"
Torn" is a song by the band
Ednaswap from their debut album
Ednaswap (1995). It was their second single from that album, after "Glow". "Torn" was written by
Scott Cutler,
Anne Preven, and
Phil Thornalley during a demo session in 1993 before Edna Swap was formed. The lyrics were written by Preven. Thornalley and Cutler produced the session. In 1997, it was covered famously by
Natalie Imbruglia after having been recorded by Scandinavian singers
Lis Sørensen in 1993, and
Trine Rein in 1996.
Tracklisting
# "Torn" (Edit) (3:52)
# "Torn" (LP Version) (4:23)
Covers and versions
This song has been covered a surprising number of times, considering that it was written by a nearly unknown alternative rock band; this is due to Thornalley's involvement, as he worked with all of the artists who covered it. The first recorded version of the song was a translation by Danish singer
Lis Sørensen, "Brændt", (which translates to "Burnt" in English) in 1993. Sørensen's version has a
classic rock acoustic feel, and at 5:01 is considerably longer than any of the other versions. Stylistically it is very close to Imbruglia's version, most likely because (as Anne has said in an interview) their early demo was almost exactly like Imbruglia's version. There are also some similarities to the
Ednaswap version, including a longer
bridge and a very long
outro. The outro does not include the guitar solo at the end.
The second version of the song can be found on Edna Swap's self-titled first album. The sound is much darker than Imbruglia's version, but has an almost identical structure. It is characterized by haunting and somewhat harsh electric guitars, a longer bridge that does not include a breakdown (which the Imbruglia version, Trine Rein version and Lis Sørenson version all do), and a very long outro that fades out before it is finished. The bridge is the only part of the song where the acoustic guitar chords that are prominent in every other version can be easily heard.
After Edna Swap released their original album, it was covered by Norwegian singer Trine Rein on her 1996 album Beneath My Skin. Trine Rein's version is almost exactly like Imbruglia's version (and is even in English), but has a much more melodramatic feel, with piano chord hits throughout and harder electric guitar accents. The Trine Rein version has a similar bridge to Lis Sørenson's version, as long as the original Ednaswap version, but with a breakdown like the Imbruglia version.
In 1996, Edna Swap released a completely retooled version on Chicken. The song is much slower and very spare, with lots of guitar shredding. The first verse is very subtle, and kicks into high gear after the first chorus. There is no bridge, and a very short outro without the guitar solo that is in almost every version. In all, it is presented as a power ballad and sounds much "rawer" and harder than the other versions.
In 1997, Edna Swap released Wacko Magneto which has a remixed version of the song from the "Chicken" EP. The only difference between the two are the imperceptible background vocal effects and screeching guitars at some points of the song.
Later in 1997, it was covered by Natalie Imbruglia, gaining its widest recognition. Imbruglia's version is very soft, with a dance beat throughout. Of all the versions of the song, it is the most pop-oriented. The main difference between this version and Trine Rein's version is that Natalie repeats the word "Torn" several times before the end of verses. Natalie Imbruglia also did an MTV Unplugged version of the song, which removed the outro.
In 1998, Edna Swap released a "Radio Mix" of the song on their single "Back on the Sun". There are many electronic accents throughout the song. There is no bridge, and the outro is sung by Ednaswaps's lead singer Anne Preven rather than played on an electric guitar.
Other covers include those done by dance cover artist Natalie Browne, punk band Off by One, and many Latin American artists.
There are also quite a few live versions of the song, including the Live on Howard Stern version performed by Anne Preven as part of Annetenna and was given kudos by Stern himself.
The boy band One Direction covered Torn at Judges Houses on The X Factor, and again in the final.
The song was also covered by the Slovenian band Tabu under the title On ("He").
