Call it Bedingfield 2.5. Pocketful of Sunshine is the second U.S. release by the Londoner whose career is part Fergie, part Amy Grant, but nearly half the songs appeared on her sophomore English release, N.B. "I Wanna Have Your Babies," the gloriously bubbly and weird single from that record, is among the missing, but some lovely pop tunes have been substituted.

Bedingfield has had an unfortunate tendency toward syrupy ballads in the past, but even the slower numbers here compare favorably with most examples of the genre. "Soulmate," for instance, may start off with guitar-picking that signifies clichéd contemplation, but Bedingfield's ability to modulate her belting and still convey emotion serves the "I want a really good boyfriend" message well. The lead single, "Love Like This," pairs her with R&B charmer Sean Kingston, a vocalist with a similarly large and varied bag of musical tricks, to create a warm summery spray of melody.

Mostly, Pocketful of Sunshine stays true to its title, focusing on pep and good feelings with little examination of the dark side of existence; "Happy" may discuss fear, crying and fighting briefly, but it falls back on a light, perky beat. It's not that the negative should be given equal space with the positive, but Bedingfield has shown a gift for deeper, or at least more unexpected, approaches to problems, and it would be nice if she were allowed the space to pursue them. Still, one can't complain too much about the musical equivalent of puppies and rainbow—they're popular for a reason and so should she be.