Why even GenZ loves Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

Those who had recently become teenagers, like me, in the early 2000s, when they heard the first notes of Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield can only think of one thing: mid-afternoon, television on, initial theme song The Hillsthe famous reality show starring, among others, Lauren Conrad (known as LC) and Heidi Montag, a spin off of the other famous milestone of those years, Laguna Beach. So, when on TikTok, practically all the videos started to be edited with this song, we immediately thought that someone had organized a rewatch collective of the show, ignoring instead that the song became the soundtrack of Everyone except youthe film starring Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell, becoming the new GenZ hit who, until a few months ago, was unaware of the existence of both Bedingfield and Unwritten.

So for us 30 year olds or almost, the song recalls the glossy lives of those who lived in Los Angeles, he frequented the best clubs in the area and had children of celebrities among his circle of friends (at the time there was no talk of nepo babies yet), he had the dream job (intern at Teen Vogue) and, for the weekend, he escaped to Cabo, Mexico, with his own private plane (strictly chartered. Rich yes, but still humble). If you were a provincial teenager, all this seemed as extraordinary and unique as the passage of Halley's comet and fantasizing in front of the TV – perhaps thinking of being the best friend of LC, Heidi and Audrina – cost nothing, but rather made us feel more cool. It is not surprising that, shortly after, a well-known hair product brand also chose it Unwritten for one of his commercials: Listening to her, you couldn't help but see yourself, looking absolutely fabulous, sipping a cocktail by the pool.

Now, thanks to Everyone except you, the song has become the perfect soundtrack to a funny but very sweet romantic story, like the one in the film. The cast singing it at the top of their lungs, in the end credits, demonstrates precisely this: there wouldn't be this atmosphere in the film without Unwritten and Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell) probably wouldn't have fallen in love with each other. It will not be missing, therefore, in the next videos that want to celebrate love (attention Valentine's Day is upon us) or in those, as is already happening lately on TikTok, which talk about crushes lasting the blink of an eye, encounters that take you by surprise: everything, therefore, that brings joy and light-heartedness and that it makes you want to sing it in the rain (as the two actors also did).

It therefore seems that, beyond generational differences, Unwritten It has the great merit of bringing joy and a vague feeling of complete happiness to those who listen to it, whether you're fantasizing about a love story or thinking about walking through Malibu with your hair blowing in the wind. The rest, as the song itself says, still remains to be written.