Natalie Imbruglia has admitted that she has never been afraid to stand up to her record label bosses.

The 'Torn' singer revealed that she had to fight to maintain control of her music career from the very beginning; she regularly clashed with her record company about whether to focus on quality of songs or commercial success.

"I was brought up with a good work ethic so I don't give up easily," Natalie told the Daily Star. "Record companies are notoriously bad for putting pressure on young pop artists. They tried it with me and it makes you unpopular if you refuse. But I wasn't obsessed with topping the charts every time. I wanted to learn how to write songs properly."

Imbruglia argued with her current label when they asked her to release a greatest hits album this year, as she had hoped to start releasing new material. They eventually reached a compromise when she was permitted to include five new tracks on the album, titled Glorious: The Singles 1997-2007.

"I spent last year making my fourth album and I was really excited by it," she explained. "Then the label told me they wanted to put out a hits collection, so I was like: 'Are you mad? I've just made a record.'"

Glorious: The Singles 1997-2007 is released on September 10.