Strip Me

Strip Me
North American edition cover
Studio album by Natasha Bedingfield
Released	7 December 2010
Recorded	2008–2010
Studio	Various Enemy Dojo (Calabasas, California) Patriot Studios (Denver, Colorado) Henson Recording Studio Sage Sound Studios (Hollywood, California) The Galt Line (North Hollywood, California) John's Country Bunker Hit and Run Studios (Los Angeles, California) Avatar Studios Rodeo Recording (New York City, New York) Sub Zero Studios (Santa Monica, California) Sweatbox Studio (Topanga, California) Sphere Studios (London, England)
Genre	Pop[1] dance-pop[2] R&B[3]
Length	48:59 (Strip Me) 56:04 (Strip Me Away)
Label	Phonogenic
Producer	Marshall Altman Natasha Bedingield (also exec.) Julian Bunetta Andrew Frampton John Hill Steve Kipner Kleerup John Shanks Ryan Tedder Wayne Wilkins
Natasha Bedingfield chronology
Pocketful of Sunshine (2008) Strip Me / Strip Me Away (2010)
Singles from Strip Me
"Touch" Released: 18 May 2010 "Strip Me" Released: 31 August 2010
Strip Me Away
European edition cover
Singles from Strip Me Away
"Pocketful of Sunshine" Released: 15 April 2011

Strip Me is the third studio album by British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield. Originally due for release on 9 November 2010, the album's release was pushed back to 7 December 2010 through Phonogenic Records. "Touch" was released as the first single from the album on 18 May 2010, while the title track title song was released as the second single on 31 August 2010.

Neither of the album's singles were particularly successful on the US Billboard charts, although the album's title song enjoyed some success on the adult contemporary format, where it peaked at number twenty-three. Critical response to the album was generally mixed, with critics praising Strip Me's polished production, but stating that Bedingfield failed to deliver anything different or outstanding. The album debuted at number 103 on US Billboard 200 with 10,000 copies sold, a significant drop compared to her previous album, which debuted at number three, and sold five times as many copies.

In Europe, Strip Me was released in May 2011 under the title Strip Me Away, with more colorful artwork and an expanded list of tracks. It charted only in Germany and Switzerland.

Background and production

Bedingfield finished recording the album in July 2010.^[4] The project's title was unveiled through Bedingfield's official Twitter page on 15 July 2010.^[5] She described the album as "be[ing] the next level from what I've already done....It's just more vibrant and exciting. And I can't wait for people to hear it."^[4] In an interview with Billboard, Bedingfield said:

"I've titled the album Strip Me because its about stripping down who we are as humans. We're united about our needs, our desires and our pain, all the different things we go through together. Strip Me felt like it explains what the songs are about more than any other title I could think of. So it has a double meaning, but I think people kind of know me enough to know what I mean by it.^[6]

The thirteen-track standard edition,^[7] the twenty-one track deluxe edition^[8] and pre-order bonus track editions^[9] of the album were complied from more than 50 songs which Bedingfield had written since touring. In an interview with PopEater she said "I've been touring for so many years now that I wrote with my live gigs in mind. I wanted to write anthems that people could sing along to – things that were still personal, but definitely trying to find the best way to connect with people."^[10] On the album she worked with Andreas Kleerup, John Hill, Wyclef Jean, Salaam Remi, Ryan Tedder, Jonas Myrin, Eg White and Sia Furler.^[11] None of the songs worked on with Jean, Remi or Furler made the final track listing, although all of the songs on the final track list were co-written by Bedingfield.^[7] Additionally Idolator revealed that Bedingfield had recorded a Ne-Yo-assisted duet titled "The Little Things", which was produced by StarGate, though it was not included on the final pressing either.^[12] Bedingfield told fans in December 2010, via a recorded video message, that the album could be released elsewhere in the world later on but for the near present she was focusing on America.^[13]

