The difficult second album by
Natasha Bedingfield, titled N.B., was released in April 2007. Her brother
Daniel had already been there with
Second First Impression which was nowhere near as successful as his first album
Gotta Get Thru This. Since her debut album
Unwritten, a whole series of similar female singers had broken through, including
Amy Winehouse,
Corinne Bailey Rae and
Lily Allen and this was the market
Bedingfield was now competing in. The songs on
Nb focus on relationships from the very start of the ballad "Soulmate," the first single to be lifted from the album, about being on your own and wondering if there is a soulmate for everyone, through to "When You Know You Know" about breaking up, set to a soundtrack reminiscent of early-'70s soul bands like
The Delfonics or
Bloodstone (one doubts that
Natasha Bedingfield knows of these groups) and another ballad, "Backyard" wondering why things can't be like they used to.
Read More