Camila Cabello surprised fans with a piano-ballad rendition of “Torn,” the single that became Natalie Imbruglia’s breakthrough hit on U.S. radio in 1998, at a pair of shows in Australia this week (Aug. 27 and 30).
Melbourne and Sydney, two of the final stops on Cabello’s Yours, C Tour — the C,XOXO singer has a Sept. 14 concert slated for São Paulo, Brazil — were a fitting setting to cover “Torn,” recorded by the Australian-born Imbruglia for her 1997 debut studio album, Left of the Middle. Seated at the piano at both gigs, Cabello channeled the sincerity of Imbruglia’s vocal performance on “Torn, and on Saturday night shared a video of one of her performances on X.
“when in australia… you have to sing torn,” Cabello captioned the clip. “ily natalie imbruglia & ily australia.”
Imbruglia’s “Torn” soared to No. 1 on a trio of Billboard charts (Radio Songs, Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay) in 1998, and peaked at No. 42 on the Hot 100. She was nominated for a Grammy for best female pop vocal performance for “Torn,” but ultimately lost to Celine Dion and her inescapable “My Heart Will Go On.” Though Imbruglia’s take on “Torn” is the one most pop fans know, it was actually a cover for her, too — as the song was first released by the band Ednaswap in 1995.
Imbruglia’s released a total of six albums throughout her career, with 2021’s Firebird being her most recent. She performed under the guise of “Bluebell” on The Masked Singer last year.
Watch Cabello’s live performance of “Torn” below.