Promotion

Bedingfield's label, Epic Records, outlined plans for the artist to tour in the second half of 2010, in support of the album.^[14] However, in September 2010, Billboard revealed that Bedingfield's tour plans were shifted back into 2011 though no dates were confirmed.^[6] Additionally, the singer announced "Touch" will be used in TV commercials for NIVEA skin care.^[15][16] Album track "Can't Fall Down" was exclusively streamed via Billboard's official website on 3 December 2010.^[6] Meanwhile, another song from the album, "Weightless", was made available to stream on E! Online's website.^[17] Bedingfield promoted the album with performances of the album's title song on The Today Show on 7 December, LIVE! with Regis and Kelly on 8 December, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 9 December 2010 as well as appearances on Chelsea Lately and Rachel Ray.^[18] She was also announced on the line-up for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve concert hosted by Ryan Seacrest.^[19] According to AOL online, Bedingfield also signed a promotion deal with Hotel Indigo which would see cross promotion of the hotel chain and album.^[20] In January 2011, Bedingfield was invited to the head offices of Rolling Stone magazine, where she performed "Pocketful of Sunshine", "Soulmate" and "Strip Me".^[21] To promote the album, Bedingfield announced her Less is More Tour, which began on 5 June and included 29 US cities.^[22] The deluxe version of Strip Me subsequently featured several audio and video recordings from the Less is More Tour dates.^[23][8]

Both "Strip Me" and "A Little Too Much" became official theme songs for recent films Morning Glory and Something Borrowed respectively, being featured in both the trailers and in the films' ending credits.^[24] "Neon Lights" was featured in the ending credits of the 2011 film What's Your Number?.

Singles

"Touch" was unveiled as the album's lead single. The up-tempo song was written by Bedingfield, Julien Bunetta and Steve Kipner, and produced by Bunetta and Kipner,^[14][15] It was released to the iTunes Store on 18 May 2010.^[25] Additionally it was sent to US Mainstream radio stations on 29 June 2010.^[26] The song peaked on the Canadian Hot 100 at number sixty.^[27] However, it was later declared a buzz single by Bedingfield's official website and the album's title track revealed as the replacement lead single.^[28] "Strip Me" was released to Mainstream radio stations on 31 August 2010^[26] and digital download on 21 September 2010.^[29] "Strip Me" was moderately more successful, reaching number sixty-five in Canada and number ninety-one on the Billboard Hot 100.^[30]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	60/100[31]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
California Chronicle	[32]
Entertainment Weekly	(C)[33]
Rolling Stone	[34]
Slant Magazine	[1]

Strip Me received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60, which indicates "mixed or average reviews", based on 4 reviews. Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly gave Strip Me a C rating and wrote that it "plays like one long, increasingly desperate pep talk. The only breather? 'Unexpected Hero,' a lovely late-Beatles-style ballad."^[33] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted the album for "retaining [the] same blend of well-manicured R&B and European sophistication" of Bedingfield's debut album and commented that she "plays it exceptionally safe, to the extent that she even tones down the self-empowerment of her first two records, preferring pristine blue-eyed soul and adult contemporary ballads, all tailored for an aspirational upscale lifestyle".^[3] Slant magazine's Jonathon Keefe found it "single-minded in its uplifting, inspirational tone", writing in conclusion that "Bedingfield uses her powerful voice to oversing most of her material, making Strip Me feel like even more of a sermon. It may not be the year's worst pop album, but it might just be the most exhausting and heavy-handed."^[1]

Commercial performance

Strip Me was originally due to be released on 9 November 2010;^[35] however, it was pushed back to 7 December 2010.^[36] It's Bedingfield's third album to be released in the United States and Canada and the second release by Bedingfield to be released exclusively in these territories, following in the footsteps of 2008's Pocketful of Sunshine.^[37] On 16 December 2010, the album made its US Billboard 200 chart debut at number 103, having sold just under 10,000 copies. It was a significant decline compared to Pocketful of Sunshine (2008), which debuted at number three having sold 50,000 copies.^[38] It remained in the top 200 for just its opening week;^[39] however, it re-appeared in 2011, on 15 January, at number 157.^[40]

