WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Daniel Bedingfield

If Daniel Bedingfield wasn’t the one, then who was? And where is he now? We gotta get thru this

Once upon a time there was a boy called Daniel Bedingfield who was born in New Zealand in 1979. He loved music so much he wrote and produced a song called “Gotta Get Thru This”, released on Reckless Records in November 2001, the song became a huge chart hit, hitting number one in the UK, No.10 in America and Australia, and selling over two million copies. Daniel was signed to Polydor only weeks later and the following Summer, released “James Dean (I Wanna Know)”, which peaked at No.4 in the UK. Daniel released his debut album, named after his debut single, in August and it would become a huge global hit, going five-times Platinum in the UK (1.5 million plus copies).

His third single, “If You’re Not The One”, would cement his success Stateside, where it would take a slow ascent of the chart into 2003 and take his album to No.41 with over 500,000 copies sold. “If You’re Not The One” would give Daniel a second number one in the UK and a top ten hit all across Europe. Three more singles would be lifted from “Gotta Get Thru This”, which would boast worldwide sales of more than four million. “I Can’t Read You” (UK No.6), “Never Gonna Leave Your Side” – a third UK number one – and “Friday” (UK No.28). Daniel would close 2003 with a clutch of international music awards and a Grammy nomination for “Gotta Get Thru This”. He won Best British male artist at the 2004 Brit Award ceremony, where he was also nominated for Best British Album and Best Pop Act.

2004 saw Daniel writing and recording his follow up album and with his success around the world, some doors were open widely for him. Top songwriter Diane Warren wrote what was to become the lead single from the album, “Nothing Hurts Like Love”, released in late 2004. The song charted at No.3 in the UK, although oddly for a Diane Warren song, it was not a hit in America. Daniel followed this with the album “Second First Impression” before 2004 was out, going top ten in the UK and gaining a Gold certification for sales of 100,000 copies. Just two more singles were taken from the album, “Wrap My Arms Around You” (UK No.12) and “The Way (UK No.41), before Daniel disappeared and seemed to turn his back on the music industry.

Daniel’s younger sister, Natasha (b.1981) embarked on a music career of her own in 2004 and also found success on both sides of the Atlantic with her singles “These Words” and “Unwritten”. Her first two albums, “Unwritten” and “N.B.”, were also hugely successful. Natasha’s most recent work, “Roll With Me“, was released in 2019. Daniel continued as a songwriter for the rest of the 00’s and made a comeback of sorts in 2012 with the 10-track release “Stop the Traffik – Secret Fear”, which featured the songs “Rocks Off” and “Don’t Write Me Off”. Daniel has written tunes for Ben Haenow (“Testify” in 2015), Pixie Lott, Katy B and American band Weezer. Daniel took to the stage in 2016 in a West End production of The War Of The Worlds. More recently, in a blink and you’ll miss him performance, Daniel popped up as guest vocalist on Australian duo Hermitude’s 2020 release “Spotlight”. He’s not done yet and one day he may well record an album of new material himself. Don’t leave it too long Daniel!