His music is all over the club scene. He’s just barely legal at 21 years of age. And Friday is his favorite. Who is he? Daniel Bedingfield, Island/Def Jam Records’ answer to Craig David. You may not recognize his name just yet, but you know his song. Bedingfield’s jam, Gotta Get Thru This, is taking the world by storm. It hit #1 in the United Kingdom before making it’s way to America, where his song has become an anthem for lovesick singles everywhere. Originally from New Zealand, Bedingfield moved to England when he was six months old. However, he insists, “I've grown up in and out of the United States.” Album promotion has since taken him everywhere in between, leaving little time for much else. Luckily, he was able to squeeze us into his busy schedule...

Lindzi.com: Gotta Get Thru This is huge in the club scene. Are you into clubbing?

Daniel Bedingfield: I hardly ever get to go out nowadays. Plus, I get noticed in clubs and I don't feel as free to get down and boogie. I'm just really busy. I don't have time. I went out last night 'till three o'clock in the morning, but that was the first time in ages.

Lindzi.com: Yeah -- where are you at right now?

Daniel Bedingfield: I'm touring the States for the next two weeks. I'm in New York.

Lindzi.com: So, what were you doing before you were "Daniel Bedingfield -- the musician?"

Daniel Bedingfield: I was planning to be Daniel Bedingfield the musician. {laughs} I did some web design for three years while I was carrying out making my music. I've always been making music. My mum tells me it was like, "Pop! Waaaaah!"

Lindzi.com: I heard you made your album with one mic and one computer. How did you first get into the production end of things?

Daniel Bedingfield: I got a synthesizer that my family bought me and I spent all my free time on it. I started getting into computers. I love production and producing.

Lindzi.com: Very cool. What inspired your first single, Gotta Get Thru This?

Daniel Bedingfield: It's about this flaming red-head from New Jersey, called Gina. I was passionately in love with her and I wanted to be with her, but didn't have the guts to. She was really full on. That scares guys sometimes. I really liked her. I was up in London and she was in the North of England. There was this tension about me wanting to be up there. So, I wrote it, went home and put it on my computer. And... {starts beat boxing} My friend said, "Man, it's a great song." I put on a vinyl and sent it to the world's biggest DJ, not expecting much, and it went to number one. You never could have told me it would happen.

Lindzi.com: Yeah, and what does Gina think now?

Daniel Bedingfield: She loves it. She's loving that song. It gets played everywhere. She's like, "I'm Gina." She's coming over soon. She'll be in the states.

Lindzi.com: I have to tell you... the acoustic version of Gotta Get Thru This is awesome! I love it. How much of your album reflects that same sound?

Daniel Bedingfield: Actually, that kind of sound is through out the whole album. It's like Stevie Wonder meets Michael Jackson meets Sting all stuck in the basement, jamming together. It's got guitars in it. It's funky. Funk would be the essential element through out the album. It's musically diverse.

Lindzi.com: What's your favorite track off the album?

Daniel Bedingfield: I really like Friday. Have you heard the album? Have you heard Friday? {sings} "She's coming back on Frrrriiiidaaaay." {pauses} Have you heard that one? Girlfriend is one [that I like too].

Lindzi.com: There was quite a bidding war for you among the various major U.S. labels. I even heard that Madonna wanted you to sign with her label -- so badly -- that she offered to do a duet with you. How much truth is there to this rumor?

Daniel Bedingfield: That'd be so cool. I'm not sure that's true. I'll tell you one thing, Island/Def Jam is hooking me up with Mariah Carey. It looks like I'll be doing a duet. I just finished the song a few days ago. I should be finding out tomorrow whether it's happening or not. It's called A Thousand Lifetimes. It's basically a love song, but you'll see when it comes out.

Lindzi.com: What's the biggest misconception you had about the music industry prior to becoming part of it?

Daniel Bedingfield: Hmm. I'm not sure. I didn't everyone would be this friendly. I thought they were all mean people sitting behind their desks. I didn't realize that they could laugh. I expected everybody to be nasty, but everyone is really lovely.

