Here’s why Natasha Bedingfield’s noughties classic ‘Unwritten’ is back in the charts
Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Unwritten’ is the latest noughties track to have a viral resurgence. (YouTube)
Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” has charted in the UK again – almost 20 years on from its initial release – after featuring in the romcom, Anyone But You.
The film stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as Bea and Ben, who go on a date after an awkward first encounter in a coffee shop, they go on a date, but things soon turn sour.
However, after the pair unexpectedly find themselves at the Australian wedding of a mutual friend, they’re forced to reconnect.
One of the film’s most notable scenes, involving the pair being airlifted out of Sydney Harbour after falling out off a boat, features 2004 hit “Unwritten.” It’s Bea’s favourite song and she suggests they sing it to distract themselves from their situation.
The track, which was also famously used as the theme song for noughties reality series The Hills, has since enjoyed a revival similar to that of “Murder On The Dancefloor – which features in Saltburn – coming into the charts at number 18. It peaked at number six originally.
This is not the first time a Bedingfield song has featured on the big screen. “Pocket Full of Sunshine,” is played during a shower scene in 2010’s Easy A, which was directed, like Anyone But You, by Will Gluck. But she’s never enjoyed a bounce on this level.
“I’ve had songs in movies before but this time I really love the way it’s been used in such a special way that it makes you feel joyful. People are actually singing it as they leave the theatre,” the singer told NME.
“Over the years, ‘Unwritten’ has somehow become an anthem to sing at the top of your lungs. This makes me the happiest girl in the world as I have always felt that a good pop song is actually something you can belt. Like a good football song.”
Speaking to Official Charts, Bedingfield revealed: “[Will Gluck] said, ‘It’s a big part of their love story’. But when I went to the premiere and watched it, I didn’t expect it to be such a part of the movie. The way it’s just exploded online has been amazing. I love it.”
And talking exclusively to PinkNews in June, she said: “When I sing [it] in an LGBTQ+ crowd, I always feel like people really know what it’s about. You get it. You get what I’m talking about.”
“Wild Horses” is another track she feels furthers her relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. “That song, people have come out to their parents after listening to it,” she said.
“As a performer, I’m very good at makeup, being fabulous, but like, really being myself, authentic, stepping into who I am, that’s a lesson I’m always learning from the gay community, and it’s powerful.”
