Natasha Bedingfield ~ Pocketful of Love
Brit singer's got a 'Pocketful' of positive vibes
It's difficult to think of Natasha Bedingfield without also thinking of The Hills. The 26-year-old British singer's "Unwritten" serves as the theme song for the MTV show, which has transcended everything else on the network in cultural significance.
But, surprisingly, Bedingfield doesn't even follow The Hills.
"It's wonderful to have my song on MTV's biggest-ever show," she said in a recent phone interview. "But I don't watch a lot of reality TV, because my life is real enough. I don't have time to watch other people arguing."
The soulful pop singer examines that personal reality in her latest album, Pocketful of Sunshine. Its title track, which sits at No. 11 on the Billboard pop singles chart, is a self-empowerment anthem that encourages the listener to shake off haters. Ballad "Soulmate" laments how heartwrenching the search for true love can be. And the bliss of actually finding it comes through in bouncy, infectious single "Love Like This."
Here's more from Bedingfield on her music and her latest concert tour, which hits House of Blues tomorrow night.
Hunter Hauk
Q: "Pocketful of Sunshine" is doing well right now, but it's sort of an unconventional pop song. How did it come about?
A: I was actually writing another song at the time, and then my friend started playing me a jam, and I was like, "Whoa! Hang on, hang on, hang on!" And the girl I had been writing with, we suddenly just started the song, and it became what it is now in a couple of hours. It's a song about when life throws things at you, you have to find ways to survive and feel like you're in a bubble of safety. It feels like a freeing song.
Q: It's got sort of a chant vibe to it ...
A: Yeah, I kind of wanted to write a song that was more simple. I've written a lot of songs that have amazingly deep ideas, where there are a lot of words, and it's all very clever. [Laughs.] But I wanted to have a song that you really don't have to explain.
Q: What's your impression of this whole British female artist invasion thing? Is the media making too big a deal out of it?
A: When I came over, there weren't so many British girls. I think the doors have opened, not just to Brits but to girls in general. When Alanis Morissette came out with a kind of intelligent, girl-guitar, slightly angry sound, the door opened for a lot of artists.
Q: So, what's the current environment like from the artist's point of view?
A: There's something new happening musically in the world– particularly in England, but everywhere. Because of the Internet, anyone can make music. It's quite organic. People can decide for themselves what they want to like. In England right now, cool things are happening. It's getting back to the times of a more punk-rock mentality.
Q: Do you think that commercial tie-ins and the use of songs on TV shows are also giving a boost to new artists?
A: What's great is, it's a new way to get your music heard. Records aren't selling in the same way, but music is going to always be around. In the old old days, there was a campfire with people sitting around in the village playing guitar. [Laughs.] We'll always find ways to get our music heard.
Article courtesy of WFAA.com.