Album Review: Natasha Bedingfield, "Unwritten" (Epic)

It only takes one, and there is one great song on Natasha Bedingfield 's debut album, "Unwritten." That song is "These Words," and, like Pink's "Get the Party Started," it perfectly captures and exploits every great modern-pop hook, from the heavy gut-busting downbeat to the fun-tastic chorus.

As a result, "Unwritten" debuted at the top of the pops in Bedingfield's native England. It only takes one.

The rest of this 23-year old's album is, for the most part, throwaway boombox fodder for 13-year old girls--immature 13-year old girls. Track to track, Bedingfield is a wanna-be diva, echoing today's pop starlets, from Beyonce on the horrible "I Bruise Easily" to Ms. Dynamite on the trite "We're All Mad."

At least there are a couple of decent songs. The hip-hop/R&B amalgam "Drop Me in the Middle" recalls Janet Jackson's '86 opus, "Control," and "If You're Gonna" sounds like a song Pink decided to leave off her last album. Bedingfield picks it right up.

So what if most of "Unwritten" would have been better left unwritten? If you want a hit album, it only takes one great song. Haven't those Brits heard of iTunes?

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