page_title: Charlotte Church
section_title: 2003–2009: Pursuing pop career; Tissues and Issues
hierarchical_section_title: Charlotte Church / History / 2003–2009: Pursuing pop career; Tissues and Issues
caption_attribution_description: Charlotte Church performing at Selfridges
context_page_description: Charlotte Maria Church is a British singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff, Wales.
  She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States. In 2010, she was reported to be worth as much as £11m. She hosted a Channel 4 chat show titled The Charlotte Church Show. Church released her first album in five years, titled Back to Scratch, on 17 October 2010. Church is a soprano.
context_section_description: In 2003 Church teamed up with trance music producer Jurgen Vries to sing vocals on his track The Opera Song (Brave New World). She was credited on the records as CMC (her initials) as it was her first foray into pop music. The song reached number three in the UK Singles Chart, Church's second highest charting single and Vries' highest.
  In 2005, Church issued her first pop album Tissues and Issues. Four singles were moderately successful in the UK with "Crazy Chick" reaching number two, "Call My Name" number ten, "Even God Can't Change the Past" number seventeen, and "Moodswings" number fourteen. Although these were released in Australia as well, they failed to reach the same level of success there. Church's pop album was released in the US through Amazon.com MP3 shop, and iTunes in 2009.
  In April 2006, Church performed three concerts in Glasgow, London, and Cardiff, in venues holding between 2,000 and 3,000 people; the dates at London and Cardiff were sold out. Supported by Irish band the New Druids, Church performed a mix of tracks from her debut pop album and a number of pop covers including Prince's "Kiss" and Gloria Estefan's "Rhythm is Gonna Get You".
  In November 2006, it was announced that she and Sony had parted ways. According to her publicist, this was a mutual decision reached after a series of meetings throughout the year, which were held since her six-album contract had ended. There was speculation that Church had decided to take a break from her singing career to focus on her television show. Others suggested that her pop releases' chart performance contributed to the decision. Yet another factor was her pregnancy with her daughter, Ruby Megan Henson.
  In 2007, Church became Patron of the charity The Topsy Foundation UK, helping to raise awareness and funds for its work to support rural communities in South Africa, empowering people infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS, through medical care, social support and skills development.
  Articles emerged in the UK press in March and April 2008 stating that she was still training classically, considering a return to classical crossover. Church has sung in religious services in Taizé. She has also performed before Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and Bill Clinton.
  In June 2008, she became pregnant with her son, Dexter Lloyd Henson. In Church's latest interview, she mentioned she would be ready to work on more music in a few months, although she was not sure whether she would further develop her career in classical, pop, or both, as she loves both genres for different reasons. Church also mentioned that she has been working with a vocal instructor to keep her voice in check, and while she has never put a focus on her body image, she would like to get back into pre-pregnancy shape before resuming work.
  In June 2009, Church was interviewed for Hello! magazine, and discussed her life since having her second child. She said that she was currently in the studio, resuming work on a new album and that her partner, Gavin Henson, had been strongly encouraging her to get back to work pursuing the career that she has greatly missed since settling down.
caption: Church performing at Selfridges, 2005
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