Olivia Rodrigo loves “Torn.” She really loves “Torn.” We know this because the 19-year-old singer performed the 1997 hit by singer Natalie Imbruglia twice in less than a week during her run of shows in England.
And on Wednesday night (July 6) in London at the at Eventim Apollo she did it properly by inviting Imbruglia on stage to duet on the song the Australian pop star rode to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in May 1998; Imbruglia’s debut single was the biggest hit version the track first recorded by Danish singer Lis Sørensen in 1993 and then rockers Ednaswap in 1994.
With the audience shouting along, Rodrigo — rocking a silver lame mini-dress — let Imbruglia take the lead before dropping in on the second verse and then happily harmonizing on the pop ditty as the two women bounced back and forth across the stage.
Earlier this week, Rodrigo surprised patrons at Manchester’s modest Bunny Jackson’s bar when she popped in for an impromptu performance of “Torn,” in the midst of her Sour Tour.
“I’m dead sober,” Rodrigo told patrons on Sunday night before launching into the tune that made Imbruglia an international star.
Rodrigo will wrap up her debut tour on Thursday (July 7) night with a second show at the Apollo on what has been a very collaborative set of sold-out dates. At a show in Toronto in April she jammed on “Complicated” with Avril Lavigne, then invited Lily Allen up at Glastonbury for a version of Allen’s 2009 hit “F–k You” dedicated to the U.S. Supreme Court after earlier hitting the stage with another shero, Alanis Morissette, in May in Los Angeles for “You Oughta Know.”
Watch Rodrigo and Imbruglia perform “Torn” below.