Natalie Imbruglia version
| Name | Torn |
|---|
| Cover | Torn.jpg |
|---|
| Artist | Natalie Imbruglia |
|---|
| From album | Left of the Middle |
|---|
| B-side | "Sometimes""Frightened Child""Contradictions""Diving in the Deep End" |
|---|
| Released | October 27, 1997 (AUS, UK)February 3, 1998 (U.S.) |
|---|
| Format | CD single |
|---|
| Genre | Pop rock |
|---|
| Length | 4:06 (album version) |
|---|
| Label | RCA |
|---|
| Writer | Cutler, Preven, Thornalley |
|---|
| Producer | Phil Thornalley |
|---|
| Certification | Platinum (ARIA)Platinum (BPI) |
|---|
| This single | "Torn"(1997) |
|---|
| Next single | "Big Mistake"(1998) |
|---|
In 1997, Australian singer
Natalie Imbruglia covered the song for her debut album
Left of the Middle. Released as a
single, Imbruglia's version became a worldwide hit. At the time of its release, U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 chart rules did not allow airplay-only songs to chart, so the song was prevented from achieving a high position on that chart despite remaining atop the
Hot 100 Airplay chart for eleven weeks.
For the track, Natalie Imbruglia received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, losing to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". The music video for "Torn" features British actor Jeremy Sheffield.
The Natalie Imbruglia version was recorded in Kilburn, London with David Munday (Lead Guitar), Phil Thornalley (Bass, Rhythm Guitars), Chuck Sabo (Drums), Henry Binns, Sam Hardaker (Zero Seven) (Drum Programming) and Katrina Leskanich (Background vocals). It was mixed by Nigel Godrich.
Comedian David Armand performed a comedy mime interpretation of the song, in character as "Johann Lippowitz, Vienna's foremost interpretive mime artist", which was circulated widely on the internet. At Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball 2006, Imbruglia and Armand performed a live duet of the song.
Reggae fusion artist Terro 3000 sampled the song in 2008 on his song "This Is How I Feel".
Music video
The music video features a continuous shot that never changes its angle of vision. Taking place in a residential space that later is revealed to be a filming studio, it has many shots where the crew is "fixing" the scene, as in a making of.
The video of the song was rated the second best video of all time by MTV Italy.
Track listing
;BMG international single / UK CD single #1
# "Torn" (4:06)
# "Sometimes" (3:52)
# "Frightened Child" (1:37)
;UK CD single #2
# "Torn" (4:06)
# "Contradictions" (4:07)
# "Diving in the Deep End" (3:30)
;UK cassette single
# "Torn" (4:06)
# "Sometimes" (3:52) (incorrectly listed on reverse sleeve as lasting 5:51)
;French CD single
# "Torn" (4:06)
# "Diving in the Deep End" (3:54)
Chart performance
The physical single of Imbruglia's version of the song has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide, including more than 1 million copies in the UK alone. In the UK, it is the 80th biggest selling single of all time. The track peaked at #2 for three weeks, being held off the top spot by
Aqua's "
Barbie Girl" and then dropped to #4. As a result, the song is the second biggest-selling single in history not to have topped the U.K. singles chart. On September 24, 2007, Natalie Imbruglia's version of the song re-entered the
UK Singles Chart at #70, on the strength of digital sales after her greatest hits album was released. In Flanders (Belgium) the single peaked at a number one for 7 consecutive weeks and was on charts for 22 weeks. On the ultratop of all years it is still on a position of 107.
As a result of rules preventing tracks which had not been released as physical singles from charting on the Billboard Hot 100, the song did not chart there during its peak of popularity in the United States. In late 1998, when the song was declining in popularity, the rules changed to allow airplay-only songs onto the chart, and the song charted for 20 weeks, peaking at number 42.
Charts and certifications
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1998)
!Peakposition
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|Canadian Singles Chart
|align="center"|1
|-
|Danish Singles Chart
|align="center"|1
|-
|-
|Eurochart Hot 100
|align="center"|2
|-
|-
|-
|-
|Italian Singles Chart
|align="center"|2
|-
|Irish Singles Chart
|align="center"|4
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Top 40 Mainstream
|align="center"|1
|-
|U.S.
Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
|-
|
Germany
|align="center"|Gold
|-
|
Switzerland
|align="center"|Gold
|-
|
United Kingdom
|align="center"|Platinum
|}
References
External links
Category:1997 singles
Category:1998 singles
Category:Billboard Pop Songs number-one singles
Category:Debut singles
Category:Natalie Imbruglia songs
Category:Ultratop 50 Singles number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Sweden
Category:Songs written by Scott Cutler
Category:Songs written by Phil Thornalley
Category:Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Anne Preven
