Unwritten
Unwritten | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Natasha Bedingfield | ||||
Released |
6 September 2004 (see release history) | |||
Recorded |
2004 (New York City, New York, United States) | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length |
47:01 56:22 (UK) 56:55 (US) | |||
Label | Phonogenic | |||
Producer |
| |||
Natasha Bedingfield chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Unwritten | ||||
|
Unwritten is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2004, where it topped the UK Albums Chart, and in the United States on 2 August 2005, where it debuted at number twenty-six on US Billboard 200. It spawned five singles: "Single", "These Words", "Unwritten" (which later served as the theme song from MTV reality series The Hills), "I Bruise Easily" and "The One That Got Away" (which was only released in North America). The song "Drop Me in the Middle" featured rapper Bizarre of D12 on the international versions of the album, but the US version featured rapper and singer Estelle. In 2006, the album was re-released in North America with new album artwork and a slightly altered track listing. The album was replayed on November 29, 2007.
Critical reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
BBC Music | (positive)[2] |
PopMatters | [3] |
musicOMH | (positive)[4] |
Rolling Stone | [5] |
The album received generally positive reviews from most critics. Earning a 7 out of 10 from PopMatters, Adrien Begrand, who said the album was Bedingfield's "brand of clever, R&B infused pop." Though, he went on to admit that the album was "not without its pitfalls."[3] David Hooper from BBC gave the album another positive review, writing "there's no denying this is a finely-crafted number with bold, voluptuous harmonies. It's guaranteed to thrill, at least for the first 30 plays." Further, Hollow stated "Unwritten is a textbook quality pop album, lifted by Natasha's strong voice, immaculate production and some absolutely corking singles. Whether you like it or not, you won't be able to get those tunes out of your head."[2]
UK-based music review website musicOMH critic David Welsh praised the album, compared Bedingfield's success to that of her brother, calling the album "a startlingly accomplished debut outing, letting the whole world know that Daniel is by no means the only talented Bedingfield out there." Welsh continued to add that Unwritten was "both musically note-worthy and lyrically substantial", concluding that there was "no shame in adding this to your collection."[4]
Commercial performance
Unwritten peaked at number one on Official Charts Company's UK Albums Chart. It sold over one million copies in United Kingdom, being certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In United States, it peaked at number twenty-six on the US Billboard 200. It sold over 500,000 copies in the United States and received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In Australia, it peaked at number eighty-nine on ARIA Albums Chart. It also peaked at number twenty-six in Austria, number twenty in Germany, number thirty-three in Mexico and number twenty-three in Switzerland, making smaller impact outside the United Kingdom and the United States.
Controversy
In November 2005, the Electronic Frontier Foundation identified Unwritten as one of the discs with Extended Copy Protection, a controversial invasive software.[6] However, the DualDisc release does not contain such software.
Track listing
Unwritten — Standard edition[7] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
1. | "These Words" |
|
| 3:36 |
2. | "Single" |
|
| 3:57 |
3. | "I'm a Bomb" |
|
| 3:42 |
4. | "Unwritten" |
|
| 4:19 |
5. | "I Bruise Easily" |
|
| 4:14 |
6. | "If You're Gonna..." |
|
| 3:22 |
7. | "Silent Movie" |
|
| 3:47 |
8. | "We're All Mad" |
|
| 4:48 |
9. | "Frogs & Princes" |
|
| 3:45 |
10. | "Drop Me in the Middle" (featuring Bizarre from D12) |
|
| 4:16 |
11. | "Wild Horses" |
|
| 4:01 |
12. | "Sojourn" (hidden track) |
| 3:19 |
Unwritten — UK edition (bonus tracks)[8] | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Track listing | ||||
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
12. | "Size Matters" |
|
| 3:25 |
13. | "Peace of Me" |
| Leonard | 3:45 |
14. | "Sojourn" (hidden track) |
| 3:19 | |
Total length: | 54:16 |
Unwritten — Japanese edition (bonus tracks)[9] | ||
---|---|---|
Track listing | ||
No. | Title | Length |
12. | "Size Matters" | 3:25 |
13. | "Peace of Me" | 3:45 |
14. | "The One That Got Away" | 4:16 |
15. | "Sojourn" (hidden track) | 3:19 |
Total length: | 58:32 |
Unwritten — Japanese 2005 reissue edition[10] | ||
---|---|---|
