:30connected to the people that
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I'm wanting to be connected to.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35Basically, it's a bit like a wormhole.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38- OK.- OK? So all in with the entanglement theory...
0:27:38 > 0:27:41You could have two wormholes, one on either side...
0:27:41 > 0:27:42Stop!
0:27:43 > 0:27:48The first half will, hopefully, feel like a big party -
0:27:48 > 0:27:54big crazy, space, physics, entanglement, connected, crazy party.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00That's sphere there and that sphere there are two half mirror balls.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03That's so cool!
0:28:03 > 0:28:05- Yeah.- Amazing!
0:28:06 > 0:28:10The second half has a different feel, so it should feel a bit more...
0:28:12 > 0:28:17..Um, a bit more calm, a bit more serene...
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Erm, a bit moodier, a bit darker.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25This is for the teddies on the tentacle lights.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I cannot believe my stupid mind.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29Thanks.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Yeah, so basically out from the
0:28:32 > 0:28:36skirt/dress/jellyfish/metal/cage thing...
0:28:39 > 0:28:42..which should look like a deep-sea jellyfish.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46From those lines of light,
0:28:46 > 0:28:47for the last two songs,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50whilst there are UV bubbles...
0:28:51 > 0:28:55These will be covered in fabric as well so they look a bit more,
0:28:55 > 0:28:57like...organic.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01Like an organism, rather than a strip of rope lights.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04And people will be attached to them.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08And then there's a choir in the second half, a 14-piece choir -
0:29:08 > 0:29:09London Contemporary Voices.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13But we've hardly had any rehearsal with them,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15so, fingers crossed.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19My brain's just going to start dripping out through my nostrils
0:29:19 > 0:29:21and my ear holes in a minute.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24I really feel like it is totally melted.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29It's going to leave my body in protest.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31PHONE BEEPS
0:29:31 > 0:29:34Look at this - this is just all questions.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36Just questions about this bloody show.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40SHE SIGHS
0:29:40 > 0:29:44With Jo, Argie and the tentacles on track, Charlotte heads
0:29:44 > 0:29:47back to see sculptor Rowley Clay to finalise plans
0:29:47 > 0:29:49for her metal skirt centre piece.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53What I wanted to do was to measure your waist.
0:29:53 > 0:29:54OK.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Oh, Christ, this is embarrassing - on camera as well!
0:29:59 > 0:30:02You might have to turn it off!
0:30:02 > 0:30:05That could work, but when we do the metal bars,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08they just need to come out quickly.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10- Yeah.- Sort of, you know...
0:30:10 > 0:30:12To accommodate my arse.
0:30:12 > 0:30:13Accommodate your...
0:30:13 > 0:30:14SHE LAUGHS
0:30:14 > 0:30:15..form.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20- Your rounded form.- Yes, absolutely.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23I'll be doing a lot of this, obviously.
0:30:23 > 0:30:25Go round, do a bit of this.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27- Yeah?- Bit of this.
0:30:27 > 0:30:29Three-foot circumference.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32You heard it here. My waist is three foot!
0:30:34 > 0:30:37THEY LAUGH
0:30:37 > 0:30:39The next morning,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42and it's the final rehearsal before the first of the two concerts.
0:30:47 > 0:30:52THEY JAM
0:30:52 > 0:30:54We're pretty much sorted.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56We've still got bits and bobs of tightening up to do.
0:30:56 > 0:30:58My throat's a bit sore.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00Which sucks.
0:31:04 > 0:31:07SOUND EFFECT FROM GUITAR
0:31:11 > 0:31:14Just keep it simple. It's not difficult.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Do you want to do it then?
0:31:17 > 0:31:20- What?- If it's not so difficult?
