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Natasha Bedingfield Helps Us “Release Our Inhibitions” (And Makes Me Feel Old) With a Timeless ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ Performance

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Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve is back and better than ever. The special first aired in 1972, when its namesake, the late Dick Clark, decided to introduce a counterpart to Guy Lombardo’s long-standing New Year’s Eve specials. By 1977, it was the New Year’s Eve viewing experience of choice.

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Clark hosted New Year’s Rockin’ Eve annually from 1973 through 1999, and again from 2001 through 2004. The program looks slightly different now with Ryan Seacrest at the helm since 2005, but it is no less beloved.

Natasha Bedingfield rang in 2025 with a bit of nostalgia, performing her smash hit “Unwritten” a little over 30 minutes after the new year kicked off. And quite a few fans on social media are saying it was the best performance of the night.

Celebrating 20 Years of “Unwritten”

Admit it—you still burst into song at the sound of “Release your inhibitions / Feel the rain on your skin / No one else can feel it for you.”

Natasha Bedingfield’s relentlessly sunny hit was inescapable in the early aughts. Released in 2004 as the title track from Bedingfield’s debut album, “Unwritten” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Twenty years later—yes, I’m feeling old—the British pop star performed the song that put her on the map internationally.

“The crowd, we’re just gonna be one with the music and gonna be going for it,” Bedingfield said. “People tend to sing that song at the top of their lungs and so do I.”

This year’s celebration was soaked in nostalgia, with multiple performers celebrating milestones. R&B group TLC also performed a special medley of hits from CrazySexyCool, released 30 years ago in 1994. Fans were excited to finally hear “No Scrubs” and “Waterfalls” again.

[RELATED: Post Malone Goes Viral for His Unique Outfit on ‘New Year’s Rockin Eve’]

Additionally, Renee Rapp joined Alanis Morissette for a duet of “You Oughta Know,” the lead single off her 1995 breakout album Jagged Little Pill.

It was a mix of old and new, as newcomers Laufey, Ernest and Dasha also took the stage.

Natasha Bedingfield Didn’t Think ‘Unwritten’ Would Have “Staying Power”

It’s been two decades since Natasha Bedingfield encouraged us all to drench ourselves in words unspoken and live our lives with arms wide open. And the Grammy nominee never anticipated what “Unwritten” would become.

 “I didn’t even know ‘Unwritten’ would be the song that would have the staying power,” the singer, 43, told BBC Newsbeat in August. “Because there were cooler songs. It’s very hard to write positive songs without being cringey.”

However, “People have really held on to it and it’s become kind of like a motto,” she said.

Featured image by Richard Isaac/Shutterstock

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