British classical singer, 13, says she doesn’t mind the fame but won’t go pop

Faryl Smith embraces Charlotte Church comparison

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Famous before age 14 for classical singing on a TV talent show. A debut album in the top 10 on British pop charts. What next?

For Charlotte Church a decade ago, it was unwanted tabloid attention and a transition to pop music that fell flat.

Thirteen-year-old Faryl Smith now faces the same question. A finalist on last season’s “Britain’s Got Talent,” her debut CD, “Faryl,” sold over 150,000 copies in the United Kingdom; it was released this month in the United States.

Faryl says she plans to stay in school and continue voice training with her longtime teacher in the small town of Kettering, about 80 miles north of London. And though she listens to Lady Gaga and Beyonce, Faryl won’t go pop like Church did.

“I think people enjoyed it more when she sang classical music because they knew her as the classical singer,” Faryl said in an interview. “And I just want to kind of stay true to what I do and stay classical.”

Not that the skinny brunette entirely minds comparisons to Church.

“People in the U.K. make her sound like quite bad, and say she went down the wrong route,” Faryl said. “She had quite a lot of bad press. … I don’t really see what’s wrong. She’s got her own show, she’s got a lovely family, she’s got kids now. And I wouldn’t mind that life.”

Faryl says she’s benefited from the string of classical singing sensations turned out by the Simon Cowell-created “Britain’s Got Talent” — from 2007 winner Paul Potts to this season’s darling, Susan Boyle.

“I think that when people watch shows like that, they want to be like them,” she said. “When a lot of people are listening to classical music, it kind of helps.”

Faryl first sang in public at age 7 in a school nativity play. Classmates and parents praised her voice, so she joined a choir, started lessons and then competitions. She begged her parents to let her go on TV, where Cowell described her performance of “Ave Maria” ”extraordinary.”

Songs for her CD range from traditionals like “Brahm’s Lullaby” and “Shenandoah” to crossover tunes like ABBA’s “The Way Old Friends Do” and John Denver’s “Annie’s Song.” Though she doesn’t expect it to sell as well in the United States, Faryl embarked on a promotional tour that included her first visits to Los Angeles and New York.

Her father, a former building health and safety inspector, and mother, a hairdresser, are now worried the spotlight may get too bright for their daughter, who showed up to an interview at her publicist’s office in a flowery black sundress with black tights.

“You go from nothing to all of a sudden you’re in the paper, you’re on the TV. It all happens quite fast. And it’s quite hard to take in. It’s very overwhelming,” Faryl said.

“It can be quite scary for my parents. But I think I’ve never had any bad press, touch wood, and hopefully I won’t, and everyone has been really, really lovely. I think I can handle it well.”

On the Net:

www.farylmusic.com/