Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Unwritten’ Surpasses Nearly 2 Billion Streams More Than 20 Years After Its Release
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The pop star tells PEOPLE that the song has proven to be more than just a passing trend.
More than 20 years after its debut, Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten” continues to find new audiences, with the beloved track now approaching 2 billion streams.
During the Forbes Power Women’s Summit 2026 on Thursday, Sept. 10, the 44-year-old singer spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about the song’s remarkable streaming milestone and why its message has remained relevant for so long.
Bedingfield said she doesn’t view “Unwritten” as something that simply became popular for a short period.
“It feels like it’s not a trend,” she said. “It’s an anthem.”
The singer explained that creating an anthem was intentional from the beginning. She and her collaborators wanted to make a song that could be embraced and sung by people from all walks of life.
“When we wrote the song, we really did try to write an anthem, actually,” Bedingfield recalled. “We were like, ‘This is something that everyone can sing.’”
Her record label once challenged her to define the audience she was making music for. Her answer was straightforward: “everyone.”
Bedingfield said that belief has made hearing audiences sing “Unwritten” back to her especially meaningful.
“For that song, I always felt like it was for everyone,” she explained. “So when everyone sings it back to me, it makes me feel so amazing.”
Although the song was intended to connect with a wide audience, Bedingfield revealed that its message was personal for her, too. She viewed the track as a reminder that people can break away from expectations, make their own choices and shape the direction of their lives.
The “Pocketful of Sunshine” singer also discussed the next phase of her career at the summit. After releasing “Dot Dot Dot,” her first solo single in several years, she shared what listeners can expect from her upcoming music.
“The era that I’m in right now is art,” Bedingfield said. “It’s fun. It’s owning who I am and standing in that and growing as an artist.”
She added that her forthcoming album will incorporate contemporary production and sounds while maintaining the strong songwriting and vocal performances that have defined her work.
“Unwritten” originally appeared as the third single from Bedingfield’s 2004 debut studio album. The song later became closely associated with MTV’s The Hills, helping cement its status as a defining pop anthem of its era.
The track enjoyed major success on the Billboard charts, reaching No. 1 on both the U.S. Adult Contemporary and Dance Club Songs charts. It also climbed to No. 2 on the Adult Pop Airplay, Dance Airplay and Pop Airplay charts, while reaching No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Bedingfield previously opened up to PEOPLE in 2024 about the circumstances surrounding the song’s creation. After signing her first record deal at 22, she recalled feeling pressure to establish herself in a demanding music industry.
While working on new material, she became inspired by the concept of a child being like “a blank sheet of paper.” She said she was initially writing the song as a birthday gift for her younger brother Joshua, who was 14 at the time.
Bedingfield believes that personal connection may help explain why the song continues to resonate with younger listeners.
“I was trying to write a birthday present for my younger brother [Joshua], who was 14,” she previously told PEOPLE, adding that the message is particularly meaningful for teenagers because it reflects something many need to hear at that stage of life.