Missy Higgins
Encyclopedia
Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Her No. 1 albums in Australia are The Sound of White
(2004) and On a Clear Night
(2007), and her Top Ten singles are "Scar
", "The Special Two
", "Steer
" and "Where I Stood
". From a musical family in Melbourne
, she played piano by age six and sang at twelve. While boarding at Geelong Grammar School
, she wrote a song for an assignment which was then entered into the national Unearthed radio competition for unsigned artists. Higgins won and signed recording contracts with Eleven and Warner Bros.
After taking time off, backpacking in Europe, she recorded her first album The Sound of White, which was released in 2004. The album, and its first single, "Scar" both went to No. 1 on the relevant Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Charts
. Its second single, "The Special Two", went to No. 2. Higgins was nominated for five ARIA Music Awards
that year
and won 'Best Pop Release' for "Scar". In 2005
she was nominated for seven more awards and won five. She won her seventh ARIA in 2007
.
In 2006, Higgins wrote new material for her second album, and following a US tour she recorded On a Clear Night, which gave her another No. 1 single with "Steer". Higgins has conducted several well received Australian tours and performed at high-profile charity events WaveAid
(2005) and Live Earth
(2007). She has toured internationally and lived and worked in the United States for ten months in 2008. Her song "Where I Stood" has been used in television shows including Grey's Anatomy
, One Tree Hill
and So You Think You Can Dance
. Her third album is due to be released in 2012.
Alongside her music career, Higgins pursues interests in animal rights and the environment, endeavouring to make her tours carbon neutral. She is also the patron of One in Five, an Australian mental health
charity. In 2007, following years of press speculation about her sexual orientation, she came out as bisexual, saying that she prefers interviewers to focus on her music. In 2010 she made her acting debut in feature Bran Nue Dae
, and performed on the related soundtrack.
to Christopher Higgins, an English-Australian general practitioner
, and Margaret (née
Morrison), an Australian childcare
centre operator. Her sister, Nicola is seven years older, and brother, David is six years older. She learned to play classical piano from age six, following in the footsteps of Christopher and David, but realised she wanted to be a singer at about 12 when she appeared in an Armadale
Primary School production of Andrew Lloyd Webber
's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
. Bored with practice, she gave up playing piano at that time. Hoping for more freedom, she urged her parents to send her to Geelong Grammar School
, an independent
boarding school attended by her siblings. At Geelong she took up the piano again, this time playing jazz
including performing with David's group on weekends. She was introverted and found that piano practice helped her cope with living at boarding school.
At 15, she wrote "All for Believing" for a school music assignment and completed it just hours before the deadline. The assignment earned an A and she performed her song in front of classmates. She approached a Melbourne record company and was told that they wanted more than one song. She wrote more songs and worked with the Kool Skools
project, which enables students to record music. In 2001, Nicola entered "All for Believing" on Higgins' behalf into Unearthed, radio station Triple J
's competition for unsigned artists. The song won the competition and was added to the station's play list. Two record companies showed an interest in Higgins—Sony
and Eleven
. She signed with Eleven, partly because they agreed that she would not be "made into a pop star" and partly because they were happy for her to take time off for backpacking
. Her manager
is Eleven's John Watson, who also manages rock band Silverchair
. He later said "Missy's the only time in my career I knew after 90 seconds I really wanted to sign her." The backpacking trip had been planned with a friend for years and they spent most of 2002 in Europe; while she was travelling, "All for Believing" started to be played by Los Angeles radio station KCRW
. This brought attention from US record labels and, by year's end, an international recording deal with Warner Bros.
and rock band george
. She travelled to the US to work with producer
, John Porter
, and recorded her first extended play
(EP) entitled Missy Higgins, which was released in November and entered the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Singles Chart
Top 50 in August 2004.
She toured Australia, supporting both Pete Murray
and The John Butler Trio. Her second four-track EP Scar was released in July. The title track "Scar
", co-written with US songwriter, Kevin Griffin
, debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Charts. Her first album, The Sound of White
, was released in September, and debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Also produced by Porter, it sold over 500,000 copies. She was nominated in five categories at the ARIA Music Awards of 2004
for "Scar": Best Female Artist', 'Single of the Year', 'Best Pop Release', 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' and 'Best Video' (directed by Squareyed Films). At the awards ceremony on 17 October she received the award for Best Pop Release, beating Delta Goodrem
, The Dissociatives
, Kylie Minogue
and Pete Murray. This was followed by her first national headline tour. Her second single "Ten Days
" was co-written with Jay Clifford (guitarist in US band Jump, Little Children
) and was inspired by Higgins' 2002 break-up with her boyfriend before she travelled to Europe. Released in November, it peaked at No. 12.
