Natasha Bedingfield: Speaking up, motherhood, and spaghetti straps

0:00Hello and welcome to Happy Place. I'm Fern Cotton and this is the show that helps you value the authentic you. Today I'm chatting to Natasha Bedingfield. What are you communicating? What is it you want to say? And I think it's the same with all art. I think if you're doing something like how can I make people like me? I think you can kind of see through that. The audience can't be fooled like they know. Sometimes I listen to the words of the verse and it says we've been conditioned to not make mistakes but I can't live that way or I'm outside the lines. I break tradition and I'm like, but do I?

0:33I have moments in my life where I try to be liked. So I'm like, it's great that I wrote a song like that because it keeps bringing me back. So I'm like, am I actually pushing the envelope for myself? Am I going outside of the comfort zone? I think it's very unlikely that you don't know the words to Natasha's 2004 song, Unwritten. You might think you don't, but that song was everywhere and literally still is. So I bet you do. Natasha came around to mine a couple of weeks ago while she was in the UK. and the wild thing is she's only recently just learned how popular her music is over here because she moved to the US to release music there a long time ago now.

1:09I really loved catching up with Natasha because she and her equally talented brother Daniel would obviously come on the various shows I was presenting back in the early noughties. More of that hilarity in this chat but this was a really cool opportunity to get to know who Natasha is now. We talked about gorgeous noughties fashion, the various tactics we have used to get our kids to go to sleep and how to exercise your vagina so you can project your voice. It will make sense soon. I absolutely promise. Does it ever feel like you're a marketing professional just speaking into the void? But with LinkedIn ads, you can know you're reaching the right decision makers, a network of 130 million of them.

1:57In fact, you can even target buyers by job title, industry, company, seniority, skills, and did I say job title? See how you can avoid the void and reach the right buyers with LinkedIn ads. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a free$250 credit for the next one. Get started at linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply. Hi, this is Knox from the podcast with Knox and Jamie. And maybe like us at the podcast, you also know people who have been smokers or vapors. And Zen is the one product it seems like everyone is talking about. because there are many good reasons to make a change to Zen nicotine pouches.

2:30Reasons like Zen nicotine pouches are still America's number one choice for smoke-free, hands-free nicotine satisfaction. And you can choose between 10 varieties, each variety available in either 3 or 6 milligrams. Check out zen.com slash find to find Zen at a store near you. Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. You're invited to spend an evening on Fremont Avenue. For generations, this house has been home to soulful music, good food, and cutthroat card games, saints and sinners, unexpected laughs and unspoken truths, good times, hard times, and of course, family.

3:08Always family. So pull up a chair and join us at Fremont Avenue, a world premiere play only at Arena Stage. Performances start October 8th. Tickets at arenastage.org. Suffering from dry, tired, irritated eyes? Don't let dry eyes win. Use Sustain Pro. It hydrates, restores and protects dry eyes for up to 12 hours. Sustain Pro. Triple action dry eye relief.

3:36Right, let's do it. Here's the show.

4:01Natasha Beddingfield what a joy to have you here we've wanted to do this for so long we have I've been a huge fan of yours and like I listen to the podcast and like if I live in America and it just makes me feel like I'm at home and I grew up listening like watching you and so like I'm really fangirling now right now well likewise back I'm over the moon to have you on thank you And we were actually messaging, was it last summer or the one before you played Mighty Hoopla? Was that last summer? Yeah. Yeah. So this performance, I watched it on Mighty Hoopla. It's a beautiful big festival in London.

4:34Yeah. And you had 30 ,000 odd people singing with such passion, unwritten back at you. And I messaged you and went, oh my God, that is the most beautiful performance I've ever seen. I have goosebumps thinking about it now. It was such an amazing moment. It felt spiritual. Yeah. but you also said it was like a really amazing thing to come back home and see that many people going crazy for you because that's not necessarily the messaging you've had from the people you've worked with over the years yeah because because I funny enough unwritten it only got to number six in the charts out here um and then they sent me off to America and I basically like toured America for six months every day in a different state um singing it until it became a hit out there and so I didn't even know that English people were singing Unwritten until Mighty Hoopla or actually until a Lewis Capaldi show that I did a few months before that and it was like, what?

5:26Oh, okay, I guess it found its way back in Oh my God, I mean, we all love that song Thank you This song, this particular song has got this sort of magical lasting power about it You know, it's all over TikTok It's now in a film called Anyone But You which is a huge movie and it's a real integral part of the film why do you think that song's got that longevity where it's just it transcends generations and whatever's going on culturally people just love it I think it feels good to sing that I feel like that's the the overall thing it's like because I get so many videos of people singing it to me uh not to me I guess that I think they're singing it to me but they're actually just singing it but um they'll send it to me and um and I love that because that was kind of the intention when we wrote it we were like but you know we love it but can you sing it because you know there's a lot of music that's like it's great and it's really complicated and it's really it's award-winning and it's you know impressive but like but can you sing it you know that that's the big test and it feels good to sing it does yeah it's like one of those ones where you're like releasing something when you're seeing it and I've been you know like there's there's everyone has probably been to one a couple of shows where where you just it sticks in your memory forever like I went to a U2 show when I was 18 and it was at that show singing with or without you where the heavens just opened and you just feel whatever it is that it's like some people might call it a God feeling or like a connected feeling with with everyone and suddenly you get answers in that moment like so I've always seen myself as kind of being that role like I'm providing a space a safe place for you to kind of receive what it is that you need to receive that's what music good music can do Yeah.