0:31:20 > 0:31:24It's not too difficult, keep it simple, is what I'm saying.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27As the pressure of the final rehearsal rises, Charlotte
0:31:27 > 0:31:30receives news that an interview she has done has created a storm.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36I had an interview with Stylist Magazine,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40just to make sure that people know about the EP and the gigs and stuff.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Anyway, I must have got a bit ranty, but I don't really realise
0:31:43 > 0:31:46when I do it. And I don't realise that other people don't.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49I basically said that Piers Morgan was a prick,
0:31:49 > 0:31:52'when I met him when I was 17.'
0:31:52 > 0:31:56And the one thing that gets my goat is the increasingly large number
0:31:56 > 0:32:00of whingeing, whining, prima donna celebrities,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03who've got nothing better to do with their lazy good-for-nothing days
0:32:03 > 0:32:06than whinge and moan about the newspapers.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10He tweeted me a couple of days ago, saying something like...
0:32:10 > 0:32:12Because I called him a prick in this interview...
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Like, "That's a shame, because I really enjoyed meeting you,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18"even though you weren't the brightest bulb in the box...
0:32:18 > 0:32:20"or in any box."
0:32:20 > 0:32:24And then he's got loads of abuse off people on Twitter and stuff.
0:32:24 > 0:32:27Which I shouldn't condone, but I sort do.
0:32:27 > 0:32:30I think Charlotte always courts controversy,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32regardless of what she says,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35probably because she's just very honest and very blunt.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38And that's just her personality.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43So she always says things as they are, hence the papers love that
0:32:43 > 0:32:45and latch onto that.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47She's using the media that, at points,
0:32:47 > 0:32:50abused her and she's turning it back round and saying,
0:32:50 > 0:32:54"OK. I'm coming after you and I'm going to stand up for what's right."
0:32:54 > 0:32:56And do you know what? She's right.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00- # See the way she hangs her head - Ah-ah-ah
0:33:00 > 0:33:03# If you love her you should tell her why
0:33:03 > 0:33:06# And if you ever said life isn't fair
0:33:06 > 0:33:09- # This could be your chance... # - Ah-ahah
0:33:12 > 0:33:15Keen to move on and get back to plugging her music,
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Charlotte agrees to a phone interview with The Guardian.
0:33:19 > 0:33:23Yeah, I'm in the middle of rehearsal, but it's OK.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25But it isn't going the way she wants.
0:33:25 > 0:33:27You seriously need to do some research, dude,
0:33:27 > 0:33:29cos I apologised for that,
0:33:29 > 0:33:34cos actually it was an incredibly flippant thing for me to say.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41The press have also reported that no-one turned up for Charlotte's
0:33:41 > 0:33:43video shoot in Cardiff.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45Just not true.
0:33:46 > 0:33:51There was loads. There was like... 150 people in the video in the end.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Yeah. All they know how to do is be negative. It's easier.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02SHE MOUTHS
0:34:03 > 0:34:08I'd describe my relationship with the press as...
0:34:08 > 0:34:09Uh...
0:34:14 > 0:34:15..Err...
0:34:16 > 0:34:18..complicated.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21- NEWS READER:- Charlotte Church has been in the public eye
0:34:21 > 0:34:22since she was a teenager.
0:34:22 > 0:34:24She described almost daily surveillance,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26cameras hidden in her garden,
0:34:26 > 0:34:29and offers to boyfriends to talk about her private life.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34In 2011, Charlotte gave evidence at the Leveson Enquiry into press
0:34:34 > 0:34:37standards and phone hacking.
0:34:37 > 0:34:42Why is it OK that an editor,
0:34:42 > 0:34:45or someone senior in a newspaper could
0:34:45 > 0:34:50pay an unemployed boy from Cardiff
0:34:50 > 0:34:54tens of thousands of pounds to
0:34:54 > 0:34:59reveal intimate sexual details about another 17-year-old girl?
0:34:59 > 0:35:02The police come to you and they say,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05"We believe your phone has been hacked."