On 29 January 2005 Higgins performed with other local musicians including Nick Cave
and Powderfinger
at the WaveAid
fundraising concert in the Sydney Cricket Ground
. The concert raised A$2.3 million for four charities supporting the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
. In March Higgins performed at the MTV Australia Awards
and won the prize for 'Breakthrough Artist of the Year'. The following month she released her third single, "The Special Two
", which was a radio hit and reached No. 2. "The Special Two" was released on an EP which included her cover
of the Skyhooks song, "You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good In Bed", recorded for Triple J
's 30th anniversary. The song had been the first track played on Triple J when it launched (as Double J) in 1975. In May, Higgins won the 'Song of the Year' and 'Breakthrough' awards for "Scar" from the Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA). She continued touring in mid-2005 and released her fourth single, "The Sound of White
", in August. In September she played a sold out performance at the Vanguard in Sydney with the proceeds going to One in Five, her sponsored mental health
charity. She was nominated for seven more ARIAs
and in October won 'Album of the Year', 'Best Pop Release', 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' and 'Highest Selling Album' (all for The Sound of White) and 'Best Female Artist' (for "Scar"). She teamed up with fellow ARIA award-winning singer Ben Lee
in late 2005 for a national tour.
for six months, away from the entertainment industry. The relaxed lifestyle helped her focus on writing new material. The landscape made a big impression, "It was the first place I'd ever felt honestly connected with my country, with the physical land of my country" and inspired her to write "Going North". She then toured the United States and South Africa, writing more material on the road. In September she based herself in Los Angeles to record her second album, On a Clear Night
, with producer Mitchell Froom
. "Steer
" was released as an EP, followed a fortnight later by its album on 28 April 2007, both debuted at No. 1 on their respective charts.
In February, Higgins had contributed a tribute song
to the album, Cannot Buy My Soul, for noted indigenous
singer, Kev Carmody
, singing "Droving Woman" with musician Paul Kelly
and group Augie March
. On 7 July, she participated in the Live Earth concert
in Sydney, performing her own set before joining Carmody, Kelly and vocalist John Butler
on stage for the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow
". Emily Dunn in The Sydney Morning Herald
wrote "[the song] could have been the event's anthem". Rolling Stone
's Dan Lander pointed out a highlight, when the "whole crowd sung along – all eleven verses."
Higgins returned to Los Angeles to focus on the US market—she spent September and October touring—where she was still relatively unknown. On 26 October, backed by the Sydney Youth Orchestra
, she headlined the annual Legs 11 concert, a breast cancer
benefit held in The Domain
, Royal Botanic Gardens
, Sydney. Two days later Higgins performed at the 2007
ARIAs where she was nominated for 'Best Pop Release', 'Highest Selling Album' and 'Highest Selling Single' (for "Steer") and won 'Best Female Artist' (for On a Clear Night)—her seventh ARIA Music Award. On 31 October, she was a guest at television music channel MAX's inaugural Concert for the Cure, a private concert for people affected by breast cancer. She sang headline act Powderfinger's "Sunsets
" with front man Bernard Fanning
and joined in with the encore of "These Days
". She spent November and December on her For One Night Only Tour, taking in Cairns, Sydney and Perth. You Am I
lead singer, Tim Rogers
, joined her on some shows.
On a Clear Night, was released in the US on 26 February 2008, supported by a tour in March. Her ten-month stay in Los Angeles during 2008 promoted her songs for films and television shows. Her first US single "Where I Stood
" was featured in US series including Grey's Anatomy
, One Tree Hill
and So You Think You Can Dance
. During 2008, Higgins supported the Indigo Girls
and then Ben Folds
on their respective US tours. February and March 2009 saw her co-headlining a US tour with Canadian Justin Nozuka
. On 31 March she released an EP, More Than This in Australia featuring cover versions of "More Than This
" by Roxy Music
, "(I'm) In Love Again
" by Peggy Lee
, "Breakdown" by Tom Petty
and "Moses" by Patty Griffin
. "Moses" had been included on Triple J's 2005 compilation album Like a Version: Volume One and "More Than This" was recorded as part of Covered, A Revolution in Sound
, a Warner Bros. tribute album also released in March 2009.
. Her acting debut was as Annie in 2010 film Bran Nue Dae
directed by Rachel Perkins
. The film is an adaptation of the 1990 musical, Bran Nue Dae
, "Australia's first Aboriginal
musical". Although Higgins would consider future acting projects she has no plans to actively pursue it as a career.
In July and August 2010, Higgins played several dates of Sarah McLachlan
's Lilith Fair
tour in the US. At Lilith Fair, she met Australian musician Butterfly Boucher
and they decided to work together. In 2011, Higgins travelled to where Boucher was living in Nashville to record her third album, which is co-produced by Boucher and Brad Jones
. The as-yet unnamed album is due for release in 2012. In November 2011, at the ARIA Music Awards
, Higgins performed a duet with Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
.
(PETA); and has supported their anti-fur
stance. She is interested in environmental issues and is involved with the Sierra Club
, a grassroots
organisation based in California. She has protested against the proposed industrialisation of the Kimberley region of Western Australia and donated the royalties from her 2009 EP More Than This. Since early 2007, Higgins has tried to make her tours carbon neutral
, she purchases green energy to power venues, uses hybrid cars
where possible and purchases carbon offset
s.