7:06There was also that video that you posted on Instagram. I've reposted about a million times of that amazing New York choir, like singing collective who get together. They just get strangers together. Could be in a car park, could be in a room somewhere. And they did this, I don't know, like four or five part harmony of Unwritten. I had goosebumps head to toe watching that. full body experience and it's I think it's called Gaia Collective and we connected with them and I got them to come to the studio with me because that that video went viral um because it's it is as you said it's like one of those moments yeah it's um it's taking you somewhere yeah so are they singing on a song with you I yeah I I got them to sing on a song that I wrote um yeah it's called Your Child My Child oh my god yeah yeah yeah and I I felt quite excited that there's communities like that who are just using music in a way that it's not about selling something you know yeah and it's healing I think it's really therapeutic we like me and the team were just in the kitchen talking about that exact thing that don't have to be a brilliant singer but singing with other people if it's in a choir it might have been church back in the day or now at a gig singing as a collective it does something to you like on a cellular level so I can't imagine like For someone like you who has this gift and this voice, that is next level.

8:24That must feel incredible to do that. It really does. I mean, using the vibrations of your voice, I'm sure something's happening. And there's studies now about the vagus nerve that we're all learning about that show that that releases stress. And I know you've been doing a lot of things like that. Yeah. My throat is something I think about a lot. It's about, God, what year are we in now? Four or five years ago, I had a massive cyst on my vocal cords. Yeah. Yeah, it was, I had no clue, but I literally couldn't speak, which is obviously quite a nightmare because that's literally what I do. And so I went to the doctor and I had this sort of pee on my vocal cords and I was meant to have an operation.

9:02And I kind of got really stuck into looking at, right, well, what does this actually mean, though? You know, what am I not saying? Why am I not using this part of my body properly? You know, like I was really became obsessed by that because I know I think a lot of people. it does the body gets to score I think I was not saying a lot of stuff and anyway cut long story short I went to go and have the operation went for a pre-op checkup and it's gone it just dispersed naturally so I have to watch this and I'm sure you do obviously it's it's what you do you're you're using that part of your body all the time but you've got to go use it wisely yeah I have a amazing vocal coach and he really um he's always been like that as well that thing of like what are you not saying and a lot of trauma is is stored in your voice and it's kind of amazing when you start doing even like doing vocal runs and stuff it kind of releases a lot of that kind of stuff yeah it's all that tension where words how did you release it did you do body work no i literally started saying stuff it was that simple and it was really tiny things like i would be in the back of a cab and say it was too cold i would be too worried about saying oh do you mind turning the AC off I'd feel so mortified so I'd just sit there shivering it was silly stuff like that so I started testing myself to go oh do you mind if you turn the AC off and just feeling it and going with it and then slightly not bigger examples yeah and then trying to do it in my personal life a bit more and it's been a slow long road but it's definitely done something I had a um I had like a word for myself you know like sometimes at the beginning of the year you have a word and the word for myself for this year was really interesting that kind of came to me but it was you know how like how we put this thing of long suffering.

10:45It's like almost like that person's so long suffering. Have you ever heard that term? Like it's kind of like this put on a pedestal thing that they're very patient. And I actually, the word for myself was long suffering no longer. Yes. You know, because it's actually not good to just suffer through those things. No. Yeah, it affects you in other ways. Oh my God, hugely. Like you say, the body keeps score. It's all in there. Yeah. It's all in there. I'm going to relate to that. How do you feel about this new, I'm imagining, liberating autonomy that artists like yourself have where, you know, back in the day, we're the same age.

11:19And I remember you and your brother both starting out and I was on probably top of the pops at the time, Radio 1. So I clearly remember you both exploding onto the scene. Back then in the early noughties, the power was purely in the hands of the label, but also the radio stations. you know unless you had a radio station committed to playing you and a label that were going to back you you weren't going anywhere whereas now with tiktok and social media and how artists have a bit more freedom i feel like the power has shifted back into the audience's hands they're choosing what they like have you noticed that shift i think that's a really exciting thing about where we're at right now because um you can get that direct feedback and people are much more more involved and you can connect with people more.

12:03Like we used to have to approve photos. Like we couldn't post photos of ourselves. Like you'd have to have like 20 people go, oh, is this a good photo? I remember like there was one photo we were going to use as a single cover and all the people who worked in the office were girls except one man. And they were like, oh, I think she looks really great. And there's one man in the room and they were like, come and see this. They were like, doesn't she look great? He's like, the boobs are a bit small. Wow. Yeah, and we all looked at him and were like, excuse me. you know but that was so commonplace yeah I was like I'm in the room I like my boobs I'm sort of shocked but not shocked because like A it's gross but B I've so been there and that was so commonplace back in the early noughties it was people were talked about and also talk about when you're in the room when you're in the room like you're not there like her look at her look at that horrendous do you think that's impacted who you are today and how you are today I had to get over that a little bit like that's why it took me a while to kind of get into the social media thing because it was almost like a hurdle I had to get past because you kind of get told something enough times and you kind of go and, you know, you stay.