0:35:05 > 0:35:08'I just couldn't believe it,'
0:35:08 > 0:35:11but then, could believe it cos loads of stuff made sense.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15But the thing is, when it was all happening,
0:35:15 > 0:35:19we were saying stuff like, "I swear they're listening.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21"They've got to have something.
0:35:21 > 0:35:22"This is crazy."
0:35:22 > 0:35:26But then, it's so far-fetched, it's so sci-fi,
0:35:26 > 0:35:28so Big Brother that you're like,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30"No way, that's not possible."
0:35:30 > 0:35:33And so, it was just a totally ridiculous, far-out thought.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35But then to find out that, actually, there was
0:35:35 > 0:35:38lots of stuff going on like that.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41Nothing was deemed off-limits by those who pursued me and my family,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44just to make money for a multi-national news corporation.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49Charlotte at the Leveson was probably the first time
0:35:49 > 0:35:52the public got to see a different side of Charlotte Church.
0:35:52 > 0:35:57Not necessarily engaging with her musically, but suddenly realising
0:35:57 > 0:36:02that this girl, because for a lot of people, she's still a girl,
0:36:02 > 0:36:06erm, you know, really had something to say.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10We know what a lot of these papers were doing was wrong,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13what a lot of the media was portraying wasn't true,
0:36:13 > 0:36:18or wasn't healthy and wasn't right.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21And she was kind of saying, I'm not going to stand up for it.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23And I think that's really brave,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25because even though this whole thing was about not
0:36:25 > 0:36:27being in the limelight,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31the whole enquiry was about not disclosing secrets to the press,
0:36:31 > 0:36:35she was putting herself in the limelight to make that point.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37And that takes guts.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Of course, she has got an incredible aura,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43so the press are fascinated by her.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47So anything she says publicly is news,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51and it's great that she's used that for something quite powerful.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56She's...you know, Voice of an Angel,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59and you don't want to be on the wrong end of that voice, do you?!
0:36:59 > 0:37:06# Love
0:37:06 > 0:37:10# Love
0:37:10 > 0:37:13# Love... #
0:37:13 > 0:37:16I love my family. They're all bonkers.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20But they've been incredible.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24We've all been through this crazy experience together really.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26And they've been amazing.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31And they're totally the reason why I'm...
0:37:31 > 0:37:33really normal.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35Painfully normal!
0:37:35 > 0:37:38They made sure that I wasn't having no airs and graces and this,
0:37:38 > 0:37:40that and the other,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42and that I'd always remember that I
0:37:42 > 0:37:44was a Llandaff girl through and through.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48Erm... Yeah, and they're incredible. I love them to bits.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51They're totally mad. And I love them.
0:37:51 > 0:37:52Oh, Mum!
0:37:52 > 0:37:55It was only one teddy and you took it out!
0:37:55 > 0:37:57< Charle...
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Stop filming me, I'm having a tantrum.
0:38:01 > 0:38:05As Charlotte grew up under the media spotlight, her mum Maria was
0:38:05 > 0:38:07constantly at her daughter's side.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11She was always there making sure...
0:38:11 > 0:38:14Loads of stuff with contracts, that lawyers would miss,
0:38:14 > 0:38:15cos it's just another job,
0:38:15 > 0:38:19she'd be there like, "No, no! No! What about this clause here?"
0:38:19 > 0:38:23And whatnot, and making sure amending schedules,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26when, you know, I went to Japan for example, they had me scheduled
0:38:26 > 0:38:29to be working from like 6:30 in the morning till 10:00 at night,
0:38:29 > 0:38:31and she was just like, "I don't think so."
0:38:31 > 0:38:33"She's got to do three hours of tuition, she's got to do this,
0:38:33 > 0:38:36"that and the other, she's got to sleep."
0:38:36 > 0:38:41"And can we have a day off so we can go somewhere fun, cos she's little?"
0:38:41 > 0:38:44Are we going to do anything else after this?
0:38:45 > 0:38:48I want to go home!