From 2004 to 2007, Higgins' sexual orientation was the subject of media speculation based partly on interpretations of her lyrics and her interviews. In an October 2007 interview with Australian lesbian magazine Cherrie, she was asked if she fell under the moniker of "not-so-straight" girls. She replied "Um, yeah, definitely. ... I think sexuality is a fluid thing and it's becoming increasingly more acceptable to admit that you're that way." In November her MySpace
page reported, "I’ve been in relationships with both men and women so I guess I fall most easily under the category 'Bisexual'". She went on to say that she wanted future interviews to focus on her music rather than her sexuality. In a March 2008 interview with AfterEllen.com
, Higgins said that her song "Secret" was written about an ex-girlfriend who was not comfortable, at first, about going public with their relationship; "I was so head over heels in love with her I kind of wanted to shout it out to the world, so it was just a song about keeping something under the covers ... keeping it away locked in a little room."
Higgins has been a patron of Australian mental health
charity One in Five since 2003. She described her younger self as "a bit of a depressed child" and "introverted", and that she had "experienced various degrees of depression". Prescribed antidepressant
medication while in high school, she learned to channel low moods into song writing, calling music her "emotional outlet". In a 2006 interview she said that her songs were "coming from more of a happier place". While recording her second album she discovered a passion for rock climbing, as a "meditative pursuit" and that, "It's the first thing I've had—other than music—that I'm passionate about."
and Whitney Houston
, while David favoured Queen
and Kiss
. Departing for boarding school at age 13, she was exposed to alternative
artists like Nirvana
and Courtney Love
and started teaching herself guitar and writing her own music. She also began singing with David's jazz group on weekends. As an adult she prefers Nina Simone
and Ray Charles
to "poppy dance music". She has cited Patty Griffin
, Ron Sexsmith
, Rufus Wainwright
, Paul Kelly and Sarah McLachlan
as influences. Material from her yet-to-be-released third album is influenced by ambient music
from Low
, Jon Hopkins
, Icelandic band Sigur Rós
and Estonia
n classical composer Arvo Pärt
.
Higgins' song writing grew out of a desire to express her emotions when she was at school and her lyrics describe her feelings about her own life and relationships. The piano was the first instrument she learned to play, and she continues to use it as well as digital piano
s including a Roland
RD-300SX, RD-700 and KR-15. She also uses guitars extensively in her music particularly when touring, due to their portable nature and favours the Australian brand, Maton
. On occasion she plays xylophone
and melodica
during performances.
The Sound of White
The Sound of White is the debut studio album by Australian pop singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released 6 September 2004 on Eleven. Higgins had secured recording contracts with Eleven and Warner Bros. while still in high school, after winning a competition for unsigned artists run by radio station...
(2004) and On a Clear Night
On a Clear Night
On a Clear Night is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released by Eleven on 28 April 2007. Higgins started work on the album straight after finishing her 2004 debut, The Sound of White. She spent six months of 2006 in Broome, Western Australia, writing new...
(2007), and her Top Ten singles are "Scar
Scar (song)
"Scar" is a pop song written by Australian singer Missy Higgins and Kevin Griffin of American band Better Than Ezra. Released on 2 August 2004 on Eleven, it was the first single from Higgins' debut album The Sound of White...
", "The Special Two
The Special Two
-External links:*...
", "Steer
Steer (song)
"Steer" is the first single from Missy Higgins' second album On a Clear Night. The song was released in Australia on 14 April 2007 and became #1 most added track in that same week. The CD single achieved the #1 spot on the Australian Singles Chart in the first week of its CD release...
" and "Where I Stood
Where I Stood
"Where I Stood" is the second single from singer-songwriter Missy Higgins' second album, On a Clear Night. The song was released to commercial radio on 25 June 2007. The single was released on 4 August 2007. It reached No. 10 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Charts...
". From a musical family in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, she played piano by age six and sang at twelve. While boarding at Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
, she wrote a song for an assignment which was then entered into the national Unearthed radio competition for unsigned artists. Higgins won and signed recording contracts with Eleven and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
After taking time off, backpacking in Europe, she recorded her first album The Sound of White, which was released in 2004. The album, and its first single, "Scar" both went to No. 1 on the relevant Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. Its second single, "The Special Two", went to No. 2. Higgins was nominated for five ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
that year
ARIA Music Awards of 2004
The 18th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 17 October 2004 at the Sydney Superdome within the Sydney Olympic Complex...
and won 'Best Pop Release' for "Scar". In 2005
ARIA Music Awards of 2005
The 19th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 23 October 2005 at the Sydney Superdome at the Sydney Olympic Park complex, thus continuing the previous year's innovation of televising the awards on Sunday evening...
she was nominated for seven more awards and won five. She won her seventh ARIA in 2007
ARIA Music Awards of 2007
The 21st Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 28 October 2007 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Rove McManus was the host of the event...
.
In 2006, Higgins wrote new material for her second album, and following a US tour she recorded On a Clear Night, which gave her another No. 1 single with "Steer". Higgins has conducted several well received Australian tours and performed at high-profile charity events WaveAid
WaveAid
WaveAid was a fund raising concert held on Saturday the 29th of January 2005 as a means for raising funds for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami. It was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground and broadcast on television by Channel [V] and MTV, and on radio...