Track listing

Strip Me

Strip Me – Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Little Too Much"	Natasha Bedingfield John Hill Jonas Myrin	Hill	3:30
2.	"All I Need" (featuring Kevin Rudolf)	Bedingfield Danielle Brisebois John Shanks Rudolf	Shanks	3:45
3.	"Strip Me"	Bedingfield Ryan Tedder Wayne Wilkins	Wilkins Tedder Bedingfield	3:29
4.	"Neon Lights"	Bedingfield Tedder Wilkins	Wilkins Tedder Bedingfield	3:44
5.	"Weightless"	Bedingfield Steve Kipner Wilkins Andre Merritt	Wilkins Kipner Bedingfield	3:55
6.	"Can't Fall Down"	Bedingfield Kipner Andrew Frampton Wilkins	Wilkins Frampton Kipner Bedingfield	4:09
7.	"Try"	Bedingfield Brisebois Shanks	Shanks	3:16
8.	"Touch"	Bedingfield Kipner Julian Bunetta	Bunetta Kipner	3:47
9.	"Run-Run-Run"	Bedingfield Hill Myrin	Hill	3:06
10.	"Break Thru"	Bedingfield Andreas Kleerup Myrin	Kleerup Bedingfield (vocal)	4:07
11.	"No Mozart"	Bedingfield Kipner Frampton Wilkins	Wilkins Frampton Kipner Bedingfield	3:48
12.	"Recover"	Bedingfield Eg White	Marshall Altman	3:49
13.	"Weightless" (Less Is More Version)	Bedingfield Kipner Wilkins Merritt	Altman	4:31
Total length:				48:49

Strip Me – iTunes Store edition (bonus track)[9]
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Easy" (with Rascal Flatts)	Katrina Elam Mike Mobley	Rascal Flats Dann Huff	3:39
Total length:				52:28

Strip Me – iTunes Store pre-order edition (bonus track)[9][33][41]
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Unexpected Hero"	Bedingfield Daniel Carey	Carey	3:22
Total length:				52:11

Strip Me – Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[8]
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Easy" (with Rascal Flatts)	3:39
15.	"Strip Me" (Less Is More Version)	3:45
16.	"All I Need" (Less Is More Version)	4:32
17.	"Can't Fall Down" (Less Is More Version)	4:26
18.	"Strip Me" (Less Is More Version) (music video)	3:53
19.	"All I Need" (Less Is More Version) (music video)	3:53
20.	"Can't Fall Down" (Less Is More Version) (music video)	4:22
21.	"Weightless" (Less Is More Version) (music video)	4:39
Total length:		79:58

Strip Me Away

In international territories, Strip Me was released under the title Strip Me Away, with an amended track listing.^[42]

Strip Me Away – Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Pocketful of Sunshine"	Bedingfield Brisebois Shanks	Shanks	3:23
2.	"Little Too Much"	Bedingfield Hill Myrin	Hill	3:30
3.	"All I Need" (featuring Kevin Rudolf)	Bedingfield Brisebois Rudolf Shanks	Shanks	3:45
4.	"Strip Me"	Bedingfield Tedder Wilkins	Bedingfield Tedder Wilkins	3:29
5.	"Neon Lights"	Bedingfield Tedder Wilkins	Bedingfield Tedder Wilkins	3:44
6.	"Weightless"	Bedingfield Kipner Merritt Wilkins	Bedingfield Kipner Wilkins	3:55
7.	"Can't Fall Down"	Bedingfield Frampton Kipner Wilkins	Bedingfield Kipner Wilkins	4:09
8.	"Try"	Bedingfield Brisebois Shanks	Shanks	3:16
9.	"Touch"	Bedingfield Bunetta Kipner	Bunetta Kipner	3:47
10.	"Run-Run-Run"	Bedingfield Hill Myrin	Hill	3:06
11.	"Break Thru"	Bedingfield Kleerup Myrin	Kleerup	4:07
12.	"No Mozart"	Bedingfield Frampton Kipner Wilkins	Frampton Kipner Wilkins	3:48
13.	"Recover"	Bedingfield White	Altman	3:49
14.	"Weightless" (Less Is More Version)	Bedingfield Kipner Merritt Wilkins	Altman	4:31
15.	"Put Your Arms Around Me"	Bedingfield Kipner Frampton Wilkins	Bedingfield Kipner Frampton Wilkins	3:43
16.	"Unexpected Hero"	Bedingfield Carey	Carey	3:22
Total length:				56:04

