Natasha Anne Bedingfield is a British pop singer and songwriter. The discography of Natasha Bedingfield consists of three studio albums, twelve singles, eighteen music videos and one music video album. In 2012, VH1 ranked Bedingfield No. 66 on the list of 100 Greatest Women in Music.
Background
Bedingfield was born in Sussex (later moving to Lewisham, south London) to New Zealand-born Molly and John Bedingfield who worked in the international charity sector focused on inner-city projects in education, reconciliation, addiction rehab, and longterm community development, alongside local government initiatives and faith-based communities in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Natasha has three siblings: brothers Daniel, Joshua and a younger sister Nikola. Her interest in music was encouraged by her parents and she took guitar and piano lessons when she was younger.
Education
Bedingfield attended a year at the University of Greenwich, where she studied psychology, then left to concentrate on singing and songwriting.
Career
Bedingfield signed a recording contract with BMG UK & Ireland, through its imprint Phonogenic Records, in July 2003
Her first album Unwritten was released in September 2004 and features collaborations with Steve Kipner, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lachey, James Reilly, Andrew Frampton, Wayne Wilkins, Kara DioGuardi, Guy Chambers, Patrick Leonard and the rapper Bizarre. The album contained uptempo pop rock songs and influences from R&B music. Bedingfield's lyrics focused on independence, opportunism and female empowerment. Reviews of the album were generally positive and it was described as a "well-made pop album for the new millennium" by Allmusic. The album debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number one and reached the top thirty in the United States. It sold well, reaching multi-platinum status in the United Kingdom and Gold status in the US.
Bedingfield's second album N.B. was released in Europe in April 2007. In North America (the US and Canada), the album was released under the title "Pocketful of Sunshine" in January 2008. The album received mixed reviews by critics and peaked at number nine in the UK. "I Wanna Have Your Babies", the album's lead single, was about finding the right man to father her children and was criticised by fans and critics alike. The song was moderately successful, reaching number seven in the UK, number eight in Ireland and the top fifty in various other markets.
Bedingfield confirmed that the third album would be ready for fall 2010. In an interview with IN:DEMAND Producer, Ryan Tedder said "I'm gonna try and bring Natasha Bedingfield back here in the UK with some quirky, kinda weird stuff". On 18 March Natasha stated on her official site that she was in L.A. and she was putting the finishing touches on her album. "Touch", the lead single from the album, was made available as a digital download 18 May 2010. Bedingfield performed the song on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 24 May 2010. "Touch" was officially sent to US radio stations on 29 June 2010. On 15 July Bedingfield announced via Twitter that the title of her new album would be Strip Me. The album was originally scheduled for release on 9 November 2010, but was released on 7 December. The second single, also titled "Strip Me", was sent to US radio on 30 August 2010 and it became available as a digital download on 21 September 2010.
On 31 December 2010/1 January 2011, Bedingfield appeared on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
In 2010, Natasha joined forces with Avon as a celebrity judge for Avon Voices, Avon’s first ever global, online singing talent search for women and songwriting competition for men and women.
As of April 2012, Bedingfield announced that she's working on her fourth studio album, mentioning her plans to release the album worldwide, not just focusing on America. On 11 September, Bedingfield was featured on Lifehouse's new single "Between the Raindrops".
Views
Quotations:
I don't want to be the next anyone. I just want to be me, now. And that means all different things.
A lot of my songs are about taking whatever life throws at you and making the most of it.