Fame got to me, it left me exhausted – winning The Masked Singer has given me back my confidence, says Natalie Imbruglia
SHE is the Nineties music star who went from the top of the charts to rock bottom.
But now Natalie Imbruglia is ready to play the fame game again after bursting back into the spotlight when she was unmasked as Panda — winner of The Masked Singer at the weekend.
Next on the agenda is a new album and UK tour, following years of songwriter’s block.
So is it all down to a cute and furry panda costume?
Natalie, 47, said: “Timing is everything. I was feeling in a really good place and I’m a mum. I think the idea of dressing up in a costume is more appealing when you’re a mum.
“I’ve changed, so that was probably a big motivating factor. Back then you were worried what people would think, and I just don’t care any more. I think that’s age and wisdom, isn’t it?
“You just kind of get exhausted with worrying about that, being in the public eye. But it’s good to be in a place where you can do a show like this and embrace the fun of it and not take yourself so seriously.”
At 17, Aussie Natalie hit the big time when she joined the cast of Neighbours, then two years later she quit to pursue a music career.
She impressed record labels with her demo of the song Torn, and in 1997 it became her first single, selling more than 4 million copies worldwide.
She went on to sell 10 million albums, had five UK top ten and ten top 40 singles, three top ten albums, plus two Brit awards and three Grammy nominations.
Deep end
Natalie was a pop A-lister.
But trouble began when her record label rejected her third album as too rocky for radio airplay, then told her to record new songs with Swedish producers Bloodshy & Avant before she left the label.
That third album, Counting Down The Days, was eventually released on another label in 2005. But then she was forced to release a compilation of her ten years in music, and left the second label.
Despite working with Coldplay’s Chris Martin on her fourth studio album, 2009’s Come To Life, it bombed in Australia and its UK and US release was cancelled.
That was when Natalie disappeared from the public eye.
Natalie said: “I think I wasn’t going through the best period of my career and I think I was feeling like I’m not good at something.
“It’s my confidence — whatever field you work in, I don’t think any amount of success means you’re never going to get insecure.
“So I just went through a period where I just felt like, 'I can’t do this. I’m not good at this'. And it went on for too long."
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In 2015 Natalie released Male, an album of cover versions of songs by male artists. But it was three years before she felt able to record her own music once more.
She said: “It wasn’t till I went to Nashville and did a writing trip that I overcame that [insecurity] because I just thought, 'Throw me in the deep end, give me 10 days and two sessions a day’.
“And I wrote this song called When You Love Too Much, and I thought, ‘I’m really proud of that. That’s a really good song’.
“And then it was great because to have your confidence back, when you haven’t had it, is the best gift.
“It’s nice to have that feeling and to have a really creative burst.”
That song is at the heart of Natalie’s album Firebird, which was released in September last year but has been revamped following her success on The Masked Singer.
As well as rekindling her interest in writing music, Natalie has also realised her dream of becoming a mother.
She had divorced Aussie rocker Daniel Johns in 2008 but in October 2019 she surprised fans by revealing she was expecting her first child via a sperm donor.
Max Valentine is now two years old and Natalie has dedicated her time on The Masked Singer to her toddler.
It’s my confidence — whatever field you work in, I don’t think any amount of success means you’re never going to get insecure. So I just went through a period where I just felt like, 'I can’t do this. I’m not good at this'. And it went on for too long.
She said: “He’s got a little panda when he goes to bed at night so it was my suggestion to wear the panda outfit. I asked ‘Would it be okay if I could be a panda?’
“He just loves it, the only problem is now, any time he sees a panda he goes, 'Mummy, Mummy!'
“I suddenly realised I had to be really careful because we were at the airport and somebody had a little girl who had a wheelie bag with a panda on it and he’s going, ‘Mummy, Mummy!’ like that — he loves it.
“I was like, 'Shhhh!'”
Natalie’s costume was jam-packed with clues to her identity but the show judges — Mo Gilligan, Davina McCall, Rita Ora and Jonathan Ross — suspected Panda was Amanda Holden, Billie Piper or Lisa Stansfield.
Natalie said: “100% I actually viewed it as an acting job. “I stayed in an American accent from the time I got into the car all the way to the studio. I just absolutely loved it.
“With the whole costume element I realised things don’t read very well. So for example, when Panda had his arms down, he looked bored.
“So I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got to keep moving my arms’. So you’re trying to sing and to make Panda look funny.
“It was like becoming a puppeteer of sorts. I just really enjoyed the challenge.”
When Natalie was announced as the winner, not everyone was as happy and took to social media to brand her victory a fix.
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They were angry that the studio audience rated Panda over runner-up Mushroom — Charlotte Church — and third placed Robobunny —Westlife’s Mark Feehily.
But Natalie said: “I think it’s wonderful that people are so invested in the person that they’re a fan of, or that they’re following, that they feel so strongly about it.
“But my experience being on the show was just such amazing camaraderie.
“It’s a fun family show. I don’t think it should be seriously competitive in that way.
“And I would hope that the overarching thing is that people just really enjoyed the fun that we all had on the show. Everybody’s a winner.”
Fans were also surprised to see Davina’s over-the-top reaction to seeing her friend revealed as Panda in the ITV show’s final.
Natalie explained the two had been friends for a long time.
She said: “Davina was DMing me after, going, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe that.’
“And we’re having this back-and- forth chat. She said, ‘I don’t think it’s sunk into you that you’ve just won an eight-week competition’, and it’s true, I wasn’t expecting to win.
“I was convinced that Mushroom had won it so I was just as gobsmacked.
“But yeah, she was really funny and she was talking about the host [Joel Dommett] because he was quite freaked out that I’ve been hugging him all week.
“So that was quite funny.”
Natalie’s win comes days after the news that Neighbours, the soap that brought her fame as a teenager, is set to be cancelled.
Her character, Beth Brennan, is one of the Channel 5 show’s most legendary characters.
Natalie groaned: “I’m really sad! I think all of us love Neighbours, with growing up with it.
“And I think it should go on for ever. I mean, this is just a travesty.
“So wherever the petition is to save Neighbours, I’ll sign it, I’m on board.
“So wherever the petition is to save Neighbours, I’ll sign it, I’m on board. I’ve got a son on the show — Beth Brennan’s son is on the show. So I’m rooting for him to stay on air.”
It has been rumoured that fellow legends Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan could return for one last episode. So would Natalie consider joining them on Ramsay Street?
“I’d consider it, yeah. Like I said, have more fun, take life less seriously.
“I would consider going back. I think it would be lovely to walk through those doors.
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“I mean, I probably won’t recognise anyone — not even my son.”
- Natalie has a new album, Firebird, and single called Nothing Missing out now.
Nat's facts
1975: Natalie born in Sydney, second of four daughters to an Italian father and mother of Irish, Scottish and English descent.
1992: Makes debut on Neighbours as Beth Brennan, leaves two years later.
1997: Debut single Torn released, reaching No2 here and album Left Of The Middle followed, selling seven million copies.
2001: Second album White Lilies Island limps to a million sales.
2003: Record label reportedly rejects her third album. She plays Rowan Atkinson’s love interest in Johnny English.
2005: Album Counting Down The Days released, selling just over 200k. But lead single Shiver becomes the year’s most played song on radio.
2007: Best Of album released.
2009: Fifth album Come To Life flops in Oz and is cancelled in UK and US.
2021: Releases album Firebird.
2022: Wins The Masked Singer.
