So it’s official. Natasha Bedingfield is no longer just Daniel’s little sister. That “These Words” going to No.1 made chart history - making her and Daniel the first solo siblings to have separate UK Number One singles - was a nice touch. But the main prize was being able to stick two fingers up at those who tutted that she was trading on her brother’s name.
Short of going goth metal, her debut album couldn’t do more to reiterate the point and challenge preconceived notions of what a Bedingfield sounds like. Just as her first banner waving declaration of independence “Single” and chart-topping follow-up “These Words” asserted her as a feisty blond bombshell and pop icon in the making, so “Unwritten” is the antithesis of Daniel’s fist-clenched sincerity.
It’s a ferociously ambitious debut, and not just musically. While Daniel’s tally of three Number Ones might be her immediate target, “Unwritten”’s take-no-prisoners anthems have her eyeing the careers of every female in pop. And no expense has been spared to ensure she gets what she wants.
All the big guns have been rolled out. In co-writers alone she boasts those who’ve secured platinum discs for Christina Augilera, Janet Jackson, Kylie and Madonna, along with Robbie Williams’s ex, Guy Chambers. Chambers does what Guy Chambers does best, making “Silent Movie” a downtrodden love song that takes off with an all conquering Beatles chorus. “I’m A Bomb” sneers and parties hard like Pink. “Drop Me In The Middle” has her making like Beyoncé, albeit with D12’s lardy boy Bizarre, not Jay-Z, lending his hip hop credentials. Meanwhile, Gwen Stefani wouldn’t have turned down The Neptunes-lite tech-rock of “If You’re Gonna…” and as “These Words” has already confirmed, she’s got Nelly Furtado sussed.
Proving she’s a match for so many rivals at once has its downside. She battles through pop’s stylebook so frantically, it can be hard to keep up and see where she fits in. But while "Unwritten" isn’t perfect, it’s a phenomenal start and one that suggests Daniel better get used to being referred to as Natasha Bedingfield’s brother.
