90's kids are 'Torn' that Natalie Imbruglia's hit song is actually a cover

90's kids are 'Torn' that Natalie Imbruglia's hit song is actually a cover

Every kid who grew up in the 90s would remember the hit song 'Torn' by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia.

But what if we told you that the chart-topping single released in 1997 was not an original but a cover version? Mind-blown yet?

You can thank Twitter user @VilinskiKonjic, who reminded the world of this interesting piece of triva over the weekend.

He wrote: "Every '90s kid comes of age 3 times: 18th birthday, 21st birthday, the day they find out Natalie Imbruglia's version of Torn is a cover."

Here's how Twitter reacted to the revelation:

[embed]https://twitter.com/yamanecko/status/900858227243577350[/embed]

[embed]https://twitter.com/democracydiva/status/900796768178274304[/embed]

And yes, VilinskiKonjic knows what he has done.

[embed]https://twitter.com/VilinskiKonjic/status/900856544790814720[/embed]

The writers of the song, Los Angeles musicians Anne Preven, Scott Cutler and producer Phil Thornalley, were caught by surprise as well, but mainly by the dramatic reaction to the 'news'.

"It's funny, if I didn't know Sinead O'Connor didn't write Nothing Compares 2 U and then I found out it was a Prince song, I might have my mind blown," Preven told news.com.au following the revelation.

"I can't believe anyone cares - it's so shocking to me," co-writer Scott Cutler added.

The song was first released by their band Ednaswap in 1993, and, get this, covered twice before Imbruglia's runaway hit.

For those who are curious, here's the original:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OoEdfB7l18[/embed]

And another version released before Imbruglia's by Danish singer Lis Sorensen.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyuGaU4rXjA[/embed]

Interestingly enough, Cutler admitted that when he first heard Imbruglia's version, he "didn't love it".

"Natalie’s version was very much the version we wrote. It was just a couple beats per minute faster. And a little bit higher, I think. In the moment I thought it was little light. I love it now - when I hear it I get it."

So what made Imbruglia's version work? Was it her voice, her face, or that great music video? 

Said Thornalley in an interview with SongFacts: "Sometimes you have to wait for all the elements to come together."

While it did for Imbruglia, right now our "perfect sky is torn".

candicec@sph.com.sg

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.