0:38:50 > 0:38:53She got a really bad rep for that, you know,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57loads of people in the industry used to be like,
0:38:57 > 0:39:01"Christ! Maria Church! She's hardcore!"
0:39:01 > 0:39:02But, yeah,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05A, she was really good at it - did all the business side and everything.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08She had a real natural aptitude for that sort of stuff.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11And, B, it was me who was going through it all,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15so she wasn't going to take any shit from anyone.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18Charlotte has now embraced the same protective attitude with her
0:39:18 > 0:39:20own children.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22I've got two kids, who are five
0:39:22 > 0:39:24and six - a boy and a girl.
0:39:24 > 0:39:27I had them when I was 21...
0:39:27 > 0:39:29I had Ruby when I was 21 and then
0:39:29 > 0:39:33I had Dexter when I was...22? Yes, 22.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36When they were little, I made some really bad choices
0:39:36 > 0:39:38and did some OK Magazine things, which
0:39:38 > 0:39:42I felt awful about immediately, and gave all my money away to charity.
0:39:42 > 0:39:47Cos I just thought, "This is awful. I can't do this. This is bad."
0:39:47 > 0:39:51But it wasn't singularly my choice, et cetera, so on and so forth.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53But nowadays, I would never...nothing.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55It's just not worth it.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57I just want to keep them safe and, you know...
0:39:57 > 0:40:01Because they're not, you know, just my tiny little children,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04or my possessions, they're little people who have their own minds
0:40:04 > 0:40:08and will have their own lives and make decisions for themselves.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10And I'm not going to scupper that now.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14And that's also, sort of, why I don't really want them in this film.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21Wednesday the 5th of March.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Charlotte and the band arrive at the
0:40:23 > 0:40:26Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, for the first of her two gigs.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Hi!
0:40:29 > 0:40:30- MAN:- Hello!
0:40:30 > 0:40:33- How goes?- Very good. Very good.
0:40:33 > 0:40:34It's all, pretty much working.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38But after a manic fortnight, Charlotte is feeling the pressure.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42I literally spent the entirety of Sunday just having a cry.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46It just all got a bit much for me and I just...
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Basically, when I went in the shower in the morning,
0:40:48 > 0:40:51the hot water wasn't on, and that was it.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55That was it - I was done. I just sort of had a little cry.
0:40:55 > 0:40:56But it's fine now.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58All is well.
0:40:58 > 0:40:59And now, this looks great.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06This is Victoria Gugenheim, possibly one of the best names in the world.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11Erm... Yeah, and she is a world-class body paint artist.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I've had weirder things put on my face.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17That sounds really bad! But, erm...
0:41:17 > 0:41:19THEY LAUGH
0:41:19 > 0:41:22I'm going to go get a drink, does anyone want one?
0:41:22 > 0:41:23Ooh!
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Oh!
0:41:25 > 0:41:27- What do you fancy? - Is there any chance of a cup of tea?
0:41:27 > 0:41:29- Cup of char?- Yes, please.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31Milk and two sugars, please.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33- Two sugars?- Absolutely. No messing about!
0:41:33 > 0:41:35That's how I like it. I'll remember that.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37I feel like I'm back in the womb.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42CHOIR SINGS
0:41:42 > 0:41:45This'll be the first time we've rehearsed with the choir,
0:41:45 > 0:41:50which is really scary, cos they're a really big part of the second half.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52CHARLOTTE SINGS AND CHOIR HARMONISES
0:42:08 > 0:42:11Sounds a bit naive really, but she can really sing!
0:42:11 > 0:42:14There's a reason she was the Voice of an Angel,
0:42:14 > 0:42:16and there was a reason she was in the chart.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18It's cos she's got a really good voice.
0:42:18 > 0:42:21On those, "Ah-ooh," can you really get that bottom note right,
0:42:21 > 0:42:24so it sounds more like a wolfhound?
0:42:24 > 0:42:25So like...