(2005) and Live Earth
Live Earth concert, Sydney
The Live Earth concert in Australia was held at Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney on 7 July 2007, in front of around 45,000 people. It was the first of the Live Earth concerts to kick-off the day-long event & promoted by Michael Chugg, Amanda Pelman of Chugg Entertainment, Joe Segreto of IMC /...
(2007). She has toured internationally and lived and worked in the United States for ten months in 2008. Her song "Where I Stood" has been used in television shows including Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
and So You Think You Can Dance
So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
. Her third album is due to be released in 2012.
Alongside her music career, Higgins pursues interests in animal rights and the environment, endeavouring to make her tours carbon neutral. She is also the patron of One in Five, an Australian mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
charity. In 2007, following years of press speculation about her sexual orientation, she came out as bisexual, saying that she prefers interviewers to focus on her music. In 2010 she made her acting debut in feature Bran Nue Dae
Bran Nue Dae (film)
Bran Nue Dae is a feature film adaptation of 1990 musical Bran Nue Dae by Jimmy Chi. It was theatrically released in Australia on 14 January 2010, and in the United States on 10 September 2010.-Plot:...
, and performed on the related soundtrack.
Early life
Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins was born 19 August 1983 in Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to Christopher Higgins, an English-Australian general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
, and Margaret (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Morrison), an Australian childcare
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
centre operator. Her sister, Nicola is seven years older, and brother, David is six years older. She learned to play classical piano from age six, following in the footsteps of Christopher and David, but realised she wanted to be a singer at about 12 when she appeared in an Armadale
Armadale, Victoria
Armadale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stonnington. At the 2006 Census, Armadale had a population of 8,467....
Primary School production of Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
. Bored with practice, she gave up playing piano at that time. Hoping for more freedom, she urged her parents to send her to Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School
Geelong Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, co-educational, boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay....
, an independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
boarding school attended by her siblings. At Geelong she took up the piano again, this time playing jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
including performing with David's group on weekends. She was introverted and found that piano practice helped her cope with living at boarding school.
At 15, she wrote "All for Believing" for a school music assignment and completed it just hours before the deadline. The assignment earned an A and she performed her song in front of classmates. She approached a Melbourne record company and was told that they wanted more than one song. She wrote more songs and worked with the Kool Skools
Kool Skools
Kool Skools is a multimedia and recording project for secondary school students across the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales. The projects are open to all secondary schools, council youth agencies and youth clubs. Kool Skools promotes, develops and supports a diverse range of...
project, which enables students to record music. In 2001, Nicola entered "All for Believing" on Higgins' behalf into Unearthed, radio station Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's competition for unsigned artists. The song won the competition and was added to the station's play list. Two record companies showed an interest in Higgins—Sony
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
and Eleven
Eleven: A Music Company
Eleven: A Music Company is an Australian record label known for its small but successful roster, including Silverchair and Missy Higgins. The company was founded on 11 November 2000 by leading artist manager John Watson.-History:...
. She signed with Eleven, partly because they agreed that she would not be "made into a pop star" and partly because they were happy for her to take time off for backpacking
Backpacking (travel)
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used...
. Her manager
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
is Eleven's John Watson, who also manages rock band Silverchair
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
. He later said "Missy's the only time in my career I knew after 90 seconds I really wanted to sign her." The backpacking trip had been planned with a friend for years and they spent most of 2002 in Europe; while she was travelling, "All for Believing" started to be played by Los Angeles radio station KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
. This brought attention from US record labels and, by year's end, an international recording deal with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
2003–2005: The Sound of White
Higgins was the support act on a 2003 Australian tour by folk rock band The WaifsThe Waifs
The Waifs are an Australian folk rock band formed in 1992 by Josh Cunningham , and sisters Vikki Thorn and Donna Simpson...
and rock band george
George (band)
George are a rock band from Brisbane, Australia. Their first album, Polyserena reached #1 in the Australian Charts on 17 March 2002.-History:...
. She travelled to the US to work with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, John Porter
John Porter (musician)
John Porter is an English musician and record producer.-Biography:He attended St Michael's School, Allerton Grange School, King's College, and Newcastle University....
, and recorded her first extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
(EP) entitled Missy Higgins, which was released in November and entered the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
Top 50 in August 2004.
She toured Australia, supporting both Pete Murray
Pete Murray (singer-songwriter)
Peter "Pete" Kenneth Murray is an Australian singer-songwriter whose first three full-length albums have all reached #1 on the Australian music charts...
and The John Butler Trio. Her second four-track EP Scar was released in July. The title track "Scar
Scar (song)
"Scar" is a pop song written by Australian singer Missy Higgins and Kevin Griffin of American band Better Than Ezra. Released on 2 August 2004 on Eleven, it was the first single from Higgins' debut album The Sound of White...
", co-written with US songwriter, Kevin Griffin
Kevin Griffin
Kevin Griffin is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter.Griffin formed the alternative rock band Better Than Ezra in 1988. The band had great success in the 1990s with hits such as "Good", "In the Blood", and "Desperately Wanting", and has continued in the 2000s with hits such...
, debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Charts. Her first album, The Sound of White
The Sound of White
The Sound of White is the debut studio album by Australian pop singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released 6 September 2004 on Eleven. Higgins had secured recording contracts with Eleven and Warner Bros. while still in high school, after winning a competition for unsigned artists run by radio station...
, was released in September, and debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Also produced by Porter, it sold over 500,000 copies. She was nominated in five categories at the ARIA Music Awards of 2004
ARIA Music Awards of 2004
The 18th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 17 October 2004 at the Sydney Superdome within the Sydney Olympic Complex...
for "Scar": Best Female Artist', 'Single of the Year', 'Best Pop Release', 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' and 'Best Video' (directed by Squareyed Films). At the awards ceremony on 17 October she received the award for Best Pop Release, beating Delta Goodrem
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
, The Dissociatives
The Dissociatives
The Dissociatives are an Australian band consisting of Daniel Johns of Silverchair, Australian dance producer DJ Paul Mac, and touring members Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes from Sydney electronic duo "The Presets"...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
and Pete Murray. This was followed by her first national headline tour. Her second single "Ten Days
Ten Days
"Ten Days" is a pop song by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, and the second single from her debut album The Sound of White. The single was released in Australia on 15 November 2004 and peaked at No. 12 on the ARIA singles chart. It was written by Higgins and Jay Clifford of Jump,...
" was co-written with Jay Clifford (guitarist in US band Jump, Little Children
Jump, Little Children
Jump, Little Children, later known as Jump, was a band formed in 1991 in the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Known for their unique sound, energetic live performances, and willingness to interact with fans, the band built a strong following over their fourteen years together...
) and was inspired by Higgins' 2002 break-up with her boyfriend before she travelled to Europe. Released in November, it peaked at No. 12.
On 29 January 2005 Higgins performed with other local musicians including Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
and Powderfinger
Powderfinger
Powderfinger was an Australian rock band that formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their breakup the band lineup consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bassist John Collins, and drummer Jon Coghill....
at the WaveAid
WaveAid
WaveAid was a fund raising concert held on Saturday the 29th of January 2005 as a means for raising funds for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami. It was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground and broadcast on television by Channel [V] and MTV, and on radio...
fundraising concert in the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. The concert raised A$2.3 million for four charities supporting the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. In March Higgins performed at the MTV Australia Awards
MTV Australia Awards
The MTV Australia Awards started in 2005 and is Australia's first awards show to celebrate both local and international acts.-History:...
and won the prize for 'Breakthrough Artist of the Year'. The following month she released her third single, "The Special Two
The Special Two
-External links:*...
", which was a radio hit and reached No. 2. "The Special Two" was released on an EP which included her cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Skyhooks song, "You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good In Bed", recorded for Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's 30th anniversary. The song had been the first track played on Triple J when it launched (as Double J) in 1975. In May, Higgins won the 'Song of the Year' and 'Breakthrough' awards for "Scar" from the Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA). She continued touring in mid-2005 and released her fourth single, "The Sound of White
The Sound of White (song)
"The Sound of White" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins. The song was composed by HIggins and produced by Mitchell Froom. It was released as the fourth single from her debut album, 2004's The Sound of White. The single was released in Australia on 15 August 2005 on Eleven and...
", in August. In September she played a sold out performance at the Vanguard in Sydney with the proceeds going to One in Five, her sponsored mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
charity. She was nominated for seven more ARIAs
ARIA Music Awards of 2004
The 18th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 17 October 2004 at the Sydney Superdome within the Sydney Olympic Complex...
and in October won 'Album of the Year', 'Best Pop Release', 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' and 'Highest Selling Album' (all for The Sound of White) and 'Best Female Artist' (for "Scar"). She teamed up with fellow ARIA award-winning singer Ben Lee
Ben Lee
Benjamin Michael "Ben" Lee is an ARIA Award winning musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appeared as the protagonist in the Australian film The Rage in Placid Lake...
in late 2005 for a national tour.
2006–2009: On a Clear Night
During 2006, Higgins lived in Broome, Western AustraliaBroome, Western Australia
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
for six months, away from the entertainment industry. The relaxed lifestyle helped her focus on writing new material. The landscape made a big impression, "It was the first place I'd ever felt honestly connected with my country, with the physical land of my country" and inspired her to write "Going North". She then toured the United States and South Africa, writing more material on the road. In September she based herself in Los Angeles to record her second album, On a Clear Night
On a Clear Night
On a Clear Night is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released by Eleven on 28 April 2007. Higgins started work on the album straight after finishing her 2004 debut, The Sound of White. She spent six months of 2006 in Broome, Western Australia, writing new...
, with producer Mitchell Froom
Mitchell Froom
-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
. "Steer
Steer (song)
"Steer" is the first single from Missy Higgins' second album On a Clear Night. The song was released in Australia on 14 April 2007 and became #1 most added track in that same week. The CD single achieved the #1 spot on the Australian Singles Chart in the first week of its CD release...
