Natalie Imbruglia

1975–1994: Early life and career beginnings

Imbruglia was born on February 4, 1975, in Sydney, the second of four daughters of Maxene (née Anderson) and Elliot Imbruglia. Her father is of Italian descent, a Sicilian from Lipari who immigrated to Australia with his family aged five, and her mother is of Irish, Scottish and English descent, with an ancestor who arrived in Australia as a convict in the First Fleet. Imbruglia grew up in Berkeley Vale, New South Wales, and attended Mater Dei College. At 15, she moved to Sydney with her family and studied ballet, tap and Highland dancing. She completed her schooling at McDonald College.

Torn

"Torn" is a song written by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Phil Thornalley in 1991. It is best known as Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia's 1997 debut single, which peaked at number one on the singles charts of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, and Sweden, as well as on three US Billboard charts.

Imbruglia's version sold over four million copies worldwide.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "shuffling, acoustic-lined rocker", noting that it "has the rich texture and guitar flavor needed to win the props of rock radio." He added, "However, the song also has an infectious melody that will warm the heart of anyone with a hankering for a slice of pure pop. Imbruglia has a charming, heartfelt delivery mildly reminiscent of Jewel." Scottish newspaper Daily Record commented, "Gorgeous tune from a gorgeous lady". A reviewer from Music & Media stated that "this very convincing debut single" has taken the U.K. charts by storm, "and looks likely to do so elsewhere." Music Week rated it five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. They wrote, "The former Neighbours star possesses...

Music video

The music video to Natalie Imbruglia's cover version, filmed on 25 October 1997 under the direction of Alison Maclean, features a shot of an apartment where the angle of vision never changes. Shots of Imbruglia singing along with the song are interspersed with footage of her and British actor Jeremy Sheffield engaging in a romantically inclined conversation. These few scenes turn out to be B-roll footage, as the two actors are seen fumbling their lines and positions; and the director constantly steps into frame to redirect the two. During the last chorus, the apartment walls start wobbling and the crew comes to dismantle it, revealing the location to be a set inside a soundstage. Imbruglia begins to dance during the finishing guitar solo...

Background

After three studio albums, their record label Sony BMG demanded a compilation album, against the band members' wishes. At the time, rumors of their breakup circulated in the press, and they felt a new release would help dispel those allegations. Mil e Uma Noites was eventually released as a compromise, with most tracks being previously released hits, plus six all-new tracks.

In popular culture

The song appeared in several television series, the most prominent of which being the American TV series Charmed, in the episode "I've Got You Under My Skin". Imbruglia's version of the song appeared in other shows as well; examples include the Chilean soap opera Separados (broadcast by TVN), the Turkish teen drama Love 101 (broadcast and distributed by Netflix), and the Philippine TV series Gimik (aired by ABS-CBN).