Artist: Natasha Bedingfield

Title: Strip Me

Label: Epic

With an album title like Strip Me, one couldn't help wondering if the perpetually positive Natasha Bedingfield was going the way of her more risqué pop music peers Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga and even Miley Cyrus on her latest project.

But rest assured, nothing much has changed with Bedingfield's decidedly upbeat music or message. In fact, the singer best known for sunny pop tunes like "Pocket Full of Sunshine," "Unwritten" and "These Words" has added plenty more of those signature empowerment anthems to her repertoire.

This time around, her focus has turned inward and she asks listeners to do the same with the aforementioned title track, "Strip Me." For the record, the song that recently served as the soundtrack for the Rachel McAdams/Diane Keaton/Harrison Ford rom-com Morning Glory has absolutely nothing to do with being naked, unless it's from an emotional perspective.

Singing "And if you strip me, strip it all away/Would would you find?" Bedingfield inevitably tells listeners that "At the end of the day/It's what you do and say/That makes you who you are."

And whether it's the contemplative strains of "Weightless" where listeners are reminded that they're "not like anyone else," a soaring ballad like "No Mozart" or the more danceable beats of "All I Need" and "Touch," little nuggets of wisdom are scattered throughout like those paper messages nestled in your Chinese takeout's fortune cookies.

Employing the talents of several of the industry's heavyweights including Ryan Tedder, John Shanks and Kleerup, Bedingfield draws from a wide expanse of pop sounds and practically ditches her past love of R&B altogether. While not widely inventive, these songs are still as catchy as ever with monster choruses that'll be firmly imbedded in your cranium for weeks.

But anyone looking for any marked signs of growth in the recently married pop star's songwriting will inevitably be a little disappointed by what they hear on Strip Me. While it's certainly admirable that she hasn't caved to the pressure to push the envelope, especially sexually, her songs' sentiments often feel like they were borrowed straight from Successories. You know, the wall art you'll see hanging at the gym, gently encouraging you that "You can do it" and that "Sacrifice + discipline = success."

While certainly true, the sheer preachiness of it, not to mention the cheery accompaniment on Strip Me, all gets a bit tired by album's end. Still, if you're having a bad day and looking for a little light uplift, well, Bedingfield's latest may be exactly what you're looking for.

*This Review First Published 12/16/2010