Independent voice

British star Natasha Bedingfield has gone mainstream without blending in | David Sessions

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Twenty-six-year-old Natasha Bedingfield, a budding pop singer from the United Kingdom, occasionally gets questions about her faith. She answers them honestly and cheerfully, not forgetting to mention that she came to life as a vocalist at Hillsong London church, or that she believes prayer is a powerful, rejuvenating force.

But you wouldn't know that if you had only seen Bedingfield command the stage of the Today show with R&B sensation Sean Kingston recently, or if you knew her from hearing her single "Unwritten" on the radio every few minutes a couple of summers ago. Or perhaps you happened to catch the news that a woman had topped the British pop charts for the first time in almost two decades. That was Bedingfield and her single "These Words," which led to a Grammy nomination and, to date, almost 7 million records sold.