13:06You're like, no, that's their job and this is mine. It definitely become more like we all have to be photographers now. Like we all have to kind of, you know, the hard part of that, you don't have like the same kind of you can't blame anyone when it goes wrong. You know, like it's me. Yeah. Like if everyone's telling you what to do, then you can say, well, that was the label's fault. You know, you kind of have to figure it out. And I think if you see it as a game, it's just like, I think kids do social media so much better. Not kids, because we don't want them on there. But like young people do it so much better because they're not afraid of mistakes.

13:39And because it's a game, it's like, oh, it's kind of like a video game. Yeah. Isn't it mad that, I mean, with your, with especially Unwritten coming back into the charts, everyone talking about it. I'm not even going to say again, because I think there has been sort of constant love for that song over the years. But it feels so strange that now looking at the early noughties is a throwback. I'm sorry, but that for me was last week. But also like the fashion. I know. Like the spaghetti strap tops and you wear three tops or like jeans under your dress. Yes, the dress and the jeans. I never thought that would come back.

14:13It's all back. Yeah. And we're there now the second time. And how? We're not even old enough. What's going on? I don't understand. I don't understand. I don't get it. Yeah, I don't understand. I do feel 20 as well. Oh, it's terrifying. How do you think you've changed looking back to when you started in the industry and where you're at now? What have you learned that served you well? And how do you feel about the music industry with it changing so much? I think it's just it's always going to be about a good song is a good song. So it's always going to be about like, what is a good song? You know, I think it's just what are you communicating?

14:44What is it you want to say? And I think it's the same with all art. I think if you're doing something like how can I make people like me? I think you can kind of see through that more than ever. You can like someone's sitting, even like someone's looking at the camera and like angling their face because they know that the light hits them great. The audience can't be fooled like they know. Yeah. So I think it's more about what are you trying to say and us really kind of defining that for ourselves as well. When you listen to Unwritten Now, does it have a different meaning to when you wrote it? It's challenging now.

15:15it's sometimes I listen to the words of the verse and it says um we've been conditioned to not make mistakes but I can't live that way or I'm outside the lines I'm I break tradition and I'm like but do I you know and I realize with my fashion choices sometimes I just was very I've just been very I've been kind of like trying to look pretty or be you know I have moments in my life where I try to be liked so I'm like it's it's great that I wrote a song like that because it keeps bringing me back so I'm like am I actually pushing the envelope myself am I going outside of the comfort zone um that kind of thing I love that so you're like learning from your song all over again yeah I want to do a photo shoot that's really celebrating that where I'm like really edgy I don't know if I can dare to do that but isn't that fun that we have to be in that position where I can I mean we all can do that yeah it's so good to get out of our own comfort zone and and try new stuff so yeah let's go back to when I remember you coming onto the scene obviously your brother was a little bit before you so his album was out was it 2002 you were 2004 yeah so what do you remember of that time was that helpful him coming out first or was it a pressure it was helpful yeah yeah he's my older brother so he always did everything first and I've always kind of been able to watch and learn and be like oh I won't do that and I will do that yeah that's a benefit of being the second child um yeah uh but I think like you've you've met so many people that when they first when they've had a brush with fame of some kind and it always kind of it's always overwhelming like there's no way to kind of prepare for it it's a it's a an amazing thing but it's always a bit like whoa that was crazy did he have active advice for you um he let me use his band which was amazing love yeah but he had a car crash like a couple of weeks before I released my first single is that the timing of it i didn't realize my whole family was in new zealand with him where he had the crash and he had the screws in his head like he had the kanye west uh i don't remember what you call that thing yeah i remember the pictures of him he got packed with this head brace yeah yeah it's very serious yeah and then he's totally good but it was like it was a bit of a weird time because i was releasing the music but they all they were all over there um and that was the hardest thing is that the press really loved me which is great but they used they would say horrible things about him like every article was like the glorious something like you know natasha bennifield and her ugly brother like they would say things like that and it was just like that's so wrong and it's like there's not enough room for two siblings and they want you to not be friends and yeah they would just again and again is there any rivalry between you and i i that was kind of that was very hurtful for him and for well for me as a sister because it's never really was our dynamic.

17:59No. And then you're having to sort of deal with the personal ramifications of that and also do your own thing. Yeah. But apart from that, I feel like I got the best job I could have ever got because it kind of like on stage, I get to be larger than life. I get to explore that kind of part of myself that I wouldn't have otherwise. You know, I get to nearly fall off stage in my heels and, you know, and sing terrifyingly high notes and manage to land them and sing in front of important people. And, you know, and everyone's important, you know, but like sing in front of a president or something who's not Trump.