0:42:25 > 0:42:27# Ah-ooh... #
0:42:28 > 0:42:30# Ah-ooh...#
0:42:30 > 0:42:31So really give it a, "Aargh!"
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Her voice is just totally flexible.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37The fact that she's done a pop career, an opera career,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40and now it's lending itself perfectly to something that's
0:42:40 > 0:42:45a very high art indeed, being able to use your voice as an instrument.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47So, yeah, totally flexible and incredible.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53CHOIR HARMONISES Lovely.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56That was pretty much the first time we'd heard the choir,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58and on the stage and...
0:42:58 > 0:43:00We did little bits with the band,
0:43:00 > 0:43:03but then we concentrated on the choral group.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06It sounded amazing.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10Charlotte's partner Jonny has scored all the choir's parts.
0:43:10 > 0:43:11We've got the London show,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14and we've got a few more rehearsals before we do Cardiff.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16So, it's, you know...
0:43:16 > 0:43:18We've some time to make some mistakes -
0:43:18 > 0:43:20not that I think we'll make any...
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Who's dragged the cynic out ya?
0:43:22 > 0:43:25But you need a little bit of wiggle room, don't you?
0:43:25 > 0:43:28What? I don't want realism right now, thanks.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31- OK. It's all going to be perfect. - Thank you.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Crikey! Ruin the fantasy, man.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35But with just a few hours
0:43:35 > 0:43:39until the doors open, the pressure is getting to Charlotte.
0:43:39 > 0:43:40Look, we haven't got time.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43We haven't got time.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46We've got an hour left and we've got to do the whole of the second set.
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Can we just do this quickly, please?
0:43:50 > 0:43:52If you're fucking insisting upon it,
0:43:52 > 0:43:54then you need to leave more time, Dave.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58You have to leave more time...and maybe don't do that massive
0:43:58 > 0:44:00bubble crash thing.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04Because it's too much like, "What the fuck's happening now?"
0:44:04 > 0:44:07So maybe just start the beat and bring in that bit.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11And I'm going to kill you afterwards.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14- Can you just go and stand out front, Charlotte?- No!
0:44:16 > 0:44:19This is the first time Charlotte has showcased her new
0:44:19 > 0:44:22music on a big stage, and with the press
0:44:22 > 0:44:25and her media friends in the crowd there's a lot at stake.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31Tonight, I'm just expecting to see Charlotte do her thing.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33She never stops surprising me, she's always doing something
0:44:33 > 0:44:38ridiculous and out there and experimentational.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41And for someone who's lived as much as she has,
0:44:41 > 0:44:44and done as much as she has, this is the natural place for her to be.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47- FEMALE:- She goes on at half past.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49Yeah, yeah, so...
0:44:49 > 0:44:53I get quiet before I go on.
0:44:53 > 0:44:55And really miserable.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58I've known Charlotte for a few years now.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00I remember when she used to have her own show,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03and we went on and we did a Christmas duet together.
0:45:03 > 0:45:07And I remember being blown away by how powerful her voice was.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10So I'm really excited about tonight.
0:45:10 > 0:45:12I don't know too much about it, other than...
0:45:12 > 0:45:14And I've deliberately blocked a lot of stuff out cos
0:45:14 > 0:45:17I just want to be really surprised by the whole thing.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20CHARLOTTE SINGS SCALES
0:45:25 > 0:45:27CHARLOTTE SINGS SCALES
0:45:32 > 0:45:35Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!
0:45:36 > 0:45:39You look great. You look phenomenal.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43You look like a Bond villain in a zombie film.
0:45:43 > 0:45:44Zombie Bond!
0:45:46 > 0:45:48OK. We're going to go to backstage then.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52- All right. - See you later!- See you in a minute.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56SHE SIGHS
0:45:56 > 0:45:59OK! Get on stage.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29Do you want to stay back?
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Do you want to stay back for now, or come on with us?
