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'Absolute banger': The origin story of Michigan basketball and Natasha Bedingfield's 'Unwritten'

Screenshotby: Clayton Sayfie05/26/26CSayf23

The national championship was so close you could almost taste it when freshman guard Trey McKenney nailed a three-pointer to put his team up nine points with under two minutes to go April 6, 2026. Michigan‘s story was officially written with the 69-63 victory over UConn in Indianapolis — national champions for the second time in program history.

Before that, it was, well, “Unwritten.”

Michigan players kept it light with their soundtrack while preparing for games during its epic March Madness run. The world got a glimpse while they were warming up for shootaround one day before opening the tournament against Howard, and there were other videos of the Wolverines listening to British singer-songwriter Natasha Bedingfield‘s ‘Unwritten’ throughout the Big Dance. Other hit songs the Wolverines listened to included ‘Just Dance’ by Lady Gaga and ‘Last Friday Night’ by Katy Perry.

In the ‘Made For March’ docuseries on Paramount+, which gives an inside look on the 2025-26 Michigan Wolverines, graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg was lifting weights before the season with ‘Unwritten’ on the speakers. The tune made its way from then to the end of the season in Indianapolis, playing throughout Lucas Oil Stadium during a practice.

On an episode of the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast, Michigan strength and conditioning coach Matt Aldred revealed the origin of the Wolverines listening to ‘Unwritten.’

“Yax. Yax, for sure,” Aldred, who is a native of Eastbourne, England, said of who started the trend. “I had no idea that he knew who Natasha Bedingfield was. She’s like a British pop star from the ‘90s or 2000s, something like that.

“But early on in the summer, I’d train him, and obviously I like giving the guys the aux like, ‘Play whatever music you want.’ I listen to it all day, every day. Some guys like music like hard rap, some guys want pop music, whatever. And Yax is such an energy guy. It’s like, ‘Hey, man, whatever you want.’ They loved [singer-songwriter] Olivia Dean at the end of the season, more in your feels kind of music. That’s fine! Whatever you guys need, I do not care.”

A Michigan team full of bright personalities, the Wolverines liked to keep it light.

“It’s funny, at the Final Four, we had the court and I had the aux, and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s play Lil Baby or something.’ And Yax said, ‘Nah, that ain’t us! That ain’t us! Put this on.’ I was like, ‘Alright, I got you. My bad,'” Aldred revealed.

“So, all credit to Yax for the viral warmup videos and the songs. I really hope that she understands that for me as an English guy that’s kind of cool.”

‘Unwritten,’ which was released in 2004, is still going strong over 20 years later, providing a soundtrack for the greatest team in Michigan basketball history.

“I love that song,” Aldred said. “Who doesn’t? It’s an absolute banger.”