18:39That is yet to happen. It was Obama, but I was just trying not to name drop. You can name drop. Looking back at that period, and if I sort of rewind back to witnessing how the music industry moved around the early noughties, it was insane it was so fast-paced artists were just having to go from sometimes country to country in a day you do a performance in the morning in one country being another continent later on that day it was so weird yeah how did you deal with that the sort of fatigue and the attention the pressure of that sort of schedule to be honest I have a lot of memory loss that tells me that was quite stressful because my body just has like I don't actually remember where I was for a whole year kind of places places I don't know where I've been and I remember meeting other people who've gone through that and a lot of times they kind of when they're in that mode when they're on the red carpet they're a little bit there's a kind of spaciness because you're kind of not you're like in a zone you're trying to cope with it a lot of the time yeah and but you're also channeling something you're also just kind of embodying and going into a state so like sometimes when I go on stage when I come off I'm kind of I can't even like I can't remember people's names I can't like you're you're kind of going into a zone so you're also channeling there's a kind of shamanistic kind of thing when you're on stage and you're actually when you're doing it well you're actually in a flow um so it you know there's there's the ups and the downs of that you know have you always been able to get into that flow or is that something with sort of time and confidence that you've been able to go oh I don't have to worry so much about how I'm sounding or what the audience is doing you're just much more in the moment sometimes it's really hard to get into that like some and you know like how we all gravitate towards like the negative things that people say it's like online comments or you know sometimes it's just that one comment like everyone loves says something great and then you just that one keeps you up all night but it's like that on stage like there's sometimes one person in the front with their arms crossed and a frown on their face and it feels like they're casting a spell on you you know and you're just oh like you know you just kind of have to kind of and then you're trying impress them like I will win you over yeah I will make you enjoy this gig yeah or if you think of the wrong person like if you think of someone from school who didn't like you or you know like if you think of yeah like sometimes I just I try it you know and you just develop your techniques like so sometimes I'll think of I think of Tina Turner or like I think of Mick Jagger or something like someone who's like abandoned on stage and that usually helps get me back yeah so great so So you were all musical growing up.

21:07You were actually in a band with Daniel and your younger sister at one point. Is that right? Well, so the best way to learn how to do music is to get in a band. So it wasn't a professional band. It was just a band with my siblings. And it was just like a way of learning, learning how to do music. And my sister and I, we just learned so much from Daniel, like learning how to be in harmony and stuff like that. So how did you all discover music? What made you move in that direction and think, right, I've got a voice or I'm really good at production? How did you move towards that? We did grow up in church and there was this amazing Afro-Caribbean church.

21:40I don't know what it's called right now, but the Wade brothers, they were these brothers. And they had this amazing church in South London and they were like our uncles. They let us call them uncle. And they had this whole thing where they would let kids play in the service. So they would have like an eight year old on the drums and it was really gifted. Like everyone was gifted. Everyone is gifted in that family. And they just welcomed us in and let us be part of that. But I think some of our musicality comes from that, really. And just, you know, in church, there's a thing that music takes you somewhere.

22:14It connects you with your higher self. It connects you with each other and with God. Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah. And so when you started gravitating towards this is actually now a career option, this is what I want to do, and your brother. Yeah. Your parents were like, very cool about it, going for it. Yeah, my dad actually encouraged me to quit university, which I know is unusual because usually dads are like, come on, do the sensible thing. But he was like the other way around. He was like, we all know you're a singer. Like, just do it. I didn't even go to uni. Really? No, I was not on the cards.

22:48So my parents were just like, whatever. Do what you've got to do. They knew that you knew what you knew. Yeah, but I'm really grateful for that. And I think, you know, there is still a lot of pressure on kids in the school system or to go down a certain route or it's the parents' impression that they put on the kids of where they should head. And I think, actually, I feel very lucky that my parents would just do what you've got to do. Did you do kids' TV? Yeah. Because that's where I feel like I'd do it. I barely went to school, quite frankly. I feel like kids' TV was better back then. I don't think it really exists anymore.

23:22There's stuff on Netflix, but I was very lucky I got to be really shit and practice on kids' TV without any judgment because social media wasn't there and just do my thing. But I'm so grateful and I'm sure you feel the same, like having parents that were going, yeah, follow your heart, do what you've got to do. It's so lovely. Yeah.

23:58rigid long-term contracts. Just the right expert, right when you need them. Work smarter and faster with Upwork. Go to Upwork.com now and find your freelance expert. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com. Post a job for free and get started today. Hi, this is Knox from the Popcast with Knox and Jamie. And maybe like us at the Popcast, you also know people who have been smokers or vapors. And Zen is the one product it seems like everyone is talking about because there are many good reasons to make a change to Zen nicotine pouches. Reasons like Zen nicotine pouches are still America's number one choice for smoke-free, hands-free nicotine satisfaction.

24:33And you can choose between 10 varieties, each variety available in either three or six milligrams. Check out zen.com slash find to find Zen at a store near you. Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. You're invited to spend an evening on Fremont Avenue. For generations, this house has been home to soulful music, good food, and cutthroat card games, saints and sinners, unexpected laughs and unspoken truths, good times, hard times, and of course, family. Always family. So pull up a chair and join us at Fremont Avenue, a world premiere play only at Arena Stage.

