“If only I can get thru this/God, God, gotta help me get thru this”
— from “Gotta Get Thru This”
Born in New Zealand and raised in London, 22–year–old Daniel Bedingfield is quickly gaining attention as a production wunderkind. It would be tempting to write him off as the Euro pop equivalent to Justin Timberlake or Aaron Carter, though his sound more resembles pop groups such as Take That and Boyzone. The reality, however, is that he’s too talented for such teen pop comparisons.
Bridging together elements of pop, rock, R&&B, and dance, Bedingfield doesn’t just write and sing his own material, which is already a step ahead of most teen pop artists. He also records it all in his bedroom with a computer and a microphone, playing most of the instruments himself and tweaking the mix later in a professional recording studio. It sounds terrific (testament to today’s technology) and it’s earned him deserved comparisons to George Michael, Stevie Wonder, Craig David, and Michael Jackson. Bedingfield even pressed and distributed the original CDs of his song “Gotta Get Thru This,” a dance–pop hit in clubs on both sides of the Atlantic.
Turns out that Bedingfield’s also an outspoken Christian. Depending which bio you read, his parents are either missionaries or social workers. He openly shares his faith in concerts and in some of his music. For example, “Gotta Get Thru This” is essentially a plea to cope with a first–time crush. Okay, so the only spiritual line in the song (excerpted above) is a bit of a stretch. There are still a handful of sweet, unrequited love songs showing remarkable wholesomeness and maturity concerning romance–including two with references to prayer: “If You’re Not the One” (“I pray you’re the one I build my home with”) and “Without the Girl” (“Heaven knows everyday I pray that someday she will belong to me”).
Of course, he’s not the first mainstream artist to pray for perfect love. Christian listeners are bound to be more impressed with “Blown It Again,” which initially seems like a song of reconciliation between friends. It is, but chances are he’s referring to a more long–time and heavenly friend: “Diggin’ up the heart within me/Dismay is the only feeling I see/I have to say my heart ain’t what it could be … You can’t live a life if you don’t ask why/Such a thing as too much information/Trapped inside this condemnation/I could’ve told you all my fears all those years/Now I’m ashamed of my ways.”
Then there’s the gentle acoustic “Honest Questions,” which seems inspired by Psalm 63 and/or Isaiah 35. It’s stunning to hear a song this faith–based on a mainstream release: “Oh look down and see the tears I’ve cried, the lives I’ve lived, the deaths I’ve died/You died them too, and all for me/You say, ‘I will pour my water down upon a thirsty barren land/And streams will flow from the dust of your bruised and broken soul.'”
Most of Gotta Get Thru This is best described as irresistible romantic dance–pop fluff. Especially fun are the infectious dance pop/rock of “Girlfriend” and “Inflate My Ego” (which incorporates Henry Mancini’s well–known “Peter Gunn Theme”). Christian listeners will rejoice more in the knowledge that the album is “utterly and completely dedicated to the creator, Yahweh” and that Bedingfield points “with [his] broken fingers toward the only safety I know–greater love hath no man than he …” (both indicated in the liner notes). I get the feeling we’ll be hearing more from Daniel Bedingfield inside and outside of Christian music.
Unless specified clearly, we are not implying whether this artist is or is not a Christian. The views expressed are simply the author’s. For a more complete description of our Glimpses of God articles, click here.