Track listing | ||
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "These Words" | 3:36 |
2. | "Single" | 3:55 |
3. | "Unwritten" | 4:15 |
4. | "Silent Movie" | 3:47 |
5. | "Stumble" | 3:36 |
6. | "Pieces of Me" | 3:43 |
7. | "If You're Gonna..." | 3:21 |
8. | "Drop Me in the Middle" (featuring Estelle) | 3:44 |
9. | "We're All Mad" | 4:45 |
10. | "I Bruise Easily" | 4:13 |
11. | "The One That Got Away" | 4:06 |
12. | "Size Matters" | 3:26 |
13. | "Wild Horses" | 3:58 |
14. | "Sojourn" (hidden track) | 3:19 |
Total length: | 51:04 |
Unwritten — North American edition[11][12] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Track listing | |||
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
1. | "These Words" |
| 3:38 |
2. | "Single" |
| 3:54 |
3. | "Unwritten" |
| 4:18 |
4. | "Silent Movie" |
| 3:45 |
5. | "Stumble" | 3:36 | |
6. | "Peace of Me" |
| 3:42 |
7. | "If You're Gonna ..." |
| 3:12 |
8. | "Drop Me in the Middle" (featuring Estelle) |
| 4:14 |
9. | "We're All Mad" |
| 4:46 |
10. | "I Bruise Easily" |
| 4:12 |
11. | "The One That Got Away" |
| 4:16 |
12. | "Size Matters" |
| 3:23 |
13. | "Wild Horses" |
| 3:55 |
14. | "Sojourn" (hidden track) |
| 3:19 |
Total length: | 51:03 |
Unwritten — North American and European DualDisc edition (bonus DVD)[13][14] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Track listing | |||
No. | Title | Director(s) | Length |
1. | "Entire Album in Enhanced Stereo" | ||
2. | "In the Studio Interview" | ||
3. | "These Words" (Music video) (US version) | Chris Milk | 3:43 |
4. | "Making of These Words" | ||
5. | "Single" (Music video) | Jake Nava | 3:30 |
6. | "I Bruise Easily" (Music video) | Matthew Rolston | 3:46 |
Unwritten — North American 2006 reissue edition[15] | ||
---|---|---|
Track listing | ||
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "These Words" (Manny Marroquin Mix) | 3:36 |
2. | "Single" ('06 Mix) | |
3. | "Unwritten" | 4:15 |
4. | "Silent Movie" | 3:47 |
5. | "I Bruise Easily" | 4:13 |
6. | "If You're Gonna..." | 3:20 |
7. | "Drop Me in the Middle" (featuring Estelle) | 3:43 |
8. | "Peace of Me" | 3:42 |
9. | "We're All Mad" | 4:44 |
10. | "Stumble" | 3:36 |
11. | "The One That Got Away" (Wamdue Pop Rocks Mix) | 4:56 |
12. | "Size Matters" | 3:25 |
13. | "Wild Horses" | 3:58 |
14. | "Sojourn" (hidden track) | 3:19 |
Total length: | 51:09 |
- Notes
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2004–05) | Peak position | |
---|---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] | 89 | |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] | 31 | |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] | 73 | |
French Albums (SNEP)[19] | 111 | |
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[20] | 16 | |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] | 20 | |
Irish Albums (IRMA)[22] | 4 | |
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[23] | 33 | |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] | 31 | |
scope="row" | Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] | 1 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] | 14 | |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] | 23 | |
UK Albums (OCC)[28] | 1 | |
US Billboard 200[29] | 26 | |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] | 3× Platinum | 1,000,000[31] |
United States (RIAA)[32] | Gold | 500,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Credits and personnel
- Natasha Bedingfield – primary artist, lead vocals, background vocals, songwriting
- Keith Andes – additional keyboards (on "Drop Me in the Middle")
- Dave Catlin-Birch – bass (on "Silent Movie")
- Guy Chambers – guitar, keyboards
- Justin Clayton – bass (on "Peace of Me")
- Larry Corbett – cello (on "Peace of Me")
- Keith Crouch – Hammond B-3 organ (on "Unwritten")
- Paul Gordon – keyboards (on "We're All Mad")
- Nick Ingman – string arrangements, conductor
- Patrick Leonard – music programming, keyboards (on "Peace of Me")
- David Low – cello (on "Stumble")
- Tim Pierce – guitar (on "Peace of Me")
- Robbie Campos – guitar, keyboards
- Michele Richards – violin (on "Peace of Me")
- Josephina Vergara – violin (on "Peace of Me")
- Greg Wells – bass, guitar, piano, drums
- Joey Waronker - drums (on "Peace of Me")
- Danielle Brisebois – background vocals (on "Unwritten")
- Jessica Collins – background vocals (on "Unwritten" and "Drop Me In The Middle")
- Nikola Bedingfield – background vocals (on "Unwritten" and "Drop Me In The Middle")
- Ryan Collins – background vocals (on "Unwritten")
- J. Curtis – guitar (on "Size Matters")
- Nick Lashley – guitar, keyboards
- Wayne Wilkins – piano, keyboards
- Chris Brown – bass (on "If You're Gonna...")
