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Natasha: Check out Natasha AI performance
Member Since: 1/20/2008
Posts: 3,317
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Natasha Bedingfield basks in youthful 'Pocketful of Sunshine'
By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY
There are surely few artists who can make twentysomething angst sound as sweet as Natasha Bedingfield does.
Pocketful of Sunshine (* * * ½ out of four), the British singer's sophomore album, may be more musically mature than her debut, with stronger songcraft and artfully R&B-spiced pop-candy arrangements. But her tunes are full of youthful longing, from the deceptively bouncy title track, which yearns for "a secret place" where "there's no more lies/And the darkness is light," to Backyard, a wistful paean to lost childhood.
On love songs, Bedingfield finds girl power not in avoiding romantic clichés, but in emboldening them. "You're the one that I want," she confidently croons to guest Sean Kingston on Love Like This, while on the more pensive Soulmate she asks "why I'm on my own" without self-pity.
"Sometimes I still feel like that little girl/Who doesn't belong in her own world," Bedingfield admits on the lovely Freckles. "But I'm getting better at reminding myself." And reminding us as well.
> Download: previously mentioned tracks, Put Your Arms Around Me, Angel
> Skip: nothing
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Member Since: 1/20/2008
Posts: 3,317
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Disc Debuts: 'Pocketful of Sunshine' by Natasha Bedingfield
12:00 AM CST on Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Jon M. Gilbertson
Natasha Bedingfield
BPocketful of Sunshine
(Epic/Phonogenic)
ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST SUCCESS: A No. 1 single doesn't always bestow bulletproof clout. U.K. pop singer Natasha Bedingfield topped stateside charts with "Unwritten" (the title track from her debut album) in 2006, but her second full-length, N.B., was not released here after its first single, "I Wanna Have Your Babies," tanked. Instead, seven of its songs have been joined to six new ones to make the hybrid known as Pocketful of Sunshine.
HODGEPODGE, GRAB BAG, WHAT HAVE YOU: Because other pop stars from Nelly Furtado to Maroon 5 (whose Adam Levine shows up on Sunshine's "Say It Again") use similar piecemeal approaches, Ms. Bedingfield sounds no more disjointed than her contemporaries. On the chirpy "Love Like This" or the thickly computerized R&B of "Angel," she's the English equivalent of Mariah Carey's club-hopping incarnation; on the comparatively stripped-down "Soulmate" and the upbeat, self-affirming "Freckles," she could teach Christina Aguilera the value of restraint.
BOTTOM LINE: More creative control might let this goodness become future greatness. Jon M. Gilbertson
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Member Since: 6/19/2007
Posts: 7,084
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^ wow nice reviews.
"English Mariah Carey's club- hopping incarnation"
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Member Since: 2/21/2006
Posts: 1,824
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Wow amazing reviews.
i just wanna know if there's any HIDDEN TRACKS on the CD?
Coz Virgin Mega stores + BestBuy list 3 hidden tracks.
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Member Since: 1/20/2008
Posts: 3,317
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Quote:
Originally posted by Unwritten
Wow amazing reviews.
i just wanna know if there's any HIDDEN TRACKS on the CD?
Coz Virgin Mega stores + BestBuy list 3 hidden tracks.
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um... sorry to be no help to you, but i only know of the iTunes bonus tracks and the two downloadable tracks from Wal-mart
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Member Since: 1/20/2008
Posts: 3,317
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Also Pocketful of Sunshine is the main CD on the main page with a generally favorable average of 66!!!
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Member Since: 5/10/2007
Posts: 11,195
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Banned
Member Since: 2/5/2007
Posts: 7,024
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pocketful of sunshine?
death is among us
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Member Since: 5/10/2007
Posts: 11,195
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Member Since: 1/20/2008
Posts: 3,317
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Great News! Just so everyone knows Pocketful of Sunshine deluxe edition is #9 on the iTunes Top 100 Albums, and #1 on the Pop 100 Albums, as well as #12 on Amazon, and this is after only one day! Once the iTunes charts update later I'll fill you in on where the normal edition is, as well as the Love Like This Remix EP, and the position of the songs on the charts!
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Member Since: 1/20/2008
Posts: 3,317
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Update already: Pocketful of Sunshine has climbed to #4 on iTunes! I can't wait until the rest of the charts are updated, I have a feeling some songs like Soulmate, and Pocketful of Sunshine will climb into the top 100 on iTunes, only time will tell...
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Member Since: 6/19/2007
Posts: 7,084
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^ Angel will debut on iTunes for sure
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Member Since: 1/20/2008
Posts: 3,317
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ok, brand new amazing update!
iTunes Top 100 Albums
Pocketful of Sunshine (Deluxe Edition) - #3
iTunes Pop 100 Albums
Pocketful of Sunshine (Deluxe Edition) - #1
Pocketful of Sunshine (Regular Edition) - #23
iTunes Top 100 Songs (Updated 20 Minutes Ago)
Love Like This - #11
Pocketful of Sunshine - #50
Soulmate - #111
iTunes Pop 100 Songs (Will Be Updated Once iTunes Is Updated)
Love Like This - #5 (Single Version), #36 (Album Version)
Pocketful of Sunshine - #18
Soulmate - #31
Happy - #88
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Member Since: 11/30/2007
Posts: 26,796
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GREAT NEWS! Natasha is expected to debut at #3, neck and neck with Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige with 50K.
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Banned
Member Since: 4/16/2007
Posts: 3,970
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OMFG
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Member Since: 7/24/2006
Posts: 4,281
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I just got my copy, and I'm already loving it. Way to set the bar for the year, Natasha!
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Member Since: 9/2/2007
Posts: 5,826
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Pocketful of Sunshine is @ 2. Hopefully, it will go to #1 in a few hours
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Member Since: 5/10/2007
Posts: 11,195
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She will sell more if she released A.N.G.E.L. next. Go Natasha! <3
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Member Since: 6/17/2006
Posts: 6,541
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Member Since: 2/14/2007
Posts: 15,229
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take me awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyyy
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