Natalie Imbruglia

With her crystalline voice and empathic persona, Natalie Imbruglia rose to international prominence as both singer and actor, thanks to the smash hit “Torn,” which helped define the sound of adult alternative rock for years afterward. The 1997 cover of the Ednaswap original, paired with that year’s debut album Left of the Middle, carried a slightly left-of-center sensibility yet reached mainstream listeners through its polished delivery. At times she adopted a more angular sound, as heard on 2001’s White Lilies Island, while at others she embraced a direct pop approach, exemplified by 2005’s Counting Down the Days; either way, she maintained chart success across Europe and her native Australia into the mid-2000s. Parallel pursuits in film and television included two seasons as a judge on the Australian edition of The X Factor. When she resumed recording with the 2015 covers collection Male and the 2021 set Firebird—her first original material in more than a decade—her focus on inventive yet accessible pop remained firmly in place.

Born in Sydney, Australia, on February 4, 1975, she began studying dance as a teenager before shifting to acting, appearing in commercials for Coca-Cola and Twisties prior to her sixteenth birthday. In 1992 she secured a lead role on Neighbours and remained with the series until 1994, after which she moved to London to launch a singing career. A four-song demo that included an early rendition of “Torn” led RCA/BMG to sign her in 1996. The label issued “Torn” in November 1997; the track quickly climbed to number two in the U.K. and sold more than a million copies. It soon achieved global success, entering the Top Ten throughout Europe and Australia. Although it peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States—partly because no commercial CD single was released domestically—“Torn” topped the Billboard Airplay chart and lingered there for weeks. The song became a perennial radio staple worldwide, setting longevity records in both Australia and the U.K. Follow-up singles “Big Mistake” reached the Top Ten in the U.K. and Australia, while “Wishing I Was There” attained positions 19 and 24 in those same territories.

Propelled by “Torn,” the November 1997 album Left of the Middle topped the Australian chart, entered the Top 10 in the U.K.—where it earned platinum certification—and in the U.S., where it was certified double platinum. Worldwide sales surpassed seven million copies, establishing it as the best-selling debut album by a female Australian singer. Imbruglia collected multiple ARIA awards, including Best Female Artist, while “Torn” took Single of the Year and Left of the Middle won Best Pop Release. She also received Brit Awards for International Newcomer and International Female Solo Artist and earned Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Torn.”

Following a 1999 cover of INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart” with Tom Jones for his album Reload, she issued her second studio set, White Lilies Island, in November 2001. The title referenced her Windsor residence; every track listed her as co-writer and the overall tone leaned moodier than its predecessor. Singles “That Day,” a U.K. Top 20 entry, and “Wrong Impression,” a Top 10 hit in both the U.K. and U.S., supported the project. White Lilies Island achieved gold status in Australia and the U.K., though commercial results in the United States proved modest. A third album recorded for BMG in 2003 remained unreleased by the label. After appearing in the film Johnny English, Imbruglia parted ways with BMG in 2004 and signed with Brightside Recordings, which delivered Counting Down the Days in April 2005. Featuring production and songwriting input from Gary Clark, Eg White, Ben Hillier, Ash Howes, and Daniel Johns, the more conventional pop album reached number one on the U.K. Albums Chart and earned gold certification. Its lead single “Shiver” peaked at number eight in the U.K., marking her strongest showing there since “Torn.”

The 2007 compilation Glorious: The Singles 97-07 debuted at number five in the U.K. After leaving Brightside, she joined Island for the October 2009 release Come to Life, an ambitious effort that included contributions from Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Brian Eno, and Daniel Johns yet underperformed commercially, prompting a hiatus from music. In 2010 she served as a judge on the Australian version of The X Factor and made guest appearances on the U.K. edition. Additional screen credits included the 2013 film Underdogs and the 2014 release Among Ravens, while that same year she performed in a U.K. production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Things We Do for Love.

She returned to music in July 2015 with Male, her first album in six years and first U.S. release since White Lilies Island. The Sony Masterworks collection of covers by male singer/songwriters reached number 20 in the U.K. and number 25 in Australia; supporting tours followed in 2017 and 2018. During this period she appeared on the television programs First Contact and Who Do You Think You Are?, and in 2019 she welcomed a son. That year she re-signed with BMG and entered the studio alongside the Strokes’ Albert Hammond, Jr., frequent Strokes producer Gus Oberg, Romeo Stodart, KT Tunstall, and White. The resulting September 2021 album Firebird offered an eclectic mix highlighted by the optimistic single “Build It Better.”