Missy Higgins Top 5 Facts

26th August, 1983

She's not saying!

Her music is unadorned and unforgettable. It's the reason she's currently the special guest on John Butler Trio's national tour. It's also why she will then open for Pete Murray on his Australian concert dates. Missy Higgins was thrust into the limelight in mid-2001 while still at high school. She won the Triple J "Unearthed" demo competition and her song "All For Believing" became one of the station's most requested tracks. Missy soon signed a recording deal with local label Eleven: a music company (through Virgin/EMI). However, instead of rushing to release a CD she chose to spend the following year backpacking around Europe and writing lots more music. While she was off doing that, a live recording she'd made for Triple J found it's way to Los Angeles tastemaker radio station KCRW and they started playing it. Many U.S. labels responded to the unique sound of her jazz hued voice wrapping itself around her emotive lyrics. Even though she'd actually spent 2002 trekking around youth hostels, by the end of that year she had landed an international deal with Warner Bros Records. In 2003, Missy was invited to do Australian tours supporting the Waifs and George. She also released a critically acclaimed, self-titled EP that spent eight months around the top of the national independent charts. The lead track from that EP – "Greed For Your Love" – was voted one of the Hottest 100 songs of the year by the listeners of Triple J. Missy has just spent several months recording in the U.S. with producer, John Porter (The Smiths, Ryan Adams, Los Lonely Boys) and mixer Jay Newland (Norah Jones). The first song to be lifted from these sessions is called "Scar" and, needless to say, it's the lead track on "The Scar EP". It was released in Australia on August 2 and debuted at number one nationally in its first week! "It's basically a song about people's need to pigeonhole things in order to process them", explains Missy. "It's about rebelling from the easy path of just going along with everybody else and trying not to stand out. It's also about realising you've trusted the wrong people and finding a way to benefit from the scars they've left behind." "Scar" will lead to the release of Missy's memorable debut album "The Sound Of White" on September 6. "The Sound Of White" opens with the first song Missy ever wrote – "All For Believing". It then weaves its way through twelve other pieces including the stark beauty of piano ballads like "Nightminds", "Any Day Now", "They Weren't There" and "The Sound Of White". Also on display are a few of Missy's acoustic guitar driven songs, including the live favourites "Don't Ever" and "Ten Days". With their lyrical focus on distance and desire, these stripped back tracks have clearly been inspired by all of the travelling Missy has done over recent years. Elsewhere, "Casualty" and "This Is How It Goes" reflect her jazz background while "Katie", "The River" and "The Special Two" typify the darker lyrical outlook that creeps into the second half of the album. The thread that binds all of this material together is Missy's direct lyrical approach; she has an undeniable knack for penning piercingly sincere songs. When this is matched with the album's 'no frills' instrumentation it's a powerful combination … pure and simple. Given all this, the album title is obviously apt. As soon as "The Sound Of White" hits the shops Missy will hit the road again. It will be her fifth national tour in less than twelve months although it will be the first one where she's the headliner rather than the support act. "The first thing that usually draws me to a songwriter is their lyrics and the next most important thing is their live performances", Missy explains. "That's why I love artists like Aimee Mann - they write amazing lyrics and then when they play them onstage the experience is unforgettable".

Melbourne, Australia

Missy Higgins is a singer/songwriter from Melbourne.

After Missy signed a recording deal with local label Eleven instead of rushing to release a CD, she chose to spend the following year backpacking around Europe and writing lots more music.

Kyle, the rude dude, asked her on TV if she liked girls more than boys!

Some of Missy's favourite CD's include The Doves, Aimee Mann and David Gray. Missy was the third Aussie gal to have a number one album in 2004. She went to Geelong Grammar, a private school attended by such people as Prince Charles and Outback Jack.