" was released as an EP, followed a fortnight later by its album on 28 April 2007, both debuted at No. 1 on their respective charts.
In February, Higgins had contributed a tribute song
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
to the album, Cannot Buy My Soul, for noted indigenous
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
singer, Kev Carmody
Kev Carmody
Kevin Daniel "Kev" Carmody is an Indigenous Australian singer-songwriter. His song "From Little Things Big Things Grow" was recorded with co-writer Paul Kelly for their 1993 single; it was covered by the Get Up Mob in 2008 and peaked at #4 on the Australian Recording Industry Association singles...
, singing "Droving Woman" with musician Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
and group Augie March
Augie March
Augie March are an Australian indie/pop rock band. Formed in 1996 in Shepparton, Victoria, the band currently consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Glenn Richards, lead guitarist Adam Donovan, bassist Edmondo Ammendola, drummer David Williams, and keyboardist Kiernan Box...
. On 7 July, she participated in the Live Earth concert
Live Earth concert, Sydney
The Live Earth concert in Australia was held at Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney on 7 July 2007, in front of around 45,000 people. It was the first of the Live Earth concerts to kick-off the day-long event & promoted by Michael Chugg, Amanda Pelman of Chugg Entertainment, Joe Segreto of IMC /...
in Sydney, performing her own set before joining Carmody, Kelly and vocalist John Butler
John Butler (musician)
John Charles Wiltshire-Butler or John Charles Butler is an Australian musician, songwriter, record label owner and producer...
on stage for the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow
From Little Things Big Things Grow
"From Little Things Big Things Grow" is a rock protest song recorded by Australian artists Paul Kelly & The Messengers on their 1991 album Comedy, and by Kev Carmody on his 1993 album Bloodlines. It was released as a CD single by Carmody and Kelly in 1993 but failed to chart...
". Emily Dunn in The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
wrote "[the song] could have been the event's anthem". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
's Dan Lander pointed out a highlight, when the "whole crowd sung along – all eleven verses."
Higgins returned to Los Angeles to focus on the US market—she spent September and October touring—where she was still relatively unknown. On 26 October, backed by the Sydney Youth Orchestra
Sydney Youth Orchestra
The Sydney Youth Orchestra , is one of Sydney's premier youth orchestras and is the flagship orchestra of the Sydney Youth Orchestras family. The SYO consists of around 100 skilled young musicians residing around Sydney....
, she headlined the annual Legs 11 concert, a breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
benefit held in The Domain
The Domain, Sydney
The Domain is 34 hectares of open space in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the eastern edge of the Sydney central business district, near Woolloomooloo. The Domain adjoins the Royal Botanic Gardens and is managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust, a division of the New South...
, Royal Botanic Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
The Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, are the most central of the three major botanical gardens open to the public in Sydney....
, Sydney. Two days later Higgins performed at the 2007
ARIA Music Awards of 2007
The 21st Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 28 October 2007 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Rove McManus was the host of the event...
ARIAs where she was nominated for 'Best Pop Release', 'Highest Selling Album' and 'Highest Selling Single' (for "Steer") and won 'Best Female Artist' (for On a Clear Night)—her seventh ARIA Music Award. On 31 October, she was a guest at television music channel MAX's inaugural Concert for the Cure, a private concert for people affected by breast cancer. She sang headline act Powderfinger's "Sunsets
Sunsets
"Sunsets" is a song released as the third single from Australian rock band Powderfinger's fifth studio album, Vulture Street. The single was released on 4 January 2004 in Australia and New Zealand....
" with front man Bernard Fanning
Bernard Fanning
Bernard Joseph Fanning is a musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and frontman of Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989 to its dissolution in 2010....
and joined in with the encore of "These Days
These Days (Powderfinger song)
"These Days" is an alternative rock song from Powderfinger's fourth studio album, Odyssey Number Five, which was released in 2000. The song was also released on Powderfinger's 2004 compilation album Fingerprints: The Best of Powderfinger, 1994-2000....
". She spent November and December on her For One Night Only Tour, taking in Cairns, Sydney and Perth. You Am I
You Am I
You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tim Rogers. They were the first Australian band to have three albums successively debut at #1 on the ARIA Charts, and are renowned for their live performances.-History:Tim Rogers formed the first...
lead singer, Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers
Tim Rogers is the frontman of Australian rock band You Am I. He is also a solo artist, as well as having fronted and released albums with bands The Twin Set and The Temperance Union.-History:...
, joined her on some shows.
On a Clear Night, was released in the US on 26 February 2008, supported by a tour in March. Her ten-month stay in Los Angeles during 2008 promoted her songs for films and television shows. Her first US single "Where I Stood
Where I Stood
"Where I Stood" is the second single from singer-songwriter Missy Higgins' second album, On a Clear Night. The song was released to commercial radio on 25 June 2007. The single was released on 4 August 2007. It reached No. 10 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Charts...
" was featured in US series including Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
and So You Think You Can Dance
So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
. During 2008, Higgins supported the Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and then Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
on their respective US tours. February and March 2009 saw her co-headlining a US tour with Canadian Justin Nozuka
Justin Nozuka
Justin Tokimitsu Nozuka is a American-Canadian singer-songwriter. His debut album Holly has been released in Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States...
