From late-night calls with Stevie Wonder to tours with Frank Sinatra, the US singer seemed primed for pop success \u2013 so what caused her to hide from the public for decades? Finally back in the spotlight, she tells her remarkable story<\/p>\n
\u2018I can\u2019t believe this is actually happening!\u201d Suzette Charles says on a video call. At 63, she is about to release her self-titled debut album 33 years later than she had hoped, and her disbelief is understandable. Crowned the first biracial Miss America in 1984, aged 20, in controversial circumstances, Charles went on to suffer a lifetime of adversity. She faced a distressing tour with Bill Cosby and mistreatment by record labels, and her debut album was shelved when her songwriters Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) \u2013 who had made huge hits for Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and more \u2013 split up. Then came a decades-long marriage that seemed to end her artistic career altogether. \u201cYou can\u2019t make this stuff up,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
But Charles has reunited with Mike Stock to finally finish the most emotional of projects, her appropriately self-titled debut. \u201cI love the way the album\u2019s turned out,\u201d Stock says. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with Paul McCartney, Donna Summer, Cliff Richard \u2013 as a singer, I\u2019d put Suzette in that bracket.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a763fda85ca5923055d2dcd1fc2b11596431bc62\/172_0_1476_1181\/master\/1476.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=46e5d00f00faa3e4a06e8cbc251c7642\" "\\"\u2018I")
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