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View all search resultsNatalie Imbruglia: Returns with wiser, happier tones
After a six-year break from the music industry, Australian-British crooner Natalie Imbruglia is now ready to give music another try, offering new feelings to old songs in her latest album, entitled Male
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After a six-year break from the music industry, Australian-British crooner Natalie Imbruglia is now ready to give music another try, offering new feelings to old songs in her latest album, entitled Male.
In her latest album, her fifth, singer Natalie Imbruglia covers famous songs sung by a range of male artists.
'It feels fantastic to be singing again; I'm really enjoying it,' Imbruglia told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview.
The break had apparently blunted her songwriting skills, prompting her to record a cover album to mark her comeback.
'I really wanted to sing again, but to be honest, I had writer's block,' she said.
She initially planned to cover songs from her favorite male and female artists before realizing that singing the songs by men was a lot more fun.
'When I sing songs by women, it's like a direct comparison, comparing my vocals to theirs and it's quite scary,' she said.
'But when you flip the sex, it shifts the perspective and becomes a totally different version.'
It was not easy to convince herself to go back into the studio again after many years away from music, as she was afraid her voice would not have the same strength as before.
It was Billy Mann, the album's producer, who encouraged her to keep going.
'I was just concerned what was going to come out because I hadn't sung for five years at all. I felt very safe in his hands and I was very grateful that my voice was stronger than ever,' she said.
Imbruglia chose 'Instant Crush' by Daft Punk feat. Julian Casablancas as the album's first single.
''Instant Crush' was on top of my list of modern songs to cover although I didn't really know what the lyric was all about,' she said.
'It was unusual for me, because apart from the music, I normally like a song because of the lyric. When I discovered the words, I found this beautiful love story and got excited about doing it.'
In Male, she gives The Cure's 'Friday I'm In Love' the sound of a bluegrass hoedown, immerses herself in 'The Summer' by Josh Pyke, which reminds her of her favorite summertime in Australia, and invites listeners to enjoy the moment of falling in love with the ballad 'Naked as We Came' by Iron & Wine.
'This cover album might have been a way to help me start writing songs again,' Imbruglia said.
Born in Sydney, Australia, Imbruglia got into the entertainment world by starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.
She left the show in its second year and moved to London in 1994 to try her luck in music. Three years later, she took the music industry by storm as she released 'Torn', which immediately topped music charts all over the world.
Her debut album, Left of the Middle, went platinum in many countries, and she later became a 1990s icon.
In 2001, Imbruglia released her second album, White Lilies Island, followed by Counting Down the Days in 2004 and Come to Life in 2009.
Unfortunately, none of the albums could repeat the success of the first.
Courtesy of Sony Music Indonesia
After selling 10 million albums worldwide, scoring Grammy Award nominations and winning several prestigious music awards, she decided to drop out of the music industry as she felt she had fallen out of love with music.
'I was totally off from music, I didn't do any singing because I wasn't enjoying it anymore,' said the ex-wife of rock band Silverchair's front man Daniel Johns.
Nevertheless, she did not let her artistic creativity fade away, channeling it to another platform.
She went to Los Angeles, the US, to study acting with drama teacher Ivana Chubbuck and was later involved in several films and a theater project in England, called Things We Do For Love, by renowned English playwright Alan Ayckbourn.
She also became a judge on the second season of the Australian version of X-Factor in 2010. 'Such a talent show is a positive thing; it's a nice place for people with good talents to have a chance to get a record deal, to be seen by the world,' she said.
Amid her break, Imbruglia decided in 2013 to become a citizen of Britain, where she has been living since she was 18, taking a series of tests before finally receiving her British passport.
Her sabbatical years seem to have done her well. Now at 40, she is enjoying every minute of life ' feeling fresh and ready to pour all of her energy into making music.
'At a certain time, I think it's good to stop, so that you can rediscover your passion for something.'
She looks forward to performing at many gigs to promote her new album. And as for her spare time, Imbruglia now uses it to write songs for her next album.
'I just want to make music that makes people happy, that's the purpose of music really.'
