“Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield

Rating: 9/10

“Pocketful of Sunshine” has what most albums only hope to have: 13 tracks that the listener won’t want to skip over.

Combining the vocal sounds of artists Ciara and Kelly Clarkson, Natasha Bedingfield is a choir director’s dream come true. Her voice offers a powerful, clear sound with great articulation that makes the 26-year-old appeal to not only teens, but also to the older crowd.

“Pocketful of Sunshine” is by far Bedingfield’s most remarkable album. “Unwritten,” her 2004 debut album, seemed unbeatable. However, Bedingfield proves through her new album that her creativity (especially the inclusion of uprising R&B artist Sean Kingston on the track “Love Like This”) makes the album fresh and worth listening to.

Branching away from just the pop genre, the new album offers several different styles of music in each track. There’s the harsher rock sound of “Pirate Bones,” the adult contemporary sway in “Put Your Arms Around Me,” and the teen pop spunk in “Angel.” The rest of the album mixes all of these styles to go beyond the general pop sensibilities of “Unwritten.”

Through songs such as “Backyard” and “Freckles,” the album touches on messages of loving who you are, even the imperfections, as well as reminiscing about the days gone by. “Pirate Bones” includes a spunky musical sound with a drum beat that sounds like a heart pounding.

The only negative to this album is that tracks like “Put Your Arms Around Me,” “Who Knows” and “Not Givin’ Up” all have lyrics that are repetitive. However, the instrumentals for each song grasp the concept of switching instruments, pitch and tempo to make the listener want to hear the entire song.

This London-born woman has been in the U.S. for less than two years, but both her albums have taken the country by storm. The energy found on “Pocketful of Sunshine” mirrors the sound from the already popular “Unwritten” and certainly does not disappoint. It is wonderful to see that Bedingfield has broken out from under her pop-artist brother, Daniel, to create a success story of her own.

So, whether you’re throwing a dance party in the dorms, driving in your car to work or relaxing on the couch, “Pocketful of Sunshine” is one album that is worth playing. You’ll never find an album that you’ll “Love Like This.”