It used to be that there were two distinct types of pop princesses: the sexed-up virgins (the Britneys) and the angsty, angry-yet-sad girls next door (the Alanises). While generally divided by the amount of clothes deemed necessary to complete an outfit, the groups seemed to also be segregated by hair color (blondes = the innocent flirts, brunettes = tortured ex-girlfriends). 1998’s MTV Best New Artist, Natalie Imbruglia fits snugly in the latter category—complete with Delia’s-worthy, piecey, flipped-out hair, huge Juicy-Tubed lips, and those baggy pants that somehow still convince viewers that there's a bangin' bod beneath.
It's her 39th birthday, and with just a handful of days before Valentine's, today's the perfect opportunity to revisit the everlasting breakup anthem that is ' Torn.” You definitely know the song (it topped the Billboard radio airplay charts for 14 straight weeks), but do you recall the weird video? Maybe it's trying to say that relationships are just figments of our imaginations, tainted by the unrealistic expectations nailed into our heads thanks to 90s sitcoms and Pottery Barn. And that Natalie is too cool and energetic for boring male catalogue models. Let's go for a memory jog, press play above.