. On 31 March she released an EP, More Than This in Australia featuring cover versions of "More Than This
More Than This (song)
-Track listing:CD single#"More Than This " – 3:17#"Clear" - 3:59#"More Than This " - 7:18-Charts:...
" by Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, "(I'm) In Love Again
In Love Again!
-Track listing:# "A Lot of Livin' to Do" # "I've Got Your Number" # "Little By Little" – 1:59# "Got That Magic" – 1:41...
" by Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
, "Breakdown" by Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
and "Moses" by Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
. "Moses" had been included on Triple J's 2005 compilation album Like a Version: Volume One and "More Than This" was recorded as part of Covered, A Revolution in Sound
Covered, A Revolution in Sound
Covered, A Revolution in Sound is a tribute album produced and released by Warner Bros. Records to commemorate its 50th anniversary as a record label. The album consists of some of the greatest hits from previous and current artists from the late 20th century, while the songs featured on the album...
, a Warner Bros. tribute album also released in March 2009.
2010–present: third album
Higgins started writing music for her third album in 2009. After about seven years of touring and recording she took a break from the music industry to pursue other interests. In 2010 she enrolled in a course in indigenous studies at the University of MelbourneUniversity of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. Her acting debut was as Annie in 2010 film Bran Nue Dae
Bran Nue Dae (film)
Bran Nue Dae is a feature film adaptation of 1990 musical Bran Nue Dae by Jimmy Chi. It was theatrically released in Australia on 14 January 2010, and in the United States on 10 September 2010.-Plot:...
directed by Rachel Perkins
Rachel Perkins
Rachel Perkins is a film and television director, film and television producer and a writer. She is known for her films Bran Nue Dae, Radiance and One Night the Moon. Perkins is an Arrernte woman from Central Australia, who was raised in Canberra by parents Eileen and Charles Perkins...
. The film is an adaptation of the 1990 musical, Bran Nue Dae
Bran Nue Dae
Bran Nue Dae is a 1990 musical set in Broome, Western Australia that tells stories and of issues relating to Indigenous Australians. It was written by Jimmy Chi, his band Kuckles and friends and was the first Aboriginal musical. The musical was originally directed by Andrew Ross, a prominent...
, "Australia's first Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
musical". Although Higgins would consider future acting projects she has no plans to actively pursue it as a career.
In July and August 2010, Higgins played several dates of Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
's Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...
tour in the US. At Lilith Fair, she met Australian musician Butterfly Boucher
Butterfly Boucher
Butterfly Boucher is an Australian singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released two albums, Flutterby and Scary Fragile .-Biography:...
and they decided to work together. In 2011, Higgins travelled to where Boucher was living in Nashville to record her third album, which is co-produced by Boucher and Brad Jones
Brad Jones (musician)
Brad Jones is a Power pop music producer, and singer/songwriter. He has produced music for Cotton Mather, Matthew Sweet, Imperial Drag, Jill Sobule, and Marshall Crenshaw-Gilt-Flake:Label: Ginger Records Release: June 6, 2000Tracks:*The Blunderbuss...
. The as-yet unnamed album is due for release in 2012. In November 2011, at the ARIA Music Awards
ARIA Music Awards of 2011
The 25th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were a series of award ceremonies which included the 2011 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine Arts Awards and ARIA Awards...
, Higgins performed a duet with Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is an Indigenous Australian musician, who sings in the Yolngu language.He was born in Galiwin'ku , off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia about 350 miles from Darwin. He is from the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu and his mother from the Galpu nation...
.
Personal life
As a vegetarian, Higgins promoted the health benefits of not eating meat in a 2005 advertising campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of AnimalsPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
(PETA); and has supported their anti-fur
Fur clothing
Fur clothing is clothing made of the fur of animals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing; thought to have been widely used as hominids first expanded outside of Africa. Some view fur as luxurious and warm; others reject it due to moral beliefs...
stance. She is interested in environmental issues and is involved with the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
, a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
organisation based in California. She has protested against the proposed industrialisation of the Kimberley region of Western Australia and donated the royalties from her 2009 EP More Than This. Since early 2007, Higgins has tried to make her tours carbon neutral
Carbon neutral
Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered or offset, or buying enough carbon credits to make up the difference...
, she purchases green energy to power venues, uses hybrid cars
Hybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...
where possible and purchases carbon offset
Carbon offset
A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere....
s.
From 2004 to 2007, Higgins' sexual orientation was the subject of media speculation based partly on interpretations of her lyrics and her interviews. In an October 2007 interview with Australian lesbian magazine Cherrie, she was asked if she fell under the moniker of "not-so-straight" girls. She replied "Um, yeah, definitely. ... I think sexuality is a fluid thing and it's becoming increasingly more acceptable to admit that you're that way." In November her MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page reported, "I’ve been in relationships with both men and women so I guess I fall most easily under the category 'Bisexual'". She went on to say that she wanted future interviews to focus on her music rather than her sexuality. In a March 2008 interview with AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com, founded in April 2002, is a website that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media. AfterElton.com, its brother site for gay and bisexual men, was launched in January 2005. The websites were founded by Sarah Warn, who initially served as the editor in...
