Natasha Bedingfield

Natasha Bedingfield
Bedingfield performing in 2008.
Bedingfield performing in 2008.
Background information
Birth name Natasha Anne Bedingfield
Born 26 November 1981 (1981-11-26) (age 27)
London, England, United Kingdom
Genre(s) Pop, BES, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Years active 2004–present
Label(s) Phonogenic, Epic (North America)
Associated acts The DNA Algorithm
Esmee Denters
Daniel Bedingfield
Sean Kingston
Website www.natashabedingfield.com

Natasha Anne Bedingfield (26 November 1981) is an English[1] pop singer and songwriter.

Based in Book St., London, Bedingfield debuted in the 1990s as a member of the Christian dance/electronic group The DNA Algorithm with her siblings Daniel Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Bedingfield recorded rock and gospel songs for the Hillsong London Church, while Daniel Bedingfield went on to enjoy success with hits “Gotta Get Thru This” and “If You're Not The One”.

Natasha and Daniel share the Guinness World Record for being the only siblings to have had solo number-ones in UK chart history. Similarly, they have each cracked the Top 10 in Australia, United States, Canada and Europe.

Bedingfield recorded her first album Unwritten in 2004. The album contained primarily uptempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music;[2] it enjoyed international success with over 2.5 million sold worldwide.[3] In 2007, she received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the song "Unwritten".[4] Bedingfield's second album N.B. (2007) yielded the singles "I Wanna Have Your Babies" which was written and produced by Natasha Bedingfield, Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton, and Steve Kipner, "Soulmate" and "Say It Again". Bedingfield has achieved 5 top ten singles in the United Kingdom to date and as of April 2008, she has sold over 10 million singles and albums worldwide.

Contents

Early life

Bedingfield was born in the Lewisham district of London to New Zealand-born Molly and John Bedingfield who are both charity workers. She has three siblings; two brothers: Daniel and Joshua and a younger sister Nikola. Both Daniel and Nikola are also pop singers. Her interest in music was encouraged by her parents and growing up she took guitar and piano lessons.[5] As a teenager, Bedingfield and her siblings, Daniel and Nikola, formed the dance/electronic group, The DNA Algorithm.[6] The group provided Bedingfield with the opportunity to explore different musical genres and expand her songwriting abilities.[7] She provided vocals for the group which primarily performed dance-pop music about religion, independence and empowerment, themes that would later be found in her own solo compositions. The DNA Algorithm performed at several Christian music festivals before disbanding.[8] Bedingfield attended a year at the University of Greenwich, where she studied psychology to "make [her] a better songwriter."[9][5] After a year of studying psychology, she left the university to concentrate on singing and songwriting. She began to record demos in the garages of friends who had recording studios. Bedingfield eventually took these demos to record companies.[10] Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Bedingfield composed and recorded songs for the Hillsong London Church. In 2004, her recordings appeared on the church's live album Shout God's Fame and the children's album Jesus Is My Superhero by Hillsong Music Australia.[11]

Music career

2004–2006: Unwritten

Bedingfield signed a recording contract with BMG UK & Ireland in 2003.[12] Her first album Unwritten was released in September 2004 and features collaborations with Steve Kipner, Danielle Brisebois, Wayne Rodrigues, Nick Lachey, Andrew Frampton, Wayne Wilkins, Kara DioGuardi, Guy Chambers, Patrick Leonard and rapper Bizarre. The album contained uptempo pop rock songs and influences from R&B music.[2] Bedingfield's lyrics focused on independence, opportunism and female empowerment.[5] Reviews of the album were generally positive and it was described as a "well-made pop album for the new millennium" by Allmusic.[2] The album debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number one and reached the top thirty in the United States.[13] It sold well, reaching multi-platinum status in the United Kingdom[14] and the U.S.[15] At the 2005 Brit Awards, Bedingfield was nominated for four awards, she was also nominated for an award at the 2006 Brit Awards and in 2007 she was nominated for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" at the 2007 Grammy Awards.[16][4]

The first single released from the album was "Single" (written by: Natasha Bedingfield, Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton, and Steve Kipner / produced by: Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton, and Steve Kipner), which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.[17] The song's lyrics, and its accompanying music video, depict Bedingfield's single lifestyle.[18] "These Words" (written by: Natasha Bedingfield, Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton, and Steve Kipner / produced by: Wayne Wilkins, Andrew Frampton, and Steve Kipner) was released as the album's second single. The song became Bedingfield's first UK number one and U.S. top twenty single.[19] "Unwritten" was released as the album's third single in 2004, the song reached number six on the UK Singles Chart and it also became the most played song on U.S. radio in 2006.[20] The songs lyrics discuss "living your own life without other people telling you how to live it".[21] "I Bruise Easily" was released as the album's fourth single, it did not perform as well as its predecessors but was still a moderate success, reaching number twelve on the UK Singles Chart.

In November 2006, Bedingfield released the DVD Live in New York City, which contained a live concert performance as well as music videos and a documentary. That month she recorded the Diane Warren-penned song "Still Here" for the film Rocky Balboa.[22] The song, however, did not appear on the soundtrack although it was included on her second album.

