Natasha Bedingfield Resolution: 1600x1200 Pixels

Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British pop singer and songwriter. 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 went on to enjoy success with hits "Gotta Get Thru This" and "If You're Not the One".

Bedingfield released her first album, Unwritten, in 2004. The album contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music;^[1] it enjoyed international success with more than 2.3 million copies sold worldwide^[2] and she received a Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for the title track "Unwritten".^[3] Bedingfield's second album, N.B. (2007), was less successful but yielded the UK top 10 singles "I Wanna Have Your Babies" and "Soulmate". N.B. was not released in North America, but six tracks from it were included with seven new ones and released in 2008 as her third studio album Pocketful of Sunshine, with the singles "Love Like This" and "Pocketful of Sunshine" earning success on the charts. In December 2010, Bedingfield released her third album in North America named Strip Me.

Bedingfield was born in Sussex (later moving to the 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.^{[4][not in citation given]} When Bedingfield was a teenager, she and her siblings, Daniel and Nikola, formed the dance/electronic group, The DNA Algorithm.^[5] The group provided Bedingfield with the opportunity to explore different musical genres and expand her songwriting abilities.^[6] She provided vocals for the group which primarily performed dance-pop music about independence and empowerment, themes that would later be found in her own solo compositions. At age 14, Natasha sang vocals on Origins Refined Intricacy (Steelyard Records).

Bedingfield attended a year at the University of Greenwich, where she studied psychology,^[4][7] then left to concentrate on singing and songwriting. At first she recorded demos in the garages of friends who had recording studios, which she presented to record companies.^{[8][not in citation given]} 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.^[9]

Bedingfield was introduced to Phonogenic founder and A&R Paul Lisberg by the artist's manager Gary Wilson.^[10] Lisberg was not convinced by the demo songs presented, which had so far failed to attract any label interest, later telling HitQuarters: "[They] were good but weren"t right for us ... They were a bit like Holly Valance and Shakira, which we felt was too lightweight. She would probably have had hits with them, but I don"t know if she ever would have established herself as a true artist."^[10] Instead, it was when, at a meeting together, Lisberg heard her singing ability and creative vocal ad-libbing first-hand that he became excited by Bedingfield's potential. Label interest was later confirmed when a trial studio session together with writers Steve Kipner and Andrew Frampton produced songs that were in keeping with Lisberg's vision for Phonogenic.^[10] Bedingfield signed a recording contract with BMG UK & Ireland, through its imprint Phonogenic Records, in July 2003.^[10][11]

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.^[1] Bedingfield's lyrics focused on independence, opportunism and female empowerment.^[4] Reviews of the album were generally positive^{[citation needed]} and it was described as a "well-made pop album for the new millennium" by Allmusic.^[1] The album debuted on the UK Albums Chart at number one and reached the top thirty in the United States.^[12] It sold well, reaching multi-platinum status in the United Kingdom^[13] and Gold status in the US^[14] The first single released from the album was "Single", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart.^[15] The song's lyrics, and its accompanying music video, depict Bedingfield's single lifestyle.^[16] "These Words" was released as the album's second single. The song became Bedingfield's first UK number one and US top twenty single.^[17] "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 US radio in 2006.^[18] "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.

At the 2005 Brit Awards, Bedingfield was nominated for four awards, though did not win any of her nominated categories. 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, though was again unsuccessful in winning in any of her nominated categories. Her Song Unwritten is the theme tune of MTV's the hills^[3][19]