unwritten

"Unwritten"
Single by Natasha Bedingfield from the album Unwritten
Released	November 29, 2004 February 7, 2005 August 2005
Format	CD single, digital download, airplay
Genre	Pop
Length	4:19
Label	Sony BMG
Writer	Natasha Bedingfield, Danielle Brisebois, Wayne Rodriguez
Producer	Danielle Brisebois
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Natasha Bedingfield UK singles chronology
"These Words" (2004)	"Unwritten" (2004)	"I Bruise Easily" (2005)
Natasha Bedingfield U.S. singles chronology
"These Words (I Love You, I Love You)" (2005)	"Unwritten" (2006)	"Single" (2006)

"Unwritten" is a single from English singer Natasha Bedingfield, co-written by her, Danielle Brisebois and Wayne Rodrigues. The song appears on her debut album, which is also named Unwritten. It was released as her third single in the United Kingdom in November 2004, and as her second single in the United States in 2006, the song proved to be a big hit for the singer in the U.S., as it climbed slowly on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, eventually reaching number five for two weeks (becoming her second Top 20 hit and first Top 10 hit in the country).

As of March 2006, "Unwritten" was certified platinum in the U.S., making it one of the best selling digital tracks (and one of very few singles to sell in excess of a million copies) to date.

Unwritten was also the most played song on U.S. radio during 2006 as confirmed before her performance at the Diana concert.^{[citation needed]}

The song also proved to be very popular in other radio formats in the United States. The Johnny Vicious and Hani Club Mixes peaked at number one on the Dance Club Play and number two on the Dance Radio Airplay chart, while the original version went to number two on the Adult Top 40 and spent 10 weeks at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. It spent 13 weeks in the top 10 of the Hot 100.

On the fifth season of American Idol, contestant Ayla Brown sang "Unwritten" just before being eliminated from the show. "Unwritten" was also played in the following motion pictures: Ice Princess, The Da Vinci Code, Family Guy, Because I Said So, and The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants. 2006 World Champion figure skater Kimmie Meissner has done multiple exhibition programs to the song as well.

This song is also used as the theme song for MTV's reality show The Hills.

It was also used in spots that announce the relaunch of Pantene in the United States and throughout Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, Greece, Italy and Spain, where it was the first single from N.B.. It reached number one in the Spanish iTunes chart, in the Airplay chart and in los 40 chart, in 2007.

Natasha Bedingfield performed this song in the Concert For Diana.

Music video

Two different video clips were made for the promotion of the song: one was shot in 2004 in the UK to promote it internationally; the other one was shot in the United States in 2006 to promote the single in North America. Both versions received airplay in Latin America.

International version: shows Bedingfield as the cover of an animated book that travels through many places, and as the animated book travels, Bedingfield's clothes change according to the weather. At the end of the video, after the animated book has climbed a tall building, it is scared by a bird and falls, with its pages being torn down. People below pick up the pages and look up to the sky.

North American and Spanish version: directed by Chris Applebaum, shows Bedingfield on an elevator, and as the elevator stops, she experiences new things in her life on some floors of the building (singing with a church choir, seeing a couple kiss madly, watching a janitor throw away his money and watches, comforting a gothic who later grows happy and shares her joy with a man who comes in the elevator) and even finds a love interest (that stops with her in the first floor, with their end being "unwritten"). According to an TRL interview, Natasha chose to make a scene where she gets wet because while filming the North American version of her "These Words" video it was a very hot and sunny day in Rio de Janeiro. This scene occurs the second time Bedingfield sings "Feel the rain on your skin." She and several children jump and dance as they are sprayed by water.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Unwritten".

UK 2-Track CD
(Released November 29, 2004)

1. "Unwritten [Album Version]"
2. "Wild Horses [Live In Sydney]"

UK Maxi CD
(Released November 29, 2004)

1. "Unwritten [Album Version]"
2. "The Scientist [Live At BBC Radio One Live Lounge]"
3. "If You're Gonna [Paul Oakenfield Remix 7" Remix]"
4. "Unwritten [Video]"

International CD Maxi
(Released February 7, 2005)

1. "Unwritten [Radio Edit]"
2. "The Scientist [Live At BBC Radio One Live Lounge]"
3. "If You're Gonna [Paul Oakenfield Remix 7" Remix]"
4. "Unwritten [Album Version]"
5. "Unwritten [Video]"

Chart performance

Peaking at number-five for two weeks in the United States, "Unwritten" charted at number six on the 2006's Hot 100 year-end chart. "Unwritten" stayed in the Hot 100 for thirty-eight weeks, thirteen of those inside the top ten, estimated sales in the United States for "Unwritten" are over 1.7 Million downloads.

In 2005, after the single was first released, it peaked at number eighteen on the United World Chart. In 2006, after the single was released in North America, it managed to re-enter the chart, and climb back up to number twenty. In 2007, "Unwritten" was released as a single in Spain, where it topped the charts.

In popular culture

• In North America, New Zealand, Australia and the Philippines, the song is used for Pantene commercials (circa 2007).

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