0:46:34 > 0:46:37- You come on last, then.- OK.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45CROWD CHEERS
0:46:52 > 0:46:55The next day, and Charlotte has a hectic round of radio
0:46:55 > 0:46:59interviews to plug the launch of EP Four.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03So that was Charlotte Church's new single Love Alone from her
0:47:03 > 0:47:05new EP called Four.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09Because of the internet, there are so many people trying to make
0:47:09 > 0:47:11music, so it is so difficult to get your voice heard.
0:47:11 > 0:47:14I look forward to playing Love Alone every day next week.
0:47:14 > 0:47:16Nice. Thanks. Thank you.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19The press have also been reacting to her London show.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21The reaction has been great after the London gig.
0:47:21 > 0:47:22Totally sort of...
0:47:24 > 0:47:27..way better than I expected.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29I don't know what I was expecting.
0:47:30 > 0:47:34But it was really positive, and I'm not used to super-positive stuff.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Generally, always comes with, you know,
0:47:39 > 0:47:44a little bit of a dig from some areas of the press or whatever.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48Loads of the set pieces we have with the tentacles and the bubbles and the
0:47:48 > 0:47:53neon and all of it, it sort of had the exact effect that I wanted it to,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57in the way that the audience are massively a part of it,
0:47:57 > 0:47:59and really involved.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03And then you're just left with a feeling of real goodwill.
0:48:03 > 0:48:04It's just like, I don't know,
0:48:04 > 0:48:07it just feels really loving and warm and nice.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09CROWD CHEERS
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Thank you very much. Good night.
0:48:14 > 0:48:17But despite the good reviews, it's proving to be an uphill
0:48:17 > 0:48:20struggle for Charlotte and the band.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22The whole way across, we've been putting loads of love
0:48:22 > 0:48:26and energy and passion into this one project,
0:48:26 > 0:48:30and it's been falling on deaf ears, to a certain extent.
0:48:30 > 0:48:31Like...
0:48:32 > 0:48:36It's just not reaching the people that we want it to,
0:48:36 > 0:48:40and so this kind of feels a little bit like the last stand -
0:48:40 > 0:48:44you, know, all we do...
0:48:44 > 0:48:47- It's like Zulu!- Yeah!
0:48:47 > 0:48:49All we can do now is create this thing
0:48:49 > 0:48:52and let that be a testament to what we've done in the past
0:48:52 > 0:48:55and if, still then,
0:48:55 > 0:48:57nobody gives a shit, then,
0:48:57 > 0:49:01we're clearly in the wrong industry!
0:49:01 > 0:49:07Because of this past, because of this bundle of, you know,
0:49:07 > 0:49:10tabloidism that's followed her the whole of her life,
0:49:10 > 0:49:12perhaps the credible music press
0:49:12 > 0:49:15aren't paying any attention whatsoever.
0:49:15 > 0:49:17She's clearly doing what she wants to do.
0:49:17 > 0:49:22She's not doing this to deliberately annoy people, or to make her
0:49:22 > 0:49:25life harder, she's doing it cos this is what she wants to do.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27It's just, what she wants to do is
0:49:27 > 0:49:30a much more difficult thing to convey to people.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32It's not popular music in the traditional sense.
0:49:32 > 0:49:38It's not going to hit the top ten and be on daytime Radio 1.
0:49:38 > 0:49:43But lots of music isn't - there's only ten songs in a top ten!
0:49:43 > 0:49:46Because she's chosen to do it her own way, DIY,
0:49:46 > 0:49:50and independently, and without major backers,
0:49:50 > 0:49:54then it's hard to get the breaks.
0:49:54 > 0:49:58And that's the reality for so many unsigned artists
0:49:58 > 0:50:01and for so many emerging artists.