- Paul Herman – guitar (on "I Bruise Easily")
- Wayne Rodrigues – keyboards, turntables
- Andrew Frampton – guitar, keyboards
- Simon Hill – drums (on "If You're Gonna...")
- Andrew Duckles – viola (on "Peace of Me")
- Tony Hodson – guitar (on "Drop Me in the Middle")
- Paul Stanborough – additional guitars (on "Silent Movie")
Production
- Steve Kipner – producer, vocal arrangements
- Guy Chambers – producer
- Joe Chiccarelli – engineer
- John Hill – producer
- Nick Ingman – string arrangements, string conductor
- Patrick Leonard – programming, producer
- Steve MacMillan – engineer
- Herb Powers – mastering
- Greg Wells – programming, producer
- Gavyn Wright – string conductor
- Danielle Brisebois – producer, vocal arrangements
- Suzie Katayama – string contractor
- Nick Lashley – producer, engineer
- David Channing – digital editing
- Michael Perfitt – engineer, digital editing
- Ryan Freeland – engineer
- James Cruz – mastering
- Wayne Wilkins – programming, producer, engineer, vocal arrangements, string arrangements
- Ian Cuttler – art direction
- Richard Flack – producer, engineer, drum programming
- Robbie Campos – vocal arrangements, string arrangements
- Wayne Rodrigues – producer, engineer, digital editing, vocal arrangements, drum programming, Pro-Tools
- Andrew Frampton – programming, producer, vocal arrangements, string arrangements
- Michelle Holme – art direction
- Kieron Menzies – engineer
- Chris Steffen – engineer
- Peter Wade Keusch – producer
- Lee Groves – mixing programmer
- Natasha Bedingfield – vocal arrangements, writer
- Michael Tafaro – producer, vocal arrangements
- Nathan Winkler – producer, vocal arrangements
Release history
Region | Date | Edition | Format(s) | Label(s) | Catalog | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Europe | 6 September 2004 | Standard | CD |
|
|
[8][33] |
Australia | 11 October 2004 | BMG | 82876640002 | [34] | ||
Japan | 20 October 2004 |
|
[35] | |||
Canada | 2 August 2005 | 82876715642 | [36] | |||
United States |
|
|
|
[11][13] | ||
Europe | 30 September 2005 | Reissue | CD+DVD | BMG | 82876736772 | [14] |
Japan | 7 December 2005 | CD | BVCP-21434 | [10] | ||
United States | 6 June 2006 |
|
82876775152 | [15] |
References
- ↑ "Allmusic review".
- 1 2 Hollow, David (2005-09-06). "BBC – Music – Review of Natasha Bedingfield Unwritten". BBC Music. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
- 1 2 Begrand, Adrien (2005-09-27). "Natasha Bedingfield: Unwritten". PopMatters. BUZZMEDIA Music. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
- 1 2 Welsh, David (2004-09-06). "Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". musicOMH. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
- ↑ Hoard, Christian (25 August 2005). Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 April 2009). Rolling Stone.
- ↑ Are You Affected By Sony-BMG's Rootkit? (9 November 2005) from Electronic Frontier Foundation
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten at Discogs". Discogs.com. September 6, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- 1 2 "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album, Copy Prot.) at Discogs". Discogs.com. September 6, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. January 26, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- 1 2 "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album, RE) at Discogs". Discogs.com. December 7, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- 1 2 "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. August 2, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. August 2, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- 1 2 "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Hybrid, DualDisc, Album, NTSC) at Discogs". Discogs.com. August 2, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- 1 2 "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (Hybrid, DualDisc, PAL, Album, RE) at Discogs". Discogs.com. September 30, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- 1 2 "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album, RE) at Discogs". Discogs.com. June 6, 2006. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten" (in German). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
- ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 37, 2004". Chart-Track. IRMA.
- ↑ "Mexicancharts.com – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". Hung Medien.
- ↑ 12, 2004 "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". Hung Medien.
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Natasha Bedingfield.
- ↑ "British album certifications – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Unwritten in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ Myers, Justin (1 July 2016). "One hit album wonders – huge albums that were hard acts to follow". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ↑ "American album certifications – Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album, Copy Prot.) at Discogs". Discogs.com. September 6, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. October 11, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. October 20, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. August 2, 2005. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
External links
- Peter Wade Music – Producer Peter Wade Keusch.
Preceded by The Libertines by The Libertines |
UK number one album 18 September 2004 – 24 September 2004 |
Succeeded by Out of Nothing by Embrace |