What happened to Daniel Bedingfield? The car crash that upended the popular singer’s life

Born on December 3, 1979, Daniel John Bedingfield is a British singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor of New Zealand descent. He is the older brother of Nikola Rachelle and Natasha Bedingfield, two other vocalists. In 2013, he served as a judge on The X Factor New Zealand. A large portion of Bedingfield’s early years were spent in Auckland, New Zealand, where he went to Lynfield College.

What happened to Daniel Bedingfield?

In 2004, Daniel Bedingfield suffered a severe car accident in New Zealand, resulting in significant head and neck injuries. The accident stopped his life completely and changed his course significantly, even though he had a successful music career with chart-topping hits like “Gotta Get Thru This.”

‘Gotta Get Thru This’, a worldwide breakthrough in music career

In November 2001, he dropped his debut single, “Gotta Get Thru This.” It gained popularity in the UK garage music scene on the white label and reached its highest position on the UK Singles Chart. Since then, “If You’re Not the One” and “Never Gonna Leave Your Side” have been two of his other number-one hits on the chart, along with three further top-ten hits. Recorded at home with Reason and Making Waves Audio software, Gotta Get Thru This, debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart and went on to sell over 4 million copies globally.

Second First Impression and Other Initiatives

Bedingfield was the recipient of the Best British Male Artist BRIT Award in 2004. After that, he relocated to Polydor Records, a division of Universal Music, where he released his second album, Second First Impression, which peaked at number eight in the UK.

Despite having two UK Top 20 singles, “Nothing Hurts Like Love” (which peaked at number three) and “Wrap My Words Around You,” the album did not sell as well as his debut release.

(At number 12, it reached its apex.). “The Way,” his third and last song, debuted at number 41 and became the first to fall outside of the top 40. It was also released in Singapore, including ‘If You’re Not The One’ as a bonus track.

Bedingfield revealed that he had three albums recorded and ready for release following a four-year break in an interview with the New Zealand Herald in April 2007. 

Following his 2004 release, Bedingfield has persisted in collaborating with different musicians. He co-wrote David Archuleta’s song “Works for Me!” as a finalist on American Idol.

In addition, he collaborated with Pixie Lott and provided guest vocals on a song featuring a former member of The Roots. He co-wrote material with Tessanne Chin in December 2009, in addition to

recording three tracks at Kingston, Jamaica’s Stainless Records studios, owned by DJ Karim, with Busy Signal. The song “He Walked In” by Kirsten Morrell from the May 2010 album Ultraviolet featured Bedingfield’s background vocals. During a month-long stay in Tel Aviv, Israel, in December 2010, Bedingfield penned and recorded a song with a local freak folk band called The Raw Men Empire. He played a show in Tel Aviv at the end of his trip, where he hosted Israeli performers Uzi Feinerman, The Raw Men Empire, and others. He recorded on the Overproof Riddim, a dancehall riddim, in July 2011. It has been receiving good rotation in Jamaica, much like a lot of the tracks on this riddim. 

What is Daniel Bedingfield up to now?

Bedingfield released the single “Rocks Off” in February 2012, along with a music video on MTV. “Rocks Off” and the B-side “It’s Not Me, It’s You” were both released. Bedingfield’s first EP release after going independent was Stop the Traffik – Secret Fear, which was released on April 24. The EP included five additional brand-new songs in addition to the previously released “Rocks Off” and “It’s Not Me, It’s You.” The song “Secret Fear” was released after the EP; the video, which includes adult content, went on to win other accolades. Bedingfield joined Stan Walker, Melanie, and other judges on the inaugural New Zealand season of The X Factor on December 21, 2012.

On April 21, 2013, the TV3 series made its debut. Bedingfield was the girls’ category mentor. Natasha, his sister, helped out during the Judges Retreat round. When Bedingfield’s pupil, Jackie Thomas, emerged victorious in the first series, he was named the winning mentor.

“I Wanna Feel” by SecondCity, which peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart on June 1, 2014, and remained in the top 20 for the following six weeks, was co-written by Bedingfield. In the UK, Bedingfield’s song was his fourth number-one. He collaborated on the first English-language single “I Did It” by K-pop group Spica when they were in the studio. In addition, he directed the group’s vocals. He co-wrote the song “Testify” in 2015, which was

Ben Haenow, the 2014 winner of The X Factor UK, has it on his self-titled debut studio album.

Bedingfield played The Artilleryman in the West End production of The War of the Worlds from February to April 2016. 

Daniel works as a fundraiser for Global Angels, a company founded and led by his mother, Molly Bedingfield. In opposition to contemporary slavery, Bedingfield also assisted in the formation of the Stop the Traffik coalition.