Pocketful of Sunshine

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Pocketful of Sunshine
Pocketful of Sunshine cover
Studio album by Natasha Bedingfield
Released Flag of the United States January 22, 2008
Flag of the United Kingdom July 14, 2008
Genre R&B, pop, reggae, soul, rock
Length 48:09
Label Epic, Sony BMG
Producer Rodney Jerkins, Andrew Frampton, Steve Kipner, Wayne Wilkins, John Shanks, The Runaways, Toby Gad, J. R. Rotem, Patrick Leonard, Mike Elizondo, Greg Kurstin, Danja, Danielle Brisebois, Wayne Rodriguez
Professional reviews
Natasha Bedingfield chronology
N.B.
(2007)		 Pocketful of Sunshine
(2008)
Singles from Pocketful of Sunshine
  1. "Love like This"
    Released: October 2, 2007
  2. "Pocketful of Sunshine"
    Released: February 11, 2008

Pocketful of Sunshine is the second North American and third European album by English pop singer Natasha Bedingfield. It was released by Epic Records on January 22, 2008 and received mixed reviews.[1] The album includes new songs as well as tracks from her second European album N.B., which was released in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2007. Pocketful of Sunshine was a top three album in the United States,[2] and and both its lead single "Love like This", featuring Sean Kingston and second single "Pocketful of Sunshine" were top twenty hits.[3]

The album featured collaborations with Jamaican American reggae artist Sean Kingston and Maroon 5's lead singer Adam Levine, and was influenced by hip hop music, electronic music, and reggae.[4][5] Most of the songs focus on love and relationships, as opposed to her debut album Unwritten, which dealt with independence and opportunism.[6]

Contents

[edit] Critical response

Pocketful of Sunshine received mostly positive reviews from pop music critics. Kerri Mason, Billboard reviewer, gave the album positive response. Mason wrote ,"The album has an undeniable flip-flop feel throughout; like the unplugged soul-chick hoedown Beyoncé tried to conjure at the end of the "Irreplaceable" video."[7] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone wrote that "Bedingfield doesn't have much to say", but commented that "the packaging in which she wraps her openhearted thoughts makes Sunshine a decent little pop record".[8] Bill Lamb of About.com noted that "unfortunately, her second solo album, massively reworked from her corresponding second album in the UK, is simply another professional, corporately polished pop record. Songs and vocals are reasonably solid..." but, he added, "it's hard to hear inspiration."[9]

Despite the positive responses, the album received some criticism as well. Los Angeles Times was disappointed that "I Wanna Have Your Babies" was not included on Pocketful of Sunshine and wrote that "as awkward as the song is, it fleshes out Bedingfield's vision better than Jerkins' Mary J. Blige "Angel" or Rotem's Fergalicious "Piece of Your Heart". The album ending up receiving 2.5 stars out of 4.[10]. All Music Guide gave the album a mixed review and described it as "awkwardly assembled", and added that it "feels inorganic in a way that Unwritten did not, less personal and more vetted by various A&R executives".[5] Glenn Gambo in a review for Newsday gave the album C+ rating, and wrote that the album "barely registers" and was "full of pale copies of other successful pop [songs] that don't necessarily work for Bedingfield".[11]

[edit] Chart performance and sales

Pocketful of Sunshine debuted on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States at number three, selling 49,000 copies. The first week sales surpassed her debut album, Unwritten, which sold 34,000 copies its first week of release.[2] The album has become the third highest debut by a United Kingdom-signed female artist in Billboard history, after Joss Stone, who entered at number two and now Leona Lewis, after her debut at number one.[12] The album, however, quickly fell down the chart. After debuting at number three, it fell to number twenty-one the next week, and the following week to number fifty-three. After performing on American Idol, sales of the album and single "Pocketful of Sunshine" increased considerably. The album jumped from number ninety-seven to number twenty-four on the Billboard 200, while the single charted within the top ten on the Billboard charts. In Canada, the album debuted at number thirteen.[13]It has sold 262,789 copies.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Put Your Arms Around Me" - 3:43
  2. "Pocketful of Sunshine" - 3:23
  3. "Happy" - 3:40
  4. "Love like This" (featuring Sean Kingston) - 3:42
  5. "Piece of Your Heart" - 3:47
  6. "Soulmate" - 3:34 †
  7. "Say It Again" (featuring Adam Levine on backing vocals) - 3:32 †
  8. "Angel" - 4:08
  9. "Backyard" - 3:27 †
  10. "Freckles" - 3:46
  11. "Who Knows" -3:46 †
  12. "Pirate Bones" - 3:52 †
  13. "Not Givin' Up" - 3:49 †
  • † indicates a track taken from N.B.

