Natalie Imbruglia - Biography

Natalie Jane Imbruglia (pronounced im-broo-lyah) (born February 4, 1975) is an Australian singer, songwriter, model and actress. Like Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue, she also played a role in the soap Neighbours before venturing into a singing career. She is known in most parts of the world for her smash-hit, "Torn". She is married to Daniel Johns of Silverchair fame. To date she has sold more than 7.5 million albums around the world.

Born as second of the four daughters to an Italian father and an Australian mother, Imbruglia grew up on the Central Coast, north of Sydney. Imbruglia studied ballet as a child, hoping to make a career out of it. Later, she started auditioning for Australian TV commercials and appeared in spots for Coke and the popular Australian snack Twisties. By age 16, she left high school to start a career in acting. Eventually, she obtained the chance to play a regular role on the Australian soap opera, Neighbours at the 1ge of 16 1/2. Neighbours has also launched the careers of many other successful Australian female artists such as Kylie Minogue, Holly Valance and Delta Goodrem. However, by the end of her second year, she left the show to move to London, immersing herself in the city's club scene.

There, she decided to try her hand at singing, something which she had never attempted before. Her effort paid off and she was signed to BMG Publishing. She came up with a demo of the song "Torn" which greatly impressed RCA Records and got her a record contract.

Music

Natalie Imbruglia is one of the two most succesful Australian-born female singers, along with Kylie Minogue. However, her chart performance in 1998 during Torn era and the release of her first album, Left of the Middle surpass that of Kylie's peak performance in 1987 or 2001 (Locomotion and Fever era). Natalie Imbruglia has received one MTV Awards for Best New Artist in 1998, and 3 constitutive nominations of Grammy Awards in 1999.

From Rock on the Net: She is No. 11 single artist of the year of 1998, and No. 76 single artist in 2001.

Torn

Her first internationally released single, was an Ednaswap cover, "Torn", instantly the single became one of the biggest hits of the 90s reaching number-two in the UK Singles Chart and number-one on Airplay around the world, the single went on to sell over a million copies in the United Kingdom alone and more than 2.5 million copies worldwide.

It was also released on the airwaves in the US, but not in buyable CD-format. There, it impressed radio audiences and stayed at the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay for eleven weeks. Because it wasn’t sold in physical CD single form, it didn’t get on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, which did not count airplay-only singles at the time.

In October 1997, it broke the all time airplay record in the UK for being the most played (more than 2000 plays) for six consecutive weeks. It was No. 1 radio single in the USA from March to July 1998. It was knocked down to No. 2 by Alanis Morissette's Uninvited. At the same week, she was spotted topless with her then boyfriend Lenny Kravitz in Santa Monica. Rick Dees from Kiis FM Rick Top 40 show made joke of her by calling her a double topless.

Rick Dees, in his Top 40 Chart show declared Torn as the 'number one radio single of 1990s' in their 2000 Millenium Countdown show, broadcasted from Kiis FM LA on News Years Eve.

Left of the Middle

Her debut album Left of the Middle followed soon after. The second single released in the UK, after "Torn" was "Big Mistake". The song debuted at number-two. "Wishing I Was There" followed and it was less successful than her first two singles, reaching number 19. However, 'Wishing I Was There' was s smash hit on the UK radio, peaked at No. 2 in summer 1998, and was a summer smash hit in the USA radio, peaked at No. 14 on the Top 40 Show. The final single from Left of the Middle was "Smoke", and the reception was much more divided compared to the other singles. It was a hit in the UK and made the top 5, while in Australia it just missed the top 40. Eventually, the album became a million-seller after charting well in many countries and entering the Top 10 in the US and UK. In 1999, she collaborated with Welsh singer Tom Jones and appeared on an INXS cover from his album Reload.

Left of the Middle was certified platinum by RIAA within 8 week release (May 1998) and was certified 2X platinum in November 1998.

White Lilies Island

Imbruglia’s next album, White Lilies Island, arrived in 2001. Named after one of her summer homes, the writing process took almost three years to complete. The album's first single, That Day, was very different stylistically from her previous singles, and it did not reach the UK Top 10. The song, which some found reminiscent of Lisa Loeb's style, did not do well in her home country either. In the US, Wrong Impression was released as the first single and it enjoyed small success, charting in the Hot 100 Singles chart and the Adult Contemporary chart. The track was also released in the UK as a second single, and it did slightly better than That Day. Beauty On The Fire, the final single, experienced minimal success and barely entered charts worldwide. In Australia it did not even make the top 50. Beauty On The Fire, however, was one of the more critically-acclaimed tracks from White Lilies Island and is considered by fans to be her most underrated single. The album still managed to sell around a million copies but failed to repeat the widespread success of Left of the Middle. She got married in 2003 to her long-time boyfriend, Daniel Johns, the lead singer of Silverchair.

Counting Down The Days

Imbruglia's third album was ready in November 2003. Natalie's record label refused to release it due to it being too rock and not radio-friendly. She was later given songs to record with Scandinavian pop producers, which she refused to do. Natalie and her record label parted ways at the beginning of 2004. 4 months later she signed with a new label Brightside Recordings, which was formed by a former Innocent Records boss Hugh Goldsmith. Imbruglia started working on an album again. In April 2005, Imbruglia released her third studio album Counting Down The Days in the UK with Shiver as its first single. Shiver was a huge success, and it became her longest running single in the UK since Torn. It topped UK airplay charts for several weeks, reaching eighth place in the UK charts. Still, the song’s acclaim and reception paid off and Counting Down The Days became her first album to reach the top spot on the album charts. The second single, the title track Counting Down The Days, was released on July 25th but it did not have as much success in the singles chart as Shiver. It managed to reignite interest in its parent album though, and also received a lot of airplay in the UK. Due to the single, the album managed to re-enter the top 40 in the official UK charts. Imbruglia also did a small European tour in late October and November to promote the album. It looks unlikely that a third single will be released from the album as she will soon be working on a small independent film in Australia. (The track Perfectly from the album received airplay in the UK following Counting Down the Days, but it was never released as a single.)

4th album

Natalie started working on her 4th album in 2006. As confirmed by both Imbruglia and her record label the album is due in early 2007. In a true Imbruglia style, it is expensively budgeted and is currently written in the UK, USA and Australia. Gary Clark, Daniel Johns, Crispin Hunt and Dan Wilson are confirmed co-writers for the album.

TV and movie

L'Oreal

Imbruglia became a spokesperson for L'Oreal after the release of White Lilies Island. Even till today, she remains as a model for many cosmetic products by L'Oreal, particularly mascaras and skincare products. Her advertisements have appeared frequently in newspapers, magazines and television all over the world, ranging from places like Italy to Malaysia and the UK.

Johnny English

She made her big screen debut as an actress in the British comedy, Johnny English. Starring alongside Rowan Atkinson, she played a supporting role as Lorna Campbell. The movie also featured another musical talent, Bond, in a cameo appearance. Internationally, the movie did well despite negative reviews from critics.

Elise

Since 2004, Imbruglia has been preparing for the lead role of Elise Silverton in the Australian independent film Elise. The film is based on a Georgia Blain's novel Closed for Winter. Elise is directed by James Bogle. Shooting begins in August 2006 in Adelaide, Australia.

Natalie Imbruglia Official Website