Bedingfield album in US top three

Natasha Bedingfield topped the UK singles chart with These Words

Pop star Natasha Bedingfield has entered the US chart at number three with her album Pocketful of Sunshine.

It means she ties with soul star Sade in having the highest-ever US chart debut for a UK-signed female.

The British singer shifted 50,000 copies of the record in its first week of release. It reached number nine in the UK last year under the title NB.

The international version of the album adds several new tracks, including the current US hit single Love Like This.

Rescheduled tour

Bedingfield, who reached the US top five with her song Unwritten in 2005, is due to play a number of dates in America this Spring.

But the singer-songwriter, who postponed her UK tour last August, has now had to cancel the homecoming dates altogether.

A statement on her website said the move was "no fault of Natasha herself, but due to her US Label insisting that she remains in [the] US until further notice to promote the release of her album".

Bedingfield said she would "promise that a tour in the UK will be happening - it's just a little later than planned".

She has also planned a number of intimate free acoustic gigs in the UK later this Spring, but full details are yet to be released.