Pocketful of Sunshine

iTunes Review

The music on Natasha Bedingfield’s third album, Pocketful of Sunshine, falls exactly at the place where adult-contemporary rock and club music meet. “Pocketful of Sunshine” and “Angel” are reminiscent of Kelly Clarkson, were she more influenced by R&B than rock ’n’ roll. While rock theatrics have helped propel Bedingfield to the upper echelon of the pop charts, the best songs on Pocketful of Sunshine dig deeper into her soul influences. “Who Knows?” “Happy” and “Pirate Bones” are smart, subtly funky tracks that would be more at home next to Joss Stone than they would Avril Lavigne. In the end, it is Bedingfield’s ingratiating hooks that will attract the most fans. “Love Like This” and “Put Your Arms Around Me” are as catchy as Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” and Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body,” and with the help of like-minded artists like Maroon 5’s Adam Levine (who appears in a duet on “Say It Again”) Bedingfield’s music should have no trouble finding its way out of the club and onto the sunny day radio playlists of pop fans everywhere.