Daniel Bedingfield explains where he's been since "traumatic" early success - video interview

30 January 2024, 14:07

Daniel Bedingfield speaks to Smooth. Picture: Smooth/Global

By Tom Eames

Daniel Bedingfield was one of the most successful British singers of the early 2000s.

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With his massive garage number one hit 'Gotta Get Thru This' in 2001, Daniel burst onto the music scene a DIY producer, making music from his bedroom at a time years before artists could do it themselves in the world of streaming and social media.

A year later, he continued this success with more hits, including the timeless ballad 'If You're Not the One'.

But by the mid-2000s, Daniel had retreated from the media glare, while also recovering from a near-fatal car accident.

With fans hoping he would eventually release a new album in the following years, Daniel only made the occasional appearances. This included a stint as a judge on X Factor New Zealand, releasing an EP in 2012, and briefly appearing in War of the Worlds in the West End.

Thankfully, he's finally back and embarking on a mini UK tour in April 2024, celebrating 20 years of his debut album.

Smooth's Jenni Falconer caught up with Daniel about the tour, what he's been up to, his sister Natasha, and what fans can expect next.

Watch the interview in full above or on Global Player here

"What am I doing now? So I've been in England, I've been in America for two decades, 20 years," he said. "Car crash was pretty intense. Early success, 18 years old to 22 was very intense.

Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One

"And I just wanted to go and learn some languages and be alive. I did a lot of my life dreams all at the beginning. And then once I'd done them, I was like, what do I do now? So I've just been exploring the planet and myself."

On his early success, he said: "At the time, it just felt a bit traumatic. Like the know Alexander the Great thing. Well, I've done it. So what I do now, what I found is that there's an enormous amount of beauty in the small things, to be honest.

"It's when I actually started doing my own dishes! That was pretty amazing. When you have massive success really early, the whole idea is to keep as much of the drama away from you as possible so you can breathe and you can focus.

"And as that drama slowly died down, there was less for me to have to shield from. There was no press. I could walk around the street, nobody recognised me. And I just kind of dropped into my body and entered my heart. And I feel quite comfortable now."