, Higgins said that her song "Secret" was written about an ex-girlfriend who was not comfortable, at first, about going public with their relationship; "I was so head over heels in love with her I kind of wanted to shout it out to the world, so it was just a song about keeping something under the covers ... keeping it away locked in a little room."
Higgins has been a patron of Australian mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
charity One in Five since 2003. She described her younger self as "a bit of a depressed child" and "introverted", and that she had "experienced various degrees of depression". Prescribed antidepressant
Antidepressant
An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and dysthymia and anxiety disorders such as social anxiety disorder. According to Gelder, Mayou &*Geddes people with a depressive illness will experience a therapeutic effect to their mood;...
medication while in high school, she learned to channel low moods into song writing, calling music her "emotional outlet". In a 2006 interview she said that her songs were "coming from more of a happier place". While recording her second album she discovered a passion for rock climbing, as a "meditative pursuit" and that, "It's the first thing I've had—other than music—that I'm passionate about."
Musical influences and technique
Higgins grew up in the 1980s and 1990s listening to artists that her older siblings liked—Nicola played Mariah CareyMariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, while David favoured Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
and Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
. Departing for boarding school at age 13, she was exposed to alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
artists like Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
and started teaching herself guitar and writing her own music. She also began singing with David's jazz group on weekends. As an adult she prefers Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
and Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
to "poppy dance music". She has cited Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
, Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, Paul Kelly and Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
as influences. Material from her yet-to-be-released third album is influenced by ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
from Low
Low (band)
Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. As of 2010, the group is composed of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker , both founding members, and Steve Garrington ....
, Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins is a London-based producer and musician who writes and performs his own melodic electronica and dance music. After starting his career performing keyboard for Imogen Heap, he's produced or contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes, and others...
, Icelandic band Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n classical composer Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
.
Higgins' song writing grew out of a desire to express her emotions when she was at school and her lyrics describe her feelings about her own life and relationships. The piano was the first instrument she learned to play, and she continues to use it as well as digital piano
Digital piano
A digital piano is a modern electronic musical instrument, different from the electronic keyboard, designed to serve primarily as an alternative to a traditional piano, both in the way it feels to play and in the sound produced. It is meant to provide an accurate simulation of a real piano. Some...
s including a Roland
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...
RD-300SX, RD-700 and KR-15. She also uses guitars extensively in her music particularly when touring, due to their portable nature and favours the Australian brand, Maton
Maton
Maton is an Australian manufacturer of guitars and other fretted musical instruments.Maton was founded in 1946 as the Maton Musical Instruments Company by Bill May and his brother Reg...
. On occasion she plays xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
and melodica
Melodica
The melodica, also known as the "blow-organ" or "key-flute", is a free-reed instrument similar to the melodeon and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. Pressing a key opens a hole,...
during performances.
Discography
- 2004: The Sound of WhiteThe Sound of WhiteThe Sound of White is the debut studio album by Australian pop singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released 6 September 2004 on Eleven. Higgins had secured recording contracts with Eleven and Warner Bros. while still in high school, after winning a competition for unsigned artists run by radio station...
- 2007: On a Clear NightOn a Clear NightOn a Clear Night is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins, released by Eleven on 28 April 2007. Higgins started work on the album straight after finishing her 2004 debut, The Sound of White. She spent six months of 2006 in Broome, Western Australia, writing new...
Awards
Higgins has won seven ARIA Music Awards from nineteen nominations. She has won two APRA Awards for songwriting and an MTV Australia Video Music Award.- 2004ARIA Music Awards of 2004The 18th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 17 October 2004 at the Sydney Superdome within the Sydney Olympic Complex...
ARIA AwardsARIA Music AwardsThe Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
, Best Pop Release for "Scar" - 2005 MTV Australia Video Music Awards, Breakthrough Artist of the Year
- 2005 APRA AwardsAPRA Awards of 2005The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2005 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards ceremony occurred on 30 May at the Sydney Four Seasons Hotel, they were presented by APRA and the...
, Breakthrough Award for "Scar" - 2005 APRA Awards, Song of the Year for "Scar"
- 2005 ARIA AwardsARIA Music Awards of 2005The 19th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 23 October 2005 at the Sydney Superdome at the Sydney Olympic Park complex, thus continuing the previous year's innovation of televising the awards on Sunday evening...
, Breakthrough Artist – Album for The Sound of White - 2005 ARIA Awards, Best Pop Release for The Sound of White
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Highest Selling Album for The Sound of White
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Best Female Artist for The Sound of White
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Album of the Year for The Sound of White
- 2007 ARIA AwardsARIA Music Awards of 2007The 21st Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 28 October 2007 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Rove McManus was the host of the event...
, Best Female Artist for On a Clear Night
External links
- Missy Higgins discography at MusicBrainzMusicBrainzMusicBrainz is a project that aims to create an open content music database. Similar to the freedb project, it was founded in response to the restrictions placed on the CDDB...