25:13Performances start October 8th. Tickets at arenastage.org.

25:21One of my favourite videos you posted on Instagram is with you playing your mum a new song with headphones on. I was like, I was all weepy. She cries, your heads are touching, she's feeling the lyrics. So beautiful. So that's the song that the guy I collected sang on and I did it with my friend Milk who's an incredible activist and artist and yeah like we were in my mum's back garden and the light was just it was just like so um beautiful and um I she I couldn't have imagined that she would have a better response you know like adorable she really felt it yeah and she's really always been like a believer in all of us you know you you know that we're gonna do great things and she always wants to change the world and everything so I think for her um that song really like struck a chord and so lovely yeah I was so touched that was so gorgeous so she lives in the UK yeah Molly you're now in the States yep so how you must miss her a hell of a lot I do I do I mean we've all found ways to connect haven't we now because of technology which is great but yeah I haven't seen her actually since I've been I've been here for a week but they've had so much press I haven't seen her isn't that terrible but you'll get to before you go yeah I'm going to see her tomorrow oh that's good and just do what will you do what would be your dream day with your mum well I have a son a six year old so it would be amazing for him to see his grandma and yeah just to be at her house.

26:48Her house is really cosy and gorgeous. And your little boy's called Solomon. Solomon. He's six years old. Yeah. How's he doing? Because you posted this beautiful video a few years back now. Yeah. It was a very meaningful moment because it was just before Christmas and you were reflecting on a time that was much tougher when he was tiny and in hospital. So when he was two he was in hospital for five weeks. He had a spontaneous brain abscess and it's never been explained what it was um but um you know anyone who's gone through like a health thing like that you know and and come out you know fully recovered you you know you just know it just like changes your perspective on life and just to see how amazing doctors are like my you know like I'm not anti-vax I'm not like I'm not anti-anything medical because medicine saved my son's life and um yeah it's like I'm gonna be forever grateful you know I mean he's such a brave little guy he's amazing must have been incredibly stressful for you and your partner to go through it yeah we were touring we had a tour all over the states I had a record deal as soon as I um as soon as I had my baby I got a record deal and in America and we made music and it was incredible to kind of have my baby breastfeeding in the studio and like I and see that our son he's very flexible and he'd travel and we went on tour and then as soon as we came off tour and he had this seizure and we were in hospital and it was like oh it was this moment of like life is so fragile and you know it's so scary what what helped you get through that that stressful period i mean the fact that he lived really was helpful um uh what helped me get through friends family prayer yeah and he's doing good now he's great he's great yeah it's so lovely he can come with you and tour around with you so fun yeah is he showing any musical oh yeah yeah definitely definitely bit of singing going on I mean so I'm like my so I do that thing like when you tell your kids to do stuff and you sing it to them like you know when you need to clean your room you're like clean your room you know like just like all day like when he's getting ready for school I'm like I hope you know how loved you are and then I make him replies yes you know hope you know how loved you are yes i know you know i make it i make it say that yes yeah um because sometimes different difficult stuff like it's time to go to bed now like it's good it's easier in a song are you still singing that i'm not i'm really shouting that one you're shouting that one too yeah no i i need to i need to add singing into the household that sounds much nicer than me screeching that is supposed to be a nice it's hard i find it so brutal oh mate bedtime it's just it's never ending it's never ending yeah I don't I'm like waiting for it to feel good I mean I love all the cuddles but I hate to tell you my kids are 8 and 11 and I'm still doing the same yeah we've got into terrible habits I'm not gonna lie yeah I am so my kids share a room because they don't want to not share a room they don't particularly love each other like they argue all the time but they want to sleep in the same room they feel safer in the same room so I'm like great and it's next door to our bedroom they're in a bunk bed I've specifically bought a bunk bed with a double at the bottom because invariably one of us ends up in that double bed at the bottom of the bunk bed in the middle of the night but getting to bed we've got a nice little routine going down don't mind that love the you know reading books gorge I'm a big reader I love reading with my kids we've got into the habit of I or my husband has to stay in the room whilst they're going to sleep oh yeah what Do you call it your their security blanket or something?

30:27Oh, mate, I wish I hadn't started it. I mean, I've tried to use it for my benefit. I'm like, I'll meditate. I'll meditate while I'm lying here. So I'll have, and then I'm like, I'm bored. I'll do work emails. I'll do some work emails. I try and use that time. But I, at eight and 11, am still lying next to them, waiting for them to go to sleep.

30:53Keep work moving. Go to Upwork.com today and start hiring proven freelance talent fast. No bulky overhead. No rigid long-term contracts. Just the right expert right when you need them. Work smarter and faster with Upwork. Go to Upwork.com now and find your freelance expert. That's U-P-W-O-R-K.com. Post a job for free and get started today. Hi, this is Knox from the Popcast with Knox and Jamie. And maybe like us at the Popcast, you also know people who have been smokers or vapors. And Zen is the one product it seems like everyone is talking about because there are many good reasons to make a change to Zen nicotine pouches.