[edit] Bonus tracks

All bonus tracks appear on the North American iTunes editions of Pocketful of Sunshine.

  1. "Unwritten" (Stripped acoustic version) - 4:08
  2. "Love like This" (Acoustic from Bleu Room) - 3:25 (Pre-order exclusive)
  3. "Cheer Me Up" - 3:22 (Pre-order exclusive)

All bonus tracks appear on the Wal-Mart edition of Pocketful of Sunshine.

  1. "Love like This" (Live from Wal-Mart Soundcheck)
  2. "Unwritten" (Live from Wal-Mart Soundcheck)

[edit] Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
Position
Canadian Albums Chart[13] 13
United World Chart[14] 18
U.S. Billboard 200[2] 3

[edit] Personnel

The following people contributed to Pocketful of Sunshine:[15]

  • Natasha Bedingfield – lead vocals, backing vocals
  • Danielle Brisebois, Ravaughn Brown, Steve Kipner, Rico Love, Meleni Smith - backing vocals
  • Mike Elizondo - guitar, bass guitar, programming, keyboards
  • Andrew Frampton - backing vocals, keyboards, programming
  • Richard Altenbach - orchestra conductor, arranger, strings
  • Toby Gad - producer, writer, instrumentation, programming, arranger, mixing
  • J.R. Rotem - instrumentation, arranger
  • Greg Kurstin - instrumentation, engineering
  • Jeff Rothschild - drums, programming, engineering
  • John Shanks - guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Wayne Wilkins - keyboards, backing vocals, drum programming, keyboard programming
  • Trevor Lawrence - drums, cymbals
  • Charles Judge - keyboards
  • Nick Lashley, Wendy Melvoin - guitar
  • Michael Valerio - bass guitar
  • Julie Gigante, Neel Hammond, Natalie Leggett, Mark Robertson - violin
  • Keith Greene - viola
  • Victor Lawrence, Sebastian Toettcher - cello
  • Lars Fox, Jason Pennock - digital editing
  • Greg Ogan - engineering, vocal engineering
  • Jared Robbins - assistant engineer, mixing assistant
  • Adam Hawkins, Brian Scheuble - engineering
  • Daniel Frampton - vocal engineering
  • Keith Gretlein, Nate Hertweck, Aaron Kasdorf, Matt Serrecchio - assistant engineer
  • Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica, Manny Marroquin, Phil Tan - mixing
  • Alex Dromgoole, Josh Houghkirk, Matt Paul - mixing assistant
  • David Kutch - mastering
  • John Akehurst - photography
  • Michelle Holme - design

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield". Metacritic.com. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Hasty, Katie. "'Juno' Unseats Keys From Atop Album Chart". Billboard.com. January 30, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  3. ^ "Love like This World Charts". aCharts.us. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  4. ^ "Natasha Bedingfield: Hottest Baby-Craving Stalker Ever". Blender. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  5. ^ a b Mason, Stewart. "Pocketful of Sunshine > Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  6. ^ During a radio interview, Natasha said that this album will be released in the UK, towards the end of the summer of 2008."Natasha Bedingfield talks love, recapturing 'Unwritten' success". The Canadian Press. January 23, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  7. ^ Mason, Kerri. "'Pocketful of Sunshine' Review". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  8. ^ Hoard, Christian. "Pocketful of Sunshine: Natasha Bedingfield: Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  9. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Pocketful of Sunshine: Natasha Bedingfield: Review" About.com. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
  10. ^ "Album: Natasha Bedingfield's 'Pocketful of Sunshine'". Los Angeles Times. January 20, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  11. ^ Gamboa, Glenn. "'Pocketful of Sunshine' Review". Newsday. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  12. ^ "Pocketful of Sunshine Goes Down a Storm in the U.S.". NatashaBedingfield.com. January 30, 2008. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  13. ^ a b Williams, John. "'Juno' soundtrack hits No. 1". Jam!. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
  14. ^ "Pocketful of Sunshine Charts". aCharts.us. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  15. ^ Pocketful of Sunshine (CD liner notes). Sony BMG. January 2008.


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Natasha Bedingfield
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Unwritten · N.B. · Pocketful of Sunshine
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