From near-fatal car accident to the West End – what Daniel Bedingfield has been up to for 20 years-Rachael O'Connor-Entertainment – Metro

Daniel Bedingfield is making his big return with a tour announced for 2024 (Picture: Redferns)

When you think back to 2001, what do you remember the most?

Was it Legally Blonde hitting cinemas, the Spice Girls splitting up… or are you like us and only really recall Daniel Bedingfield’s timeless classic Gotta Get Thru This, one of the greatest pop tracks of the century?

Ask any millennial about the song, and their eyes light up – it’s like they’re right back there in the moment, misty-eyed over a song that, more likely than not, is still in their Spotify playlists.

As one 30-something on the Metro desk puts it: ‘I remember the first time I heard it on Radio 1, blasting through my mum’s car radio – I’d never heard anything like it before. The beat, the genderless vocals, the technology of it all – it still gives me chills today.’

Daniel burst onto the scene with Gotta Get Thru This in November 2001 – a pop culture behemoth of a song created in his bedroom, using a PC, a microphone, and music software Reason, helping pave the way for pop monsters like Billie Eilish and Finneas.

His debut single soared to number one in the charts in 2001 and 2002 thanks to its release late in the year, and hit the top 10 in multiple countries abroad.

It was even nominated for a Grammy – all this from a track put together in his bedroom, written as the Londoner longed for a girl who tragically lived in Leeds.

It’s been two decades since Daniel kept Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Murder On The Dancefloor from the top of the charts, and now that she’s having a massive revival thanks to Saltburn, it’s fitting that Natasha Bedingfield’s older brother is rearing his head once more.

The pop star, 44, announced this week that he is making a comeback, with a whole tour named after his debut hit and album.

Gotta Get Thru This was an instant mega-hit, after Daniel created it in his bedroom (Picture: Polydor)

After securing multiple number ones with the help of wedding favourite If You’re Not The One and Never Gonna Leave Your Side, Daniel went from an artist you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing, to fading into obscurity.

So, with the star set to return with a massive comeback tour, just what the hell has he been up to for the last 20 years?

What happened to Daniel Bedingfield?

The star appeared to drop off the face of the planet after 2004 – but he was going through some serious medical issues (Picture: Getty Images for Airbnb)

Daniel was on the rise after the success of his first few singles and debut album Gotta Get Thru This, being nominated for a Grammy and winning a Brit award for best British male artist in 2004. But his second album didn’t perform as well, with two released singles reaching number three and 12 in the charts, and final single The Way not hitting the top 40.

This may have something to do with the fact that, around the same time, he was involved in a devastating car crash – and almost lost his life.

The star was visiting family in New Zealand in January 2004 when the SUV he was driving came off the road and flipped several times; he and a passenger had to be cut out of the vehicle, and Daniel suffered serious injuries to his head and neck.

The accident happened when he was visiting his and sister Natasha Bedingfield’s parents in New Zealand (Picture: Getty Images)

He was kept in hospital for over a week and went on to suffer serious convulsions in the months following – but miraculously made a full recovery.

At the time, he said that he planned to keep writing his next album while recovering.

What music has Daniel Bedingfield released since 2004?

In 2007, Daniel declared he had three albums recorded and ready to be released, but he has so far never released another album.

That’s not to say he wasn’t busy, however. He actually scored another UK number one hit, it just didn’t have his name on it.

In 2014 Daniel co-wrote the SecondCity track I Wanna Feel, which burst onto the charts at number one and stayed in the top 20 for six weeks.

The New Zealand native also appeared as a judge on the country’s own version of The X Factor for several years and became the winning mentor of the first series thanks to his act Jackie Thomas.

He has worked with K-pop group Spica, helping produce their first-ever English language single, and acting as the group’s vocal director, and also dabbled in acting, having held a role in the West End production of The War of the Worlds in 2016.

The musician dabbled in West End musicals but it was fairly short-lived (Picture: Corbis via Getty Images)

That, however, was short-lived, with Daniel lasting just two months in the role amid reports of issues backstage.

A source told The Mirror at the time: ‘Tensions had risen to the extremes and it got too much for everyone to work with. The best thing was if Daniel left, so earlier this month he made a shock departure.’

Why did people think Daniel Bedingfield had died?

Daniel appeared on Lorraine in 2016 – after a comedian joked he had died and some people just took it at face value (Picture: ITV/Rex/Shutterstock)

In 2015, rumours abounded that Daniel had died, started by a joke comment from Keith Lemon, aka Leigh Francis.

Keith joked on an episode of Celebrity Juice that Daniel may no longer be with us. It was more a jab at his lack of music than anything else, but it had thousands of people panic-Googling.

Some people, however, took the comment at face value, and when Daniel appeared on Lorraine in 2016, viewers quite literally thought they had seen a ghost.

Daniel himself got in on the joke, seeing the funny side as he tweeted: ‘So apparently I’m not dead according to Google. Fair enough.’

How else has Daniel Bedingfield spent the last 20 years?

Daniel has been travelling the world (Picture: Instagram)

In between his work on stage, TV and in music, Daniel took the opportunity to backpack around the world and expand his horizons, sharing snaps with fans of his latest adventure, as well as his wild haircuts: at one point, he rocked bright blue locks.

The singer and actor is using his platform to make a difference, too, working with his mother’s charity Global Angels doing fundraising work, and launching campaign Stop The Traffik, a coalition against modern-day slavery.

He also underwent medical investigations after he was diagnosed with sleep apnoea, and let fans in on his experience with multiple photos of him hooked up to wires, joking medics were ‘banking on my ability to sleep like this.’

He underwent investigations for sleep apnoea and made light of it with social media followers (Picture: Instagram)

He’s changed his hairstyle a fair few times (Picture: Instagram)

Daniel has also explored his love of anime, attending plenty of conventions over the years and sharing photos on Instagram of him with various costumed attendees.

He’s been raising his own chickens, showing off his Donald Trump-themed toilet paper, pleading for people to pay attention to the climate crisis – and, now, announcing his comeback.

When is Daniel Bedingfield going on tour?

The noughties icon is preparing for his first live performance in almost 20 years (Picture: Redferns)

Daniel announced this week that he would be heading out on the road again, and fans naturally lost their minds.

He wrote, alongside a video of the iconic Gotta Get Thru This music video: ‘I’m so excited to announce a run of UK shows this April to celebrate over 20 years of ‘Gotta Get Thru This’.’

Instagram users swarmed the comments to share their excitement, with Supergirlsu saying ‘Genuinely. Not OK.’

Sarahgracedarlin said she has ‘been waiting for this omgggg!!!!!’ while Aprilbreaskpear said it was ‘so bloody exciting.’

On X, Annette Berrington said ‘I don’t believe it,m this is the best news… I am super happy and excited, this is the best start to 2024.’

And ClareBear86 declared she ‘feels like a teenager again I’m that excited.’

The mini-tour will see Daniel hitting up three UK cities – London, Birmingham and Manchester – throughout April.

A special guest will be joining Daniel for his three shows, which will be his first since 2005.

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