31:30Reasons like Zen nicotine pouches are still America's number one choice for smoke-free, hands-free nicotine satisfaction. And you can choose between 10 varieties, each variety available in either 3 or 6 milligrams. Check out zen.com slash find to find Zen at a store near you. Warning, this product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. You're invited to spend an evening on Fremont Avenue. For generations, this house has been home to soulful music, good food, and cutthroat card games. Saints and sinners. Unexpected laughs and unspoken truths. Good times, hard times, and of course, family.

32:08Always family. So pull up a chair and join us at Fremont Avenue. A world premiere play only at Arena Stage. Performances start October 8th. Tickets at arenastage.org.

32:24yeah but then there's that whole other method the sleep training method and then it's like that feels cruel it out that feels cruel and then there's new stuff i think gab or mate or whatever is talking about that that's not so it's funny because you'll have people say it's wrong not to and and then the next studies will be like it's wrong to do that it's so hard isn't it you just have to follow your instinct with each kid i think yeah and i think my instinct still is although i'm sometimes lying there thinking why am i doing this um this is better for them because they're not stressed out yeah and i think that thing of like this is changing even in those hard times that's changing me right like that that's doing something good i'm sure it is it's cultivating patience even though like i was really excited because like i found like um i found a book app a kid's book app on the on the phone and i was holding my really heavy phone up and reading to him and then the only problem is i'm so hypnotic when i'm trying to be i'm trying to read in a hypnotic way so you know like and hypnosis is that you say everything in a pattern yes and you say it with the same tone and then he drifts off to sleep and you try not to be too interesting but the problem is that like i fell asleep and i dropped the phone on his face sorry i'm laughing that is funny yeah um yeah i mean the lengths will go to yeah and also bedtime when you've got jet lag in the equation i just fall asleep all the time and then i start talking and then I'm making up new parts of the story and I'm half asleep.

33:49It's absolutely brilliant. But it is lovely, isn't it? The kid cuddles. It is. It's gorgeous. And I keep thinking, especially with my 11-year-old. Like, what age do they stop cuddling? Well, he's on the cusp of that, like, pre-teeny thing where he'll still give me a really hearty hug at home and be like, oh, mum, I love you. But then when he's at school, if I'm dropping him off, he's like, drop me off and then go and park the car. And I'm like, oh, cheers. Wow, that happened already. Yeah, at 11. That's where we were at, Natasha. it happens quick and I remember my stepkids are now adults and I met them when they were tiny kids and it's like oh god that I've seen that whole thing happen and now they're adults you don't feel like in the moment it's going to happen you feel like they're going to be tiny forever another weird thing and then suddenly that you're going to be like but I'm gonna when we'll be here while you're falling asleep and they're like no thanks yeah is that gonna feel weird like yeah we're gonna think oh but I want I want to still do that we can't win yeah you're gonna have to buy another dog and exactly more kittens more cats more kids um i saw on instagram as well i mean i've been obviously just stalking your instagram page quite frankly um you're doing a very accomplished headstand is yoga part of your thing yes okay yeah i love yoga what kind of yoga are you doing um well i started doing yoga um just like just before i had a baby six or seven years ago and it changed my life probably like a lot of people will find the thing that does that for them and And before that, it was like a really workout, like a boffin kind of army style.

35:15Like, give it to me, make it difficult. Like, you know, that kind of thing. Yell at me. And then suddenly I just was like, I actually talked to my trainer. I was like, you're yelling at me. Yeah, I don't like that. She didn't like me telling her that. But I found yoga and it, you know, sometimes your body just tells you what's right for you. And I just needed something more gentle. And what I like about yoga is it's not a performance. It's not ego driven. You're not trying to show off. Even though I know I was doing that headstand, but it's not about look at me, I can do a headstand. It's just like this is good for me and breathing.

35:46And the main thing that I liked about it is the emphasis on breathing. And I don't know about you, but I used to do this thing when there was anyone taking a picture, I would hold my stomach in. Oh, my God, I still do that. I hate that I do that. Yeah, and so when I started breathing in and breathing out, suddenly the pictures look better. Well, because my whole face looks relaxed. Women are trained. We've got a flat tummy and especially after my kids as well. It's like, holy crap. But the thing is, when we're breathing well, we're meant to be breathing from here. And I'm sure when you're singing, you've got to use your diaphragm.

36:17And it's using your belly and pushing it out. So we've got to retrain ourselves. But you have to let go of your ego in that way as a woman anyway, when you have babies. I don't know why we have this such thing about, particularly our stomachs. I know, I hate that because also it's such a center of emotion. like it's yeah if i'm feeling weird it's always my stomach that gets it first like i'll be bloated or i'll feel discomfort it's so to be holding it in the whole time i think it's great for us the only place that i'm really holding it in is when i go through on an airplane when when they make you go through the thing i'm always holding everything in including my vagina everything i'm like i'm like i don't know why i feel like they see into my body so i'm just like tensing everything.