0:50:01 > 0:50:03If you set up your own label, do your own publishing,
0:50:03 > 0:50:06got a bit of management, it can still be really hard.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08There is an audience for this.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12There's a lot of people, like myself, that love music like this.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17# Last night was the end of radio
0:50:17 > 0:50:23# The DJ said to think of all of the songs you used to know
0:50:23 > 0:50:26# And keep them safely in your head
0:50:26 > 0:50:29# Till you can sing them with someone who knows them... #
0:50:31 > 0:50:34Friday March the 7th, and the big day has arrived -
0:50:34 > 0:50:36it's the Cardiff gig.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39I've got quite a lot of my family and friends coming along tonight.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41I'm so excited, I can't tell you.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45Obviously I've seen, on Facebook,
0:50:45 > 0:50:47all the different clips from the London gig,
0:50:47 > 0:50:49so I just cant wait.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52We've got some hecklers.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56I've told them, "It's being filmed, it's a serious show,
0:50:56 > 0:51:00"please, don't heckle me." But we'll see.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02- No! No.- She's warned me. She has warned me.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04We've had our warnings.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07We got a gagging order.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10I just can't believe it's all worked, you know?
0:51:10 > 0:51:13All of these abstract ideas...
0:51:13 > 0:51:16that started of with, "I wonder if I could have a light-up skirt that
0:51:16 > 0:51:20"looked like a jellyfish that grew tentacles for this particular song,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23"and there would just be a lot of connectivity about it?"
0:51:23 > 0:51:29Yeah, I can't believe that people get it, and it's sort of...
0:51:29 > 0:51:34it evokes the feelings that I thought it might, you know?
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Cos with a lot of these things you just don't know how on earth
0:51:37 > 0:51:39it's going to work.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42After working around the clock, Rowley's metal skirt
0:51:42 > 0:51:44is forged and centre stage.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46I made it to the gig - I'm here.
0:51:46 > 0:51:48I've managed it.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50I've succumbed to all my other commitments to be here for
0:51:50 > 0:51:53Charlotte and to see it all happen and see if the skirt
0:51:53 > 0:51:58actually stays together, doesn't fall apart and...
0:51:58 > 0:52:00see how it looks.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04Set designer Jo and Charlotte's nanny Leanne frantically add
0:52:04 > 0:52:05the finishing touches.
0:52:05 > 0:52:07I was lucky to get
0:52:07 > 0:52:09three-and-a-half-hours sleep last night, to be honest.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13Costume designer Zoe ropes the band into covering the light tentacles.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17Charlotte's scientific odyssey is about to hit Cardiff.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21- MAN:- Good to go!
0:52:21 > 0:52:22THEY SING
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Sh! Sh!
0:52:34 > 0:52:36MUFFLED CHEERING
0:52:43 > 0:52:46CHEERING
0:52:49 > 0:52:50Hey, Cardiff.
0:52:52 > 0:52:53How you doing?
0:52:54 > 0:52:57MUSIC: "Glitterbombed" by Charlotte Church
0:52:57 > 0:53:00# It caught my eye
0:53:00 > 0:53:02# So I brushed my arm
0:53:06 > 0:53:10# Just a speck of silver light
0:53:13 > 0:53:18# Trapped on the peak of my fingertip
0:53:22 > 0:53:25# Just a speck of silver light
0:53:25 > 0:53:28# Just a mote to know you by... #
0:53:30 > 0:53:33This show has been such a massive labour of love,
0:53:33 > 0:53:38with lots of crazy differing emotions going on,
0:53:38 > 0:53:40so I hope that all of that comes across,
0:53:40 > 0:53:43that it's really full of love and it's really real.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51I think she's had to learn about what she wants to achieve,
0:53:51 > 0:53:56and as an audience and as a crowd going with her on that journey,
0:53:56 > 0:54:00there's certainly been some brilliant moments.
