Natalie Imbruglia has recalled feeling “icky” after auditioning for the role of Satine in Baz Luhrmann’s film Moulin Rouge.

The singer said the audition involved performing an intimate scene inspired by the character’s attempt to seduce Ewan McGregor’s Christian. “The audition was, pretty much, ‘Have an orgasm’,” she said.

Imbruglia stressed that she did not consider the experience a creepy casting-couch situation, describing Luhrmann as a “soft-hearted director”. Even so, she said she left feeling uncomfortable, recalling: “Ohhh, that was awful. Where’s my mummy?”

Perimenopause and anxiety

The 51-year-old is releasing her seventh album, Algorithm, on her own record label, Landgirl. The album includes songs about the mental-health effects she experienced during perimenopause.

Imbruglia said the condition affected her anxiety, anger, brain fog, spatial awareness and ability to process information. She also said it intensified her ADHD and longstanding stage fright.

During a tour, she experienced what she described as “terrible, terrible anxiety” before performances. She said her sensitivity to sound increased and that she struggled to respond to basic questions, behaviour she felt had become difficult for her team.

After one concert, Imbruglia told co-writers David Sneddon and Anu Pillai that she might have to quit music because she could not cope with how she was treating people before shows. Their conversation helped inspire the song “Upside Down”.

Imbruglia has also criticised the lack of understanding around perimenopause, saying that some women are rejected by their GPs when seeking hormone replacement therapy.

A career shaped by “Torn”

Imbruglia became widely known after playing Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She went on to release her debut album, Left of the Middle, after moving to London and signing with RCA Records.

Its lead single, “Torn”, became an international hit. Although the song was a cover, Imbruglia co-wrote every other track on the album, which has sold seven million copies, according to the source material.

She later released further albums, appeared on the Australian version of The X Factor and acted in a UK production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Things We Do for Love. Her more recent releases include the covers album Male in 2015 and Firebird in 2021.

On Algorithm, Imbruglia also addresses her exposure to internet conspiracy theories and the importance of accepting personal flaws. The album ends with “Beautiful Love”, co-written with Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, which she describes as a song about making peace with life’s highs and lows.