37:03Holding your vagina. I'm doing kegels. Everything. The Rex made my vagina. Quick, hold it in, guys. You're like a skinny vagina. Skinny vagina. I mean, I'm sure there are people who'd be very bothered about, you know, skinny vaginas. It's all happening these days. I never know how much they can see on those things. I hear you. I don't know if it's possible to suck it in, is it? Probably not. Yeah. Is it? Wow. I'm doing that now. No, somebody said, who is it? Janice Joplin. and she said she sings from her pussy. That's like depth, isn't it? Yeah, so I try doing that. This is what the joy of a podcast, you can really go there.

37:41We're going there, babe. My backing singer and I, we always look at each other and just like with that look, like I'm cagling right now. I love it. Yeah, I love it. It does help. It does. I think even just picturing, like I can do it now with my voice. If you're picturing someone coming from that bassy low, that powerful part of you, But men walk around like led by their dicks, don't they? Of course. So why not? Led by our pussies. We should be. Yeah. I love it. Do you know the other thing that singers do, like how to hit the high notes? Because since I had a kid, my voice is much higher and much lower as well.

38:17Really? Yeah, because your voice is in your prime in your 40s. What? Who knew that, right? Well, we're not told that. We're told everything goes to shit in our 40s. Yeah, and as soon as I turned 30, people were like, so what are you going to do after music? like people will tell you to your face that you're old as a singer and i was really surprised by that because i don't think i don't think that i don't feel old and i don't think there's a lot of singers who are over 50 who are incredible yeah exactly um but one of the um things that divas do which i i found out is that they want to be rooted to the floor to sing those high notes so you either and you want your back to be straight so you either lean back and that's the tina turner when she Leans back like that.

38:55Yeah. You know, your back's straight, but you bend your knees. Or you do this lean D on where you, actually Tina Turner does that too. You're leaning forward. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. Deep gurgling going on. Something's moving in my depths. Maybe your body's telling us something you want to be a singer. I need to be more like Tina Turner. Imagine you do a whole podcast like that. But it's so interesting because I will often have, if I have to go and do like a talk or something, I could be feeling really good. I feel really good today. I feel like my throat channel is really open. I feel pretty rooted and grounded.

39:29There are some days, obviously, you wake up and you just feel a bit wobbly or you just feel a bit out of sorts. And I have to really picture, like, grounding myself, like, anchoring myself. But also I have to sort of have my posture has to be very gorilla-like, like I'm like this. I'm like I have to be very, like, shoulders back. and I'm to convince myself that I can go out there and do it. But it changes how I speak. So that's intention. Yeah, yeah. Like sometimes my voice will feel really closed and tight and I'm like, oh, I hate this. I feel gross. And then other times it feels really bassy and much nicer to just use my voice to speak.

40:09I saw Annie Lennox speak at a woman's activist event. And as she talked, it felt like the ground was vibrating and it felt like there was like goosebumps just like you know it was just it was like a it was amazing and I became aware that when you talk it can or when you sing or when you express something how it can move things yeah it's not just what you're saying it's how you're saying it is so important and I think we forget that and we sort of lose power in certain situations you know that's probably why I got the sisters when you're not um speaking from that place you're just sort of you're swallowing words making yourself small yourself small like i've talked to some people where i felt like my shoulders like i could not sit up straight it's good to notice isn't it and is it that is it like what is that i can picture one person in my head now that whenever i speak to this person and i like this person i my voice yeah it goes really quiet and weird and like my throat goes really tight and it's i can't know if it's them or if it's my reaction to them or whatever it feels more laborious to like oh no i need to be me and feel confident in being me it's probably just that they remind you of someone from the part like you know like a point like a family member or something and they've got enough similarities that it just makes you small or something yeah it's a survival technique and i think probably probably if you do consciously change do do a change in that moment it probably helps fix some things from the past too yeah i I reckon you can't underestimate that stuff.

41:46Yeah. You really can't. It's so fascinating. So yoga is a thing. I love yoga too. That's the thing for me. Definitely grounding, less killing myself, doing workouts. What else keeps you balanced in the craziness of motherhood and traveling around the world and recording new songs and performing in front of audiences? What keeps you stable? I think it's just trying to be present and even when it is hard and just noticing it and saying kind of noticing it mindfulness and be like this is really hard and and but but then trying to have a trust that this is gonna this is somehow my body like I can handle this I'm because I'm not gonna lie it really is hard to balance that stuff there's moments where it feels effortless um but it's it's it's hard it's it's like um you know being on stage feels effortless so sometimes it makes those other things that were hard much easier yeah um but just like there's those unglamorous things like you know picking up dog poop and i don't know stuff like that yeah i've got a cabin at the moment so we've got a litter tray in the house which i'm not loving yeah so i'm quite literally picking up shit yeah we do gotta do it yeah it's all in the mix and also your brother's back so he's now doing stuff again he's got a tour coming up yeah this is great isn't it so cool yeah so how's he feeling about everything you've been chatting about you're back in the uk he's doing his tour so what happened is that everyone like people i was getting these messages because i was getting some viral moments on tiktok and people were like well what tell me about your brother so i did a post about him and me like did you know that this is my brother and then that started getting a lot of numbers and um like it's just all kind of been a good flow because he was planning on doing some shows anyway i need to be at that show yeah oh my god you gotta get through this i do too It's like, it's that song.