0:54:01 > 0:54:09# I've got glitter in my wounds
0:54:09 > 0:54:13# Since I was glitterbombed by you
0:54:13 > 0:54:17# Since I was glitterbombed by you
0:54:17 > 0:54:25# Now I sparkle when I move
0:54:25 > 0:54:30# Since I was glitterbombed by you
0:54:30 > 0:54:33# Since I was glitterbombed by you
0:54:33 > 0:54:36# What once was yours... #
0:54:38 > 0:54:41You can tell that her and the band have really clicked musically
0:54:41 > 0:54:44and the jamming sessions and all those practices that they've had,
0:54:44 > 0:54:46obviously something really special happened,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49because it sounds like a proper band.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51She sounds like a front woman on a mission.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55Erm... And I think it's really interesting
0:54:55 > 0:54:58and really exciting to listen to as well.
0:54:58 > 0:55:01MUSIC: "I Can Dream" by Charlotte Church
0:55:05 > 0:55:08# Oh, I will deliver when I sleep
0:55:08 > 0:55:09# I deliver you and wake
0:55:11 > 0:55:13# Oh, with a shiver when I sleep
0:55:13 > 0:55:17# I will shake myself to face the day
0:55:17 > 0:55:19# Oh, I will deliver when I sleep
0:55:19 > 0:55:21# I make promises... #
0:55:22 > 0:55:25She's kind of creating her own little world it seems,
0:55:25 > 0:55:26at the moment.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30She's kind of trailblazing her own path, her own musical destiny.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32And all power to her.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36MUSIC: "How Not To Be Surprised When You're A Ghost" by Charlotte Church
0:55:36 > 0:55:39# Nothing will be as it seems
0:55:40 > 0:55:44# Those rivers houses and trees
0:55:44 > 0:55:49# Are not the same ones that you knew
0:55:50 > 0:55:54# But they still tug at your heart
0:55:54 > 0:55:58# The memory of your heart
0:55:58 > 0:56:03# You mustn't let it get you down
0:56:03 > 0:56:07# You mustn't let it get you down
0:56:07 > 0:56:14# You mustn't let it get you down
0:56:16 > 0:56:22# Just think what you could get done
0:56:24 > 0:56:26# There's no timing
0:56:26 > 0:56:31# You can put to bed, ever way... #
0:56:32 > 0:56:34She's really talented, you know.
0:56:34 > 0:56:40Like, she can sing, she could belt out an opera, she could sing you
0:56:40 > 0:56:44a pop song and she can sing all this experimental stuff.
0:56:44 > 0:56:46That's enough for most people.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50She presents on TV, she does some acting,
0:56:50 > 0:56:53she can stand up in court and speak on behalf of the nation.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56She just doesn't seem to stop.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00# See the way she hides behind her hair
0:57:00 > 0:57:04# If you love her you should set it right
0:57:04 > 0:57:07# If you ever said life isn't fair
0:57:07 > 0:57:15# This could be your chance to get it right... #
0:57:20 > 0:57:23I don't have any regrets...in life.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26Because...
0:57:26 > 0:57:28it's a waste of time.
0:57:28 > 0:57:30Such a waste of time and energy.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34Like, learn from stuff, but to dwell on stuff in the past that you
0:57:34 > 0:57:37wish you could have done differently, when there's no way to do that,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40then there's no point in spending energy.
0:57:40 > 0:57:45You know, the present is difficult enough and is enough to get through,
0:57:45 > 0:57:47so...no regrets.
0:57:47 > 0:57:53# Love
0:57:54 > 0:57:59# Love
0:57:59 > 0:58:03# Love
0:58:04 > 0:58:08# Love
0:58:10 > 0:58:13# Love
0:58:14 > 0:58:18Love, love, love... #
0:58:18 > 0:58:22I still feel like I'm sort of on a musical journey, which is
0:58:22 > 0:58:26really cheesy, but I can't think of any other way to say it.
0:58:27 > 0:58:29It's exploratory,
0:58:29 > 0:58:33and I'm still sort of finding exactly
0:58:33 > 0:58:36what it is that's I want to do.
0:58:36 > 0:58:38CHEERING
0:58:38 > 0:58:40Thank you very much.
0:58:42 > 0:58:43But I haven't finished yet.