Hubby's love stopped me from quitting
Natalie Imbruglia reveals the secret behind new CD
By Billy Sloan

Natalie Imbruglia has got it all - she's happily married to a famous rock star, her stunning good looks have made her the face of L'Oreal and she's got a string of hit records and successful acting roles on her impressive CV. But Natalie admits that just a few months ago she was on the verge of quitting her music career.

The 30-year-old Australian singer - who had smash hits with Torn and Wrong Impression - faced a real crisis of confidence and found herself thinking: 'Am I good enough to be doing this?' Well, her legions of fans are about to find out. Natalie is set to release Counting Down The Days - her first album for four years - which features her latest single Shiver, due out on March 21. The star, who shot to fame at 17 in Aussie soap Neighbours, wrote 10 of the album's 12 tracks. She has revealed the collection of love songs have been shaped by her marriage to rock star Daniel Johns, frontman of top Australian band Silverchair, in December 2003. She told me: 'Daniel was in the forefront of my mind during the recording sessions. The songs are evidence of how happy I've been. 'Getting married was a massive turning point in my life. Everything has fallen into place now. When you get settled in your personal life work becomes more joyful.

'When you start working as young as I did you can be wed to your job. When got married all of that melted away and going to work is just what I do... can enjoy it more.' Natalie added: 'I think I'm a romantic person. I'm an idealist. When you're in a long distance relationship and writing songs you tend to write autobiographically. 'So it's impossible - and wrong - to separate the two. There's a running theme of longing on the record and for that my relationship with Daniel comes into play.' Natalie says she had no reservations about marrying another singer. She said: 'He's not like other rock stars. He's a great person first and foremost - separate to what he does - it's not all about his job for me.' Natalie and Daniel wed in secret, after a four year courtship, at the luxurious Thala Beach Lodge in Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia. She wore a silk chiffon gown by designer Monique Lhuillier, shoes by Jimmy Choo and arrived in a gold limousine.

But it's not all been plain sailing for the couple. Daniel has battled a form of arthritis so severe he had to postpone a tour with Silverchair. According to Natalie, he's now enjoying much better health but it's clear the trauma of his illness was reflected in her work.

Natalie spent three soul-destroying years writing tracks for Counting Down The Days. Before coming up with the joyful collection that made the final cut, she ditched song after song simply because they were 'too dark' and didn't come up to scratch. The singer says she began to doubt her own ability. Natalie said: 'Why did this album take four years to complete? That's a very good question. I've asked myself that many times. 'I've been working solidly on this record every day since 2001. I'd written a whole album of much heavier songs but I don't think that's what people want to hear from me. 'I had to scrap a lot of songs and get that out of my system.' 'The album was so important to me I didn't stop until had the perfect record.' She added: 'It was a frustrating period. think every songwriter goes through it. definitely was thinking: 'Am good enough to be doing this?' 'Writing is not something that comes easily tome. What does is singing... so I have to work really hard to make a record.'

Natalie flew to Kiev in Ukraine to shoot the all-action video for new single Shiver. Natalie said: 'The video was inspired by the movie The Bourne Supremacy. I'd seen the film on a plane journey and loved it. 'The eastern European theme really excited me visually. wanted to do something quite warm and beautiful. 'We shot it over four days in Kiev. It ended up being freezing cold and there's lots of car action... it doesn't get much better than that.' Natalie is seen driving at speed to elude two shady-looking spies who are tailing her. But the sequence is not all it seems. The singer said: 'I was driving so slowly. If you knew just how slowly I was actually going you'd be amazed. My acting skills came into play during the sequences. 'I can't believe how real it looked when they edited it. But the stunt guys were really crazy. They had no fear. They just got in the cars, strapped themselves in and let fly. 'I was very nervous on the first crash. The sound of twisted metal was terrifying. looked at the crash scene on the TV monitor and thought, 'Please tell me they're all right'. 'The last thing I wanted was somebody getting injured on a video shoot. I've never been so close to a car crash. It's not a nice sound.'

Natalie - who has an Italian father and Aussie mother - first found fame as Beth Brennan in Neighbours. After moving to London, she signed a record deal with BMG and released impressive debut album, Left Of The Middle in 1997. The first single taken from it, Torn, was a massive hit around the world and made her a pop star overnight. Natalie scored hits, too, with the singles Big Mistake, Wishing I Was There, Smoke, That Day, Wrong Impression and Beauty On The Fire. Her second album, White Lillies Island, in 2001 also topped the charts. The following year, she recorded a song with Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins for the movie Stigmata.

Natalie also made her big-screen debut in the comedy film Johnny English, appearing opposite Rowan Atkinson and John Malkovich. And In 2002, she was snapped up to be the new face of cosmetics company L'Oreal. She said: 'I was flattered to be asked to become one of the faces of L'Oreal. It was a great opportunity for me. It doesn't take a lot of time for me to do and it's a bit of a giggle. 'L'Oreal have different personalities to promote their products. They've got Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez and BeyoncŽ so I'm in some pretty good company.'

Time permitting, Natalie also hopes to resume her acting career in 2005 by appearing in a low-budget movie project in Australia. She still gets a real buzz from drama... but would she ever return to Neighbours? 'I haven't seen Neighbours in ages. When do glance at the telly when it's on I recognise the sets more than the characters,' said Natalie, laughing. 'I have great memories from that period of my life but my goal is to do more films. I don't think I have a passion to work any more in television. 'I have two passions - music and acting. In future, I'd like to find time to do both properly but for now music is my focus.'

Later this year, Natalie will hit the road for a UK tour and she's promised to play live in Scotland. 'I'll tour as much as my record company will allow - I'd do a gig every night if it was up to me,' she said. 'If Counting Down The Days does well I'll be there. In the past, I've played at T in the Park and King Tut's in Glasgow. can't wait to perform in Scotland again.