To those of a certain generation, ‘Torn’ by Natalie Imbruglia is THE karaoke song.
Released in 1997, the former Neighbours star’s debut single was the perfect announcement of her successful transition from soaps to music, an endlessly repeatable anthem that would be belted out in dorm rooms and late night bars for decades to come.
Just this July, Imbruglia was asked by Gen Z superstar Olivia Rodrigo to join her for a duet of ‘Torn’ onstage in London; “I saw myself in her,” Rodrigo gushed about one of her idols.
25 years on from her breakout single, Imbruglia is about to head on a U.K. tour celebrating Left of the Middle, the seminal album that ‘Torn’ featured on.
While promoting the tour in an interview with The Independent, Imbruglia recalled making the song’s iconic music video.
Her hoodie and baggy army pants combination has become iconic, but it turns out that Imbruglia only chose the surprising outfit due to feeling “so body dysmorphic and insecure” while making the video.
“The army pants weren’t even cool army pants – they weren’t in fashion or anything,” she told the publication. “My intention in wearing that was so that you couldn’t see my silhouette, because I didn’t want anyone to see.
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But it ended up that there was a power in that because it was like (seen as) androgyny cool. But it really came from a place of ‘thank god I don’t have to wear a dress!’”
Directed by Alison Maclean, Imbruglia also hailed her as a “genius with so many ideas,” adding that “everything about the video still blows my mind.”
You can watch the iconic ‘Torn’ video – probably for around the 100th time – below. Tickets for Imbruglia’s upcoming Left of the Middle 25th anniversary tour are available here.
For more on this topic, follow the Pop Observer.
