Getty Image / Rick Kern/WireImage/Vinnie Zuffante
This morning I woke up and heard this acoustic cover of ‘Torn’ by Michelle Branch for the first time, a tribute to Natalie Imbruglia‘s version of ‘Torn’ which popularized the song. I was hooked. Immediately. A straight-up earworm.
Naturally, I raced here to put it into an article and share it with all of you valued BroBible readers but I ran out of time and had to go to an eye/vision exam where they put those heinous drops in my eyes and I wasn’t able to see or read anything within 3ft of my face for the past 5 hours. But I’m back, and in the meantime I was listening to Michelle Branch’s cover of ‘Torn’ on repeat.
Michelle Branch Acoustic Cover Of ‘Torn’ As Tribute To Natalie Imbruglia
Shared on TikTok where millennial music icon Michelle Branch often shares covers of songs with deeper meaning to her, this one was an instant hit. I’d be lying if I said that Natalie Imbruglia’s cover of ‘Torn,’ a song originally written for Anne Preven in 1991 but popularized by Imbruglia, wasn’t one of my favorite last 90s songs.
When Natalia Imbruglia got her hands on the song written by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Phil Thornalley she took it to the next level. The Australian singer took it to #1 on three different Billboard charts as well as #1 in multiple countries around the world, all while selling 4 million copies of the single back when people still bought music. It is an anthem of the era.
Currently, Michelle Branch and Natalie Imbruglia are gearing up for a mini tour together with two shows at La Maraka in Mexico City. Ahead of that, Natalie Imbruglia celebrated her 51st birthday on February 4th and to wish her a very happy birthday Michelle Branch recovered this cover and shared it with the world.
If you listen to this on repeat all weekend, you’re not alone:
@michellebranch Happy birthday @Natalie Imbruglia !! So excited to share the stage with you next week in Mexico City! Teenage me would be FREAKING out. Had to cover “Torn” to really get into the spirit. See you next week Mexico City.
Michelle Branch’s acoustic cover of ‘Torn’, of course, sent me right over to YouTube to find Natalie’s version. It still holds up just like it did in the late 90s. There’s good reason it has over 350 million views on YT:
From there, I came straight back to Michell Branch on TikTok and started listening to her other covers. One of her most popular videos to date is this cover of ‘Diet Pepsi’ by Addison Rae. I definitely prefer this to the original:
@michellebranch Can’t get this one out of my head 😍Diet Pepsi by @addisonraee ❤️
What is it about these powerful late 90s / early 00s artists that just takes over my eardrums for days on it? It happened with this incredible Brandi Carlile cover of ‘Uninvited’ by Alanis Morissette and it is happening again now.