2007–present: N.B. and Pocketful of Sunshine

Bedingfield's second album N.B. was released in April 2007 only in Europe. Her album "Pocketful of Sunshine" is the US version of N.B. Bedingfield recollaborated with Kipner along with Eve, Wayne Wilkins, and Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine. The album takes influence from a variety of music styles such as R&B, reggae and electronica.[23] Bedingfield commented that it differed from Unwritten because it represented her shifting priorities from being a single young woman to "dating, searching for a partner" and "looking for Mr Right".[5] The album debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number nine and received mixed reviews by critics, who found that it had "good pop moments".[24]

"I Wanna Have Your Babies", the album's lead single, was about finding the right man to father her children and became criticized by fans and critics alike.[25] The song was moderately successful, reaching number seven in the UK, number eight in Ireland and the top fifty in most other markets.[26] "Soulmate" was released as the album's second single on 2 July 2007 and also peaked at number seven in the UK.[27] "Say It Again" was confirmed as the third single to be released from N.B. on 8 October 2007.

In July 2007, she appeared on an online YouTube music video of Esmée Denters singing "Unwritten". Bedingfield sang backing vocals off-screen for most of the video, but joined Denters in front of the camera at the end of the song.[28] In September 2007, it was announced that the lead single "I Wanna Have Your Babies" would in fact not be the lead single in North America. A new track titled "Love like This" would serve as the lead American single. The track, which features Jamaican reggae act Sean Kingston did not appear on the original pressings of N.B..

To promote N.B., Bedingfield embarked on the FutureSex/LoveShow tour in May 2007, supporting Justin Timberlake[29] and on 1 July 2007, Bedingfield performed "Unwritten" at the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in London.[30]

Bedingfield's live session at Abbey Road Studios was recorded for Live from Abbey Road and the performance was screened on an episode shared with Iron Maiden and Gipsy Kings. The show was screened on Channel 4 in the UK and the Sundance Channel in the United States.

On 3 October 2007, Bedingfield won an award for "Best Pop Artist" at the 2007 BT Digital Music Awards held at The Roundhouse in Camden, North London, she also performed her latest single "Say It Again" at the ceremony.

Bedingfield has stated on TRL that the U.S. version of her second album will be titled Pocketful of Sunshine. The album featured six songs from N.B. alongside seven new ones. The album was released on 22 January 2008, with the lead single, "Love like This" being released a few months earlier. The title track is set to be the second single and was played on the season finale of MTV's The Hills.

On 18 January 2008, Bedingfield's forthcoming UK tour was cancelled for the second time, one month before it was supposed to start. It has now been officially scrapped, so she can spend more time in the U.S. promoting her album. However, she will perform a number of free acoustic gigs in the spring to compensate for the cancellation.[31] She recently signed on to become the opening act on the recently reunited New Kids On The Block Fall Tour of 2008 in the US. Bedingfield has been back in the UK recently to promote new single "Love Like This" which recently made the top 20 in the UK chart, with the album Pocketful of Sunshine to follow later this year.

In February 2008, Bedingfield was invited by EA Games to re-record the single Pocketful of Sunshine in Simlish, with a music video released as part of a viral advertising campaign for the release of The Sims 2: FreeTime.[32][33]

Stateside, the single Pocketful Of Sunshine has reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100. The third single is "Angel." The song was due to impact on US radio on 12 August, and now is out. Bedingfield performed "Just Stand Up" with 14 other female artists on the 5 September, becoming a top 10 hit in the United States. On 18 September 2008 she performed "Angel" live on America's Got Talent.

Non-musical projects

Bedingfield at the Frosted Pink With a Twist women's cancer charity event in San Diego, 2008
Bedingfield in the 2006 Red Dress collection for The Heart Truth campaign

Bedingfield was a philanthropist who has donated time and money to organizations such as the Global Angels, an international children's charity founded by her mother, Molly Bedingfield.[34] She became associated with the organization in 2006 because of her celebrity status which she could use to help "people around the world, particularly children, who live in conditions that would horrify us".[35] Bedingfield is now an ambassador for Global Angels and in November 2006 she visited India for three weeks in support of the charity. She visited an orphanage in Calcutta and a refugee camp for former child prostitutes in Mumbai to learn more about the situation and the conditions in these areas. Bedingfield later expressed her shock at what she had witnessed.[8] Video diaries filmed during her trip were posted on her official website in early 2007.[36] She is also an advocate for Stop the Traffik, a global coalition which works to end human trafficking[34] and a member of the (RED) campaign.[5]

In 2004, Bedingfield showed interest in acting and made her debut in the James Bond video game From Russia with Love in November 2005. She lent her voice to the character Elizabeth Stark, the British Prime Minister's daughter who is kidnapped in the opening sequence.[37] Bedingfield commented that she would like to do more acting, but only if the film "was good enough, and it was a role that [would] fit me."[37] Bedingfield is not set to appear in any forthcoming films in the near future.