43:37Also, there's someone called Fred Again. Love Fred Again. Yeah. And he was playing my brother's stuff. So I think it's all just starting to get a little bit of a flow. And people are saying they really are more feeling like wearing bright colors. Yeah. And playing music from happier days. Yeah. From throwback of the early noughties. Right. God almighty. I mean, I was reminiscing earlier thinking about seeing you both back in the day around that time. And I've got this one memory that jumps out of when I had to go wakeboarding with your brother. Wow. And it was... On TV? Yeah. Yeah. And it was one of those lakes near Thorpe Park.

44:17Yeah. And your brother was really good. He's very good. That's his thing. He's got great balance. Yeah. So he was amazing. And I was holding on to like a pole on the side of the boat and still not managing. I was so shit. so frustrating it was so awful but I remember him just being like he wanted to go around again and again and again we were like let him go he was having a great time that was the sort of interview we were doing back in the early noughties so fun I I noticed that when the camera's on like like I don't like doing things like that until the camera's on and then suddenly I'm like you want me to jump off that cliff yeah I'll do it five times oh my god I know I said yes to everything back then I was like yeah I'll pop a wetsuit on and go weightboarding with Daniel Beddingfield at thought park sure it's ridiculous times but now you do you have to do that kind of stuff with your kids oh kids yeah sure but i'm not like no one's to be super watching yeah i'm kind of i like all that stuff i like the balance of the normal and the picking up cat poo and the doing all that kind of thing and then getting to do the fun bit still but much more i think for both of us now on our terms doing it how we want to do it and that feels really great and I love um I love that you are like they start you you'll talk to the camera when you're glammed up and then you'll just be in a moment where you've just woken up and talking about trying to meditate and yeah I love it and everyone's got a podcast now everyone's got mate I know but when I hear you talk I'm like now that's a professional like I see you as like the like like the Tina Turner of the podcast like you're just doing you like showing everyone how to do it like because you can just deliver these lines in a way that you just it just relates well that is so kind well for me this is a gift because I get to do the bit of the job that I used to love on radio and all the other stuff yeah but again there's no rules and it's just like like we're doing now we're just chewing the fat and seeing what's what and having a nice chat rather than when it was on the radio and I'm sure you felt this when you've been sort of like pushed from pillar to post going from a radio station in Germany to the UK to God knows where else.

46:21That you're in for two minutes and you're meant to give this like soundbite of everything you're doing in one moment. Or if you're on TV then you have the thing in your ear, right? Like you have a producer talking to you. Yeah, but then for you guys when you're in whatever country you have a translator, right? Sorry. What have you got to remember to do? Do you do that? Is that an alarm? But what's it telling you? So that's one of my mum tricks, but I set alarm. It says Dude Medicine. That's my dog's medicine. My dog's called Dude. But where's Dude? In LA. So I've got to call my sister.

46:59My dog's called Dude because we thought it would be funny that if you're in a dog park and you yell out Dude, it would be very confusing for everyone. I love it. But also I love that this is mum life. Right, it is. Right here. an alarm set to feed a dog that's in LA the thing I have to just double check because sometimes I set two alarms like five minutes apart is there another alarm? probably I just turned it off I love it well look it's been such a joy talking to you you too and I'm so happy we get to sit face to face rather than just seeing you on a screen and I hope that you have a great rest of your trip in the UK thank you and that we get to see each other soon yeah let's hang out soon thank you oh dude dude the dog i really hope he got his meds when he needed them little dude natasha that was so much fun thank you so much for making time to come and see me while you're in the uk i really love that now i cannot tell you how much you're going to want to be back here next week i'm chatting to another huge noughties music icon this woman has the most energy of anyone ever.

48:13You're going to cry with laughter. There's some brilliant, bonkers stuff in the chat, but there are some incredibly moving moments as well that I really hope will touch you because they definitely did me. Come over to at happyplaceofficial on Instagram and you can have a guess at who you reckon it is. So look, that's next week, but for now, the biggest thank you again to wonderful Natasha, to the producer Anushka Tate at Happy Place Studios, and to you, you blimmin' lovely lot, let go of your stomach and breathe out chat soon

49:12Hi, this is Knox from the Popcast with Knox and Jamie. And maybe like us at the Popcast, you also know people who have been smokers or vapors. And Zen is the one product it seems like everyone is talking about. Because there are many good reasons to make a change to Zen nicotine pouches. Reasons like Zen nicotine pouches are still America's number one choice for smoke-free, hands-free nicotine satisfaction. And you can choose between 10 varieties, each variety available in either 3 or 6 milligrams. Check out zen.com slash find to find Zen at a store near you. Warning, this product contains nicotine.

49:43Nicotine is an addictive chemical. You're invited to spend an evening on Fremont Avenue. For generations, this house has been home to soulful music, good food, and cutthroat card games. Saints and sinners. Unexpected laughs and unspoken truths. Good times, hard times, and of course, family. Always family. So pull up a chair and join us at Fremont Avenue. A world premiere play only at Arena Stage. Performances start October 8th. Tickets at arenastage.org.