Lindzi.com: How do people in America compare with people back home?

Daniel Bedingfield: I've always felt very at home in America. I've been over so many times. [People in America are] much friendlier and I think they have better taste in music.

Lindzi.com: How will you know when you've hit it big?

Daniel Bedingfield: I'll have sold millions of albums and I'll be on my second album and that'll be selling big. That's what I call making it big.

Lindzi.com: How do you think success will change you?

Daniel Bedingfield: I don't think it could change me much more. Right now, my life is completely and totally changed. Nothing like it was. I hardly have any free time, but I get to sing to crowds of thousands of people. It's great fun.

Lindzi.com: What was your life like a year ago?

Daniel Bedingfield: You get up in the morning. You go to work. You buy your food. Now, you get up and do a hundred interviews. You do a video. You fly over to America. You try to catch some sleep on the plane. You meet this person and that person. It's very very different.

Lindzi.com: What's the best part of your job?

Daniel Bedingfield: Singing in front of live audiences.

Lindzi.com: The worst?

Daniel Bedingfield: Traveling.

Lindzi.com: What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Sometimes I think I look really ugly. Like everyone was looking at shots of the video and said, "Ah -- you look good." I was like, "No, no. I look like a monkey." {laughs} Sometimes I look in the mirror and think "Gosh, you look good today, Dan." I have my up's and down's.

Lindzi.com: How do you think people view you?

Daniel Bedingfield: I don't think people in America have much of an idea of who I am yet. All they know is Gotta Get Thru This. Hopefully, they'll view me as the bloke next door. Just a normal kid who's passionate about music.

Lindzi.com: Not to sound too much like a job interview, {chuckles} but describe yourself in three words.

Daniel Bedingfield: Passionate. Intense. Colorful. Friday best reflects that because of the passionate intensity of the song. You play it quietly and it sounds so loud. It's got all the elements of the R&B and rock -- all together.

Lindzi.com: What have you learned about yourself in the last year?

Daniel Bedingfield: How much stress I can take. The sheer amount of work. I've just had four days of break and that's the first proper break I've had in six months. You'd never believe that you could be working this hard.

Lindzi.com: How much pressure are you feeling right now?

Daniel Bedingfield: My mind isn't feeling any pressure. My body's just so tired from having to do so many things all the time. There's a big boost, though. {almost like he's listed the positives to himself} I get to travel with my friends and DJ's. One of my best friends is here. I really like my management team. It's great experience. I love it.

Lindzi.com: What makes you happy?

Daniel Bedingfield: It wouldn't relate to music. What really makes me happy is having good friends. We do really stupid and silly things. We'll watch a movie and then go out for a walk. We'll be really stupid and sing silly songs.

Lindzi.com: What's the craziest thing you've done in America?

Daniel Bedingfield: Craziest thing I've ever done in America... I haven't done anything crazy yet. I'm looking forward to doing some crazy things with some crazy American girls.

Lindzi.com: What surprised you most about America?

Daniel Bedingfield: I've grown up in and out of the United States. It's not much of a surprise. Only how beautiful New York was. I didn't expect it to be this beautiful.

Lindzi.com: You're originally from New Zealand, right?

Daniel Bedingfield: Yeah. I was only three months old when I moved to England.

Lindzi.com: How do you feel about Craig David comparisons?

Daniel Bedingfield: He's a really really cool guy. He writes his own stuff. I write my own stuff. He gets involved in the production. I'm fine with it. He's a good guy.

Lindzi.com: Who would you compare yourself to?

Daniel Bedingfield: Oh, crumbs. Sonically? I think I sound like Sting and Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder locked in a basement. {laughs} That's my description.

Lindzi.com: What's your favorite life lesson you've learned through out the years?

Daniel Bedingfield: Not to judge people and to try and be "others centered." Not to be self-centered. That's what I'm trying to learn.