FEATURE:
Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure
Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten
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AS I say with all songs…
that I include in this feature, I do not buy the notion of a guilty pleasure: a song that one cannot really happily admit to loving. Taken from her 2004 album of the same name, Unwritten was a big hit for Natasha Bedingfield. I was not a massive fan of a lot of the Pop music being made in 2004. It was sort of past the peak of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. There were some interesting new acts, but I think Pop has enjoyed stronger periods. I liked the Unwritten album, as it was a lot of personality throughout. Bedingfield wrote all of the tracks on the albums; helping to give it a natural sense of truth and conviction. This is what AllMusic said about Unwritten:
“In September 2004 Natasha Bedingfield debuted smashingly in the United Kingdom. Her first record, Unwritten, went to number one almost immediately and the glowing response established her as an instant pop star. Her ascent mirrored the sudden popularity of brother Daniel Bedingfield in 2001, when his bedroom production "Gotta Get Through This" rocketed similarly up the charts. For Natasha, it's "Single" and the near-perfect "These Words (I Love You, I Love You)" -- tracks that merge the rhythms and flavors of hip-hop and R&B with unique melodies and Bedingfield's vocal confidence -- "Single," for example, suggests Kelly Clarkson's 2003 single "Miss Independent." Bedingfield co-writes all but one song on Unwritten, working with songwriters like Guy Chambers (Robbie Williams), Andrew Frampton (S Club 7), and Danielle Brisebois. And she stays remarkably poised throughout, selling some of the album's weaker arrangements with the dusky grain at the top end of her vocal. "Silent Movie" and "Piece of Me" make moves typical of pop in the 21st century -- the former actually sounds like a Williams song, while the latter tries to energize its chorus with blaring guitars. But it's Bedingfield who does the energizing, intersecting Pink's knowing swagger with the confessional exuberance of youth (typified in the blurted "I love you I love you/I love you I love you!"'s of "These Words"). Even when Unwritten emulates the trends, its tendency to play out like a personal diary put to beats and keys saves it from the soundalike pile”.
I don’t think one should think of a song like Unwritten as a guilty pleasure. In 2019, Bedingfield released her fourth studio album, Roll with Me - and I hope there is more music to come. Maybe there are slightly stronger songs on Unwritten – such as another big hit, These Words -, but the title cut is a great and memorable song. The third single from her debut album, Unwritten is catchy and stands up to repeated listens. The song reached number-five in the U.S. and it was very popular across U.S. radio. Although Unwritten did not fare as well in the U.K. as These Words, the song did get to number-six. It is amazing that Bedingfield did better in the U.S. than the U.K. It is clear that Unwritten took on a new life and has made a big impact:
“Bedingfield performed this song at the Concert for Diana. Bedingfield performed this, along with "Pocketful of Sunshine" in the season 7 finale of Degrassi: The Next Generation. It is the theme song to the globally popular MTV series, The Hills. Bedingfield later re-recorded another, slower version of "Unwritten" with production team Carney for use in the final episode of The Hills. A 2019 remix version appears as the theme song in The Hills sequel series, The Hills: New Beginnings. "Unwritten" has been featured in the following motion pictures: Ice Princess, Because I Said So and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. 2006 World Champion figure skater Kimmie Meissner has done multiple exhibition programs to the song as well.[citation needed] It is featured on the episode "Welcome to the Dollhouse", from the series Pretty Little Liars. In 2006, the Bratz released a cover of the song on a special edition of their soundtrack album, Bratz: Forever Diamondz.
The song appears in the video games Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Thrillville: Off the Rails and as downloadable content for Rock Band 4, while the Johnny Vicious remix appears in Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2 along with its original video. The song was used for the Pantene television and radio advertisements[3] in English-speaking and other markets between 2006 and 2008, and in France, Spain, Poland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Unwritten has become a common song used to celebrate graduation due to its uplifting message about the future.
It is amazing that Unwritten was released seventeen years ago! I remember the song coming out when I was at university, and I liked it from the moment I heard it. I am not a massive Natasha Bedingfield fan, but I do appreciate her debut album and I think that her songwriting is accomplished. I think her voice has that nice mix of power and tenderness, and a lot of people can find strength and inspiration from Unwritten. As the song has appeared on more than one list of guilty pleasures songs, I thought I would rewrite things in that sense and spotlight a good song. For those who maintain a song like Unwritten is a guilty pleasure, I would say that the Natasha Bedingfield hit is…
MUCH better than that.