Born on February 4: Nathalie Imbruglia still reeling from the success of Torn

An actress as well as a singer, the young woman was born in Sydney (Australia) in 1975. She's still struggling to recapture the popularity of her first single, Torn, released in 1997.

Today, as in the past, young actors from soap operas and platform hits such as “Stranger Things” are at one time or another tempted to sing. Barely 16, Nathalie Imbruglia took her pretty face on the road for a few seasons of the Australian series “Neighbours”, which ran from 1985 to 2011. But the young woman took off long before the final clip!

Having emigrated to London, where her acting career was faltering, she decided to capitalize on another of her assets: her voice. With the help of Phil Thornalley, who also produced The Cure, her debut album “Left Of The Middle” was a masterstroke. It sold around six million copies worldwide. 

 With music by Scott Cutler and lyrics by Anne Preven, covered by their band Ednaswap, the haunting song “Torn” was a runaway success. It also put the singer in the family of “one-hit wonders”, artists who have unfortunately only had one major hit. She joins Sniff'n The Tears and their “Driver's Seat” (1978) and Ram Jam with their “Black Betty” (1977), among many others. If you don't know their names, their titles are probably still in your subconscious.

Despite five studio albums between 2001 and 1021, the singer is still struggling to find her place in the sun. On “Firebird” (2021), the song “Build It Better” could have followed the same path as “Torn”. With a bit of luck...

(Stéphane Soupart - Tr.: MH - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)
Photo: Nathalie Imbruglia on stage at W-Festival in Ostend (Belgium) on August 27, 2023