Template:Infobox musical artist 2
Missy Higgins (born Melissa Morrison Higgins on August 19, 1983) is an award-winning Australian singer-songwriter, best known for her hit singles "Scar" and "The Special Two" off her debut album The Sound of White. Her second album, On a Clear Night was released in April 2007. Higgins is considered Australia's most popular female music star.[1][2]
She has begun touring in May, 2007 in Australia to promote her new album, On a Clear Night.
Career biography
Missy Higgins, who was brought up in Melbourne, Australia, began her professional musical career in mid-2001, while she was still in boarding school at Geelong Grammar School. A few times every term when she went home to visit her family she occasionally sang in her brothers band. During this time she worked with in the Kool Skools programmme and also won the Triple J Unearthed competition while in high school with her song "All For Believing", later included in her first release.
After attracting the attention of manager John Watson, she released her first EP with his record label Eleven in November 2003. Her second EP Scar was released in August 2004, debuting at #1 on the Australian charts. Her first album, The Sound of White was released in September 2004. Many of her songs are based around her performance on the piano.
The Sound of White was produced in the U.S. by John Porter with audio engineer Jay Newland, noted for his work with jazz singer, Norah Jones.
Throughout 2004, Higgins had been touring as a support act with Pete Murray and The John Butler Trio, including solo performances at the Horden Pavilion, The Clarendon, and the Enmore Theatre. With the release of The Sound of White, Higgins began another national tour, her first as the headliner.
In 2004, Higgins was nominated in four categories at the ARIA Awards. These included "Best Female Artist" and "Single of the Year". At the awards ceremony on October 17 she received the award for "Best Pop Release".
Following the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, Higgins appeared as one of the headline acts of the Wave Aid fund raising concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground, to raise funds for aid organisations working in disaster affected areas.
In 2005, Higgins was nominated for a further seven ARIA Awards, taking out the awards for "Album of the Year" (for The Sound of White), "Best Female Artist", "Best Pop Release" (for The Sound of White), "Breakthrough Artist - Album Release" (for The Sound Of White) and "Highest Selling Album" (again, for The Sound of White).
Her single "Ten Days", co-written with Jay Clifford of Jump, Little Children peaked at number 12 on the ARIA charts.
She released her third single, "The Special Two", to both critical and commercial acclaim. It became an instant hit on Australian radio and in the charts debuting and peaking at number 2 on the ARIA charts. "The Special Two" EP included Missy's cover of the Skyhooks classic, "You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good In Bed" which she recorded for Triple J's 30th anniversery. "You Just Like Me Cos I'm Good In Bed" was the first song played on Triple J in 1975. She continued touring in mid-2005 and released her fourth single, "The Sound of White", in August 2005. In late 2005 she teamed up with Ben Lee for a national tour.
In 2006, she toured the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa along with her band before basing herself in Los Angeles to record her second album with veteran producer Mitchell Froom. Her second album, On a Clear Night, was released on April 28, 2007. "Steer", the first single from the album was released on April 4, 2007.[3]
Higgins participated at the Australian leg of Live Earth performing her own set, as well as joining Paul Kelly, Kev Carmody and John Butler on stage for the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow."[4]
Higgins' current tour is carbon neutral.[5]
We have made our tour carbon neutral by purchasing green energy to power the venues and hiring hybrid cars wherever possible. Everything that's left over, we buy carbon offsets.
Personal life
Higgins was raised in Melbourne, Victoria and attended Geelong Grammar School for her secondary education. She currently lives with her sister Nicola in Melbourne.
She is a vegetarian, and in 2005 appeared in a marketing campaign for the animal rights group PETA promoting awareness of animal rights.[6]
Higgins' sexuality has been brought into question due to the content of her lyrics and her demeanour. It is also notable that she does not use male or female pronouns to describe her partner during her concerts. She has neither denied nor confirmed any stance, although she has been quoted as saying: "I think everyone is a bit bisexual but not everyone admits it. Or not everyone has realised it yet".[7] Though she admits to making "a few risque comments in interviews about bisexuality," she wishes her privacy to be respected in this matter.[8]
Higgins said recently in an interview on Channel V that her single "Ten Days" was written for her then boyfriend while she was backpacking in Europe. She is currently single and states that she has not been in a relationship for a long time, citing her busy schedule as a reason.[9]
Discography
Studio albums
| Album Information | Singles | |
| The Sound of White | Released: September 6 2004 |
|
| On a Clear Night | Released: April 28 2007 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | NZ | |||
| 2004 | "Scar" | 1 | 20 | The Sound Of White |
| "Ten Days" | 12 | 39 | ||
| 2005 | "The Special Two" | 2 | - | |
| "The Sound of White" | 22 | - | ||
| 2007 | "Steer" | 1 | - | On A Clear Night |
| "Where I Stood" | - | - | ||
EPs
- The Missy Higgins EP - (2003) AUS #49
- All for Believing EP (USA) - (24/01/2005) US #141
- The Special Two EP - (03/04/2005)
- Live From San Francisco - (2005) (iTunes Exclusive) AUS iTunes #26
- Steer EP - 2007 AUS #1
- Where I Stood EP - 2007
Compilations and contributions
- Moses - From Like a Version: Volume One (2005)
- Stuff And Nonsense - From She Will Have Her Way (2005)
DVDs
- If You Tell Me Yours, I'll Tell You Mine - (2005) AUS #1 (1 week)
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Album Of The Year for The Sound Of White
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Best Female Artist for The Sound Of White
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Highest Selling Album for The Sound Of White
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Best Pop Release for The Sound Of White
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Breakthrough Artist - Album for The Sound Of White
- 2005 APRA Awards, Song Of The Year for "Scar"
- 2005 APRA Awards, Breakthrough Award for "Scar"
- 2005 MTV Australia Video Music Awards, Breakthrough Artist of the Year
- 2004 ARIA Awards, Best Pop Release for "Scar"
Nominations
- 2006 ARIA Awards, Best Female Artist for "The Sound of White"
- 2006 MTV Australia Video Music Awards, Best Female Artist
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Single Of The Year for "The Special Two"
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Highest Selling Single for "The Special Two"
- 2005 ARIA Awards, Song Of The Year for "Ten Days"
- 2004 ARIA Awards, Single Of The Year for "Scar"
- 2004 ARIA Awards, Best Female Artist for "Scar"
- 2004 ARIA Awards, Breakthrough Artist - Single for "Scar"
- 2004 ARIA Awards, Best Video for "Scar"
Transcribed music
- Higgins, Missy(2004) Scar [music] written by Missy Higgins and Kevin Griffin ; transcribed by Ray Smith. Richmond, East Vic.: Allans Publishing. ISBN 1863674772
Notes
- ^ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/whatson/missy-higgins/2007/06/13/1181414369461.html
- ^ http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22019651-5006024,00.html
- ^ EMI MUSIC Australia, Missy Steers Towards New Album. Top40 Charts, February 2007. Retrieved February 11 2007.
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003608604
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/gig-reviews/live-earth/2007/07/05/1183351355855.html
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/food-fight-sam-takes-on-missy/2006/03/11/1141701737149.html Theage.com Retrieved on 05-17-07
- ^ Popdirt interview: Higgins & Sexuality.
- ^ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/whatson/missy-higgins/2007/06/13/1181414369461.html?page=2
- ^ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/whatson/missy-higgins/2007/06/13/1181414369461.html
External links