Strip Me Away – German iTunes Store edition (bonus tracks)[43]
Track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Piece of Your Heart"	Bedingfield Jonathan Rotem Brisebois	J. R. Rotem	3:47
18.	"Unwritten" (acoustic) (featuring Carney)
19.	"Pocketful of Sunshine" (music video)

Strip Me Away – Deluxe edition (bonus DVD)[42]
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Strip Me" (Less Is More Version)
2.	"Weightless" (Less Is More Version)
3.	"Can't Fall Down" (Less Is More Version)
4.	"Run-Run-Run" (Less Is More Version)
5.	"Pocketful of Sunshine" (music video)
6.	"Strip Me" (music video)

Sample credits

• "All I Need" contains samples and excerpts from "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf.^[7]

Personnel

Taken from Barnes & Noble.^[44]

Performance credits

Natasha Bedingfield – primary artist Steve Kipner – percussion Vinnie Colaiuta – drums Nick Lashley – guitar John Shanks – bass, guitar, keyboards David Glass – guitar, percussion, ukulele Marshall Altman – percussion Curt Schneider – bass Wayne Wilkins – keyboards Michael Chaves – acoustic guitar, electric guitar Zac Rae – banjo, piano, keyboards, xylophone, Wurlitzer

Andrew Frampton – bass, guitar David Levita – acoustic guitar, electric guitar Ryan Tedder – guitar, keyboards Aaron Sterling – percussion, drums Jonas Myrin – keyboards Kleerup – guitar, keyboards, sounds John Hill – guitar Jess Collins – background vocals Charlie Judge – keyboards Eric Robinson – electric guitar

Technical credits

Steve Kipner – composer, producer Danielle Brisebois – composer Lars Fox – Pro-Tools John Shanks – composer, producer David Glass – engineer, vocal engineer Marshall Altman – arranger, programming, producer Wayne Wilkins – composer, programming, producer, engineer Noel Zancanella – engineer Eg White – composer Andrew Frampton – composer, producer Jeff Rothschild – programming, engineer, drum programming Björn Yttling – string arrangements Kevin Rudolf – composer

Ryan Tedder – composer, programming, producer Natasha Bedingfield – composer, producer, executive producer, vocal producer Julian Bunetta - composer, producer, instrumentation Andreas Kleerup – composer Jonas Myrin – composer Kleerup – producer, beats Andre Merritt – composer John Hill – composer, programming, producer, instrumentation Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering Eric Robinson – engineer Henrik Gustafsson – engineer Calle Bagge – string arrangements

Charts

Chart (2010–11) Peak position German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[45] 45 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[46] 42 US Billboard 200[39] 103

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, edition, format, record label, catalog number and reference.

Region	Date	Edition	Format(s)	Label(s)	Catalog	Ref.
Canada	7 December 2010	Standard	CD digital download	Sony Music	886977442222	[47]
		Deluxe	Digital download		886977442223	[23]
United States		Standard	CD digital download	Epic Phonogenic	886977442222	[9]
		Deluxe	Digital download		886977442223	[8]
Austria	13 May 2011	Strip Me Away	CD CD+DVD digital download	Sony Music	88697912292	[48][49]
Germany						[43]
Switzerland						[49]

References

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2. "Natasha Bedingfield 'Strips' Away Gimmicks on New Album, Gets Cheeky in Exclusive Interview".
3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (9 November 2010). "Strip Me – Natasha Bedingfield". AllMusic (Macrovision / Rovicorp). Retrieved 19 December 2010.
4. McGonigle, Molly (16 July 2010). "Natasha Bedingfield on her new album: 'I've taken it to another place'". Wonderwall (MSN). Retrieved 18 July 2010.
5. Semigran, Aly (15 July 2010). "'Inception' Anticipation And Joe Jonas Films 'Cleveland' In Today's Tweet Dreams". Hollywoodcrush.mtv.com MTV Networks (Viacom). Retrieved 18 July 2010.
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7. Strip Me (Booklet). Natasha Bedingfield. Los Angeles, CA: Phonogenic, Epic Records (Cat no. 88697744222). 2010.
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