She has made an appearance in the seventh season finale of the hit Canadian television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.[38]

Personal life and image

In 2006, the media incorrectly reported that Bedingfield was dating Nick Lachey and Maroon 5 lead singer, Adam Levine. Referring to the media reports, Bedingfield commented that "Adam is lovely but I didn't date him or Nick. As soon as you talk to a famous guy, you're immediately linked with him."[39] Bedingfield is currently engaged to Matt Robinson,[40] a businessman and documentary filmmaker from California.

Discography

Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ http://www.natashabedingfield.com/news/natasha_answers_fan_questions.html?page=9
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Johnny Loftus. Review of Unwritten. Allmusic. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  3. ↑ Stuart Clarke. Staggered Plan for Bedingfield Return. Music Week. 10 June 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 2007 Grammy Award Nominations. Grammy Awards. Retrieved 29 May 2007.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Artist Profile: Natasha Bedingfield. EMI Music Publishing. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
  6. ↑ Rob Patterson. Natasha Bedingfield. BMI. 22 February 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
  7. ↑ Bill Lamb. Natasha Bedingfield Biography. About.com. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Liz Jones. "Is Natasha Bedingfield God's gift to pop music?". you.co.uk. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  9. ↑ John Harlow. Bill Gates Puts Bedingfield in His Xbox. The Sunday Times. 26 March 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
  10. ↑ Simon Cage. Sister Doing It For Herself. The Scotsman. 19 December 2004. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
  11. ↑ Tony Cummings. Hillsong London: Shouting God's Fame and Proclaiming Jesus Is. Cross Rhythms. 12 November 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2007.
  12. ↑ Biography. VH1. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  13. ↑ Unwritten World Charts. acharts.us. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  14. ↑ Certified Awards. The BPI. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  15. ↑ Searchable Database. The RIAA. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  16. ↑ Achievements. natasha-b.com. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
  17. ↑ "Single" World Charts. musicsquare.net. Retrieved 11 June 2006.
  18. ↑ Elle J. Small. "Natasha Bedingfield: Capital Gains". Blues and Soul Music Magazine. Issue 997. Retrieved 11 June 2006.
  19. ↑ "These Words" World Charts. musicsquare.net. Retrieved 11 June 2006.
  20. ↑ "Nielsen Issues Most Popular Lists for 2006". nielsenmedia.com. 20 December 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
  21. ↑ Arjan Timmermans. She wrote the song for her brother Joshua. "Natasha Bedingfield Interview". Arjan Writes. 10 August 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  22. ↑ Keith Caulfield. Charting As Easily As 'Bruising?'. Billboard. 10 November 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  23. ↑ Lizzie Ennever. "N.B." Album Review. BBC. Retrieved 20 May 2007.
  24. ↑ Jack Foley. "Soulmate" Album Review. indielondon.co.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  25. ↑ "An Open Letter to Natasha Bedingfield". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
  26. ↑ "I Wanna Have Your Babies" Charts. Music Square. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
  27. ↑ "New Single - Coming Soon". natashabedingfield.com. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
  28. ↑ Videos. esmeeworld.com. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
  29. ↑ "Bedingfield to tour with JT". ITV News. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  30. ↑ Performers. concertfordiana.com. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
  31. ↑ "Natasha scraps tour number 2. The Sun. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
  32. ↑ The Sims™ 2 FreeTime Music Video feat. Natasha Bedingfield on YouTube
  33. ↑ Natasha Bedingfield Interview on learning Simlish on YouTube
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Natasha Bedingfield Becomes An Ambassador for 'Global Angels'". Sony BMG UK. 5 April 2006. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
  35. ↑ Ambassadors. Global Angels. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  36. ↑ Oh Baby! Natasha Bedingfield Comes Back With Super-Cute New Single + Album. Sony BMG Australia. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Patrick Garratt. Natasha Bedingfield: EA's Latest Bond Girl. Eurogamer. 8 November 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  38. ↑ http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071205/bedingfield_preview_071205/20071205?s_name=degrassi2006&no_ads=sky CTV.ca
  39. ↑ Woman We Love. Cosmopolitan UK. February 2007.
  40. ↑ "Dating's all fun and games for Tash". metro.co.uk. 5 June 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.

External links

Natasha Bedingfield
Studio albums
Unwritten · N.B. · Pocketful of Sunshine
Singles
"Single" · "These Words" · "Unwritten" · "I Bruise Easily" · "The One That Got Away" · "I Wanna Have Your Babies" · "Soulmate" · "Say It Again" · "Love like This" · "Pocketful of Sunshine" · "Angel"
Guest singles
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" · "Bruised Water" · "Just Stand Up"
Tours
Verizon VIP Tour
DVDs
Live in New York City
Related topics
Discography · Awards
Hillsong musicians
Geoff Bullock - Brooke Fraser - Nigel Hendroff - Joel Houston - Steve McPherson - Reuben Morgan - Jonas Myrin - Marty Sampson - Tulele Faletolu - Mark Stevens - Miriam Webster - Darlene Zschech
Persondata
NAME Bedingfield, Natasha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION English singer and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH 26 November 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH London, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH