Melissa Morrison Higgins (born 19 August 1983), stage name Missy Higgins, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. Her most popular singles include "Scar", "Steer", and "Where I Stood". Her Australian number-one albums are The Sound of White (2004), On a Clear Night (2007) and The Ol' Razzle Dazzle (2012). Higgins's fourth studio album, Oz, was released in September 2014. In 2018 she released a greatest hits album called The Special Ones, and in September 2024 released the album The Second Act.
Higgins was nominated for five ARIA Music Awards in 2004 and won Best Pop Release for "Scar". In 2005, she was nominated for seven more awards and won five. Nominated for many more, Higgins won her seventh ARIA in 2007 and two more in 2012, including Best Adult Contemporary Album for The Ol' Razzle Dazzle.
Alongside her music career, Higgins pursues interests in animal rights and the environment, endeavouring to make her tours carbon neutral. In 2009 she made her acting debut in the music feature film Bran Nue Dae and also performed on its soundtrack.
Early life and education
Melissa Morrison Higgins was born in Melbourne on 19 August 1983 to Christopher Higgins, an English-Australian general practitioner, and Margaret (née Morrison), an Australian childcare centre operator.[1][2] Her sister, Nicola, is seven years older and her brother, David, six years older.[2] Higgins 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.[3] Bored with practice, she gave up playing piano at that time.[4]
Hoping for more freedom, she urged her parents to send her to Geelong Grammar School, an independent boarding school that her siblings attended. At Geelong, Higgins took up the piano again, this time playing jazz and performing with her brother David's group on weekends.[5] Introverted by nature, Higgins found that piano practice helped her cope with living at boarding school.[4]
At 15, while attending Geelong Grammar's Timbertop, she wrote "All for Believing" for a school music assignment, completing it just hours before the deadline.[6] 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.[4] She wrote more songs and worked with the Kool Skools project, which enables students to record music.[7]
In 2001, Missy's sister Nicola entered "All for Believing" on her behalf in Unearthed, radio station Triple J's competition for unsigned artists. The song won the competition and was added to the station's play list.[8]
Career
Early career
Two record companies showed an interest in Higgins—Sony and Eleven.[4] She signed with Eleven, partly because they agreed that she would not be "made into a pop star"[9] and partly because they were happy for her to take time off for a backpacking holiday.[4] Higgins's manager is Eleven's John Watson, who also managed rock band Silverchair.[1] Watson later disclosed that "Missy's the only time in my career I knew after 90 seconds I really wanted to sign her."[10] The backpacking trip had been planned with a friend for years and the pair spent most of 2002 in Europe; while Higgins was travelling, "All for Believing" started to receive airplay on Los Angeles radio station KCRW.[11] Such radio exposure attracted the attention of American record labels and, by year's end, an international recording deal with Warner Bros. had been negotiated.[12]
She toured Australia, supporting Pete Murray and John Butler Trio.[15] Her four-track single "Scar" was released in July 2004 and debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Charts.[14][16] Her first album, The Sound of White, was released in September, and debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[14] Also produced by Porter, it sold over 500,000 copies.[17] 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).[18] 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.[18] This was followed by her first national headline tour.[19] Her second single "Ten Days" was co-written with Jay Clifford (guitarist in US band Jump, Little Children) and was inspired by Higgins's 2002 break-up with her boyfriend before she travelled to Europe.[20] Released in November, it peaked at No. 12.[14]
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.[21] The concert raised A$2.3 million for four charities supporting the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[22] In March Higgins performed at the MTV Australia Awards and won the prize for 'Breakthrough Artist of the Year'.[23] The following month she released her third single, "The Special Two", which was a radio hit and reached No. 2.[14] "The Special Two" was released and 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.[24] In May, Higgins won the 'Song of the Year' and 'Breakthrough' awards for "Scar" from the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).[25] She continued touring in mid-2005 and released her fourth single, "The Sound of White", in August.[14] In September she played a sold-out performance at the Vanguard in Sydney with the proceeds going to charity.[26] 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").[27] She teamed up with fellow ARIA award-winning singer Ben Lee in late 2005 for a national tour.[28]
During 2006, Higgins lived in Broome, Western Australia for six months, away from the entertainment industry. The relaxed lifestyle helped her focus on writing new material.[29] 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".[30] She then toured the United States and South Africa, writing more material on the road.[31] In September she based herself in Los Angeles to record her second album, On a Clear Night, with producer Mitchell Froom.[32][33] "Steer" was released on 14 April 2024, followed a fortnight later by its album on 28 April 2007, both debuted at No. 1 on their respective charts.[14]
Higgins returned to Los Angeles to focus on the US market—she spent September and October touring—where she was still relatively unknown.[38] 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.[39] 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.[40] 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".[41][42] 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.[43]
Higgins started writing music for her third album in 2009.[49] After about seven years of touring and recording she took a break from the music industry to pursue other interests.[50] In 2010 she enrolled in a course in indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne.[51] Her acting debut was as Annie in 2009 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".[52] Although Higgins would consider future acting projects, she had no plans to actively pursue it as a career.[49][53]
In July and August 2010, Higgins played several dates of Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour in the US.[54][55] 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.[56] Titled The Ol' Razzle Dazzle, the album was released on 1 June 2012.[57] Its first single, "Unashamed Desire", co-written with Boucher, was released on 23 April.[58] In November 2011, at the ARIA Music Awards, Higgins performed a duet of "Warwu" with Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, from his Rrakala album.[59]
"The Ol' Razzle Dazzle" album debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart the week of 12 June 2012. It was Higgins' 3rd straight number one album. As of January 2019, Higgins ties Olivia Newton-John for the 3rd highest tally of Australian Number One albums by an Australian female artist. Only Delta Goodrem (with four Number 1 ARIA albums) and Kylie Minogue and Kasey Chambers (with five each) have achieved more.
2014: Oz
In September 2014, Higgins released her fourth studio album, Oz, which features cover versions of Australian composers, including The Angels, Slim Dusty, Something For Kate, Warumpi Band, Paul Kelly and The Drones. The album is also accompanied by a book of related essays, in which Higgins uses each of the recordings to reflect upon subjects such as music and love.[60] Higgins collaborated with Dan Sultan for the recording of the Slim Dusty song "The Biggest Disappointment".[61]
Higgins explained in an October 2014 interview that she experienced a significant bout of writer's block following the completion of her second album and someone suggested an album of cover versions at the time, but she only revisited the idea during the conception of Oz. Higgins further explained:
I responded to all these songs on an emotional level, when I first heard them. I wanted songs I felt I could tell with my own voice, and interpret them authentically ... But it was important to maintain the emotional integrity and the heart of the song. It was a high priority to keep true to the songs.[61]
Oz debuted at number 3 on the ARIA Albums chart[63] and remained in the top five positions until 18 October 2014.[64]
The national Australian tour in support of Oz commenced on 20 September 2014 in Cairns, Queensland, and ended in Melbourne in October 2014. Higgins was accompanied by Bischoff, and Australian artist Dustin Tebbutt appeared as a special guest.[62]
2015–2023: Solastalgia, The Special Ones and Total Control
In February 2018, Higgins released the single "Futon Couch", the first single from her fifth studio album, called Solastalgia, released in May 2018.[68]
In February 2018, it was announced that Missy Higgins would support Ed Sheeran's tour around Australia.[69]
In November 2018, Higgins released her first greatest hits album titled The Special Ones.[70] A stand-alone single, "When the Machine Starts", was released in November 2020;[71] a second, "Edge of Something", was released in October 2021.[72]
In October 2019, new music by Higgins featured in the Australian television series Total Control.[73] This would later serve as the basis of a mini-album, also titled Total Control, that Higgins released on 4 March 2022.[74]
2024: The Second Act
On 23 February 2024, Higgins released "You Should Run", the lead single from her forthcoming sixth studio album.[75] The album, titled The Second Act, was released on 6 September 2024.[76][77] The album was written in the wake of the breakup of her marriage in December 2021, and the songs deal with the sadness associated with this event.[78]
Higgins's songwriting 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.[82][83] The piano was the first instrument she learned to play, and she continues to use it as well as digital pianos, including a Roland RD-300SX, RD-700 and KR-15.[84][85] She also uses guitars extensively in her music—particularly when touring, due to their portable nature—and favours the Australian brand Maton.[85] On occasion, she plays keytar, xylophone and melodica during performances.[30][86]
On 7 September 2012, Higgins recorded a cover version of Gotye's "Heart's A Mess" for the "Like a Version" segment on Australian radio station Triple J, explaining on-air that the song is her favourite Gotye composition. Higgins had travelled with Gotye previously and referred to him as "an incredible singer" in the interview prior to the rendition.[87]
Higgins has been active and vocal about many issues including climate and environmental issues, animal welfare, female empowerment, refugees and Indigenous issues. These issues have been influential to her works throughout her career.
Climate and environment
Higgins has been a longtime advocate for the environment and has actively participated in many environmental initiatives and events aimed at raising awareness on climate change and environmental issues. She is currently a patron of Green Music Australia, which aims to harness the cultural power of music to create a greener and safer planet.[91]
From her early tours such as her On A Clear Night tour, Higgins has aimed for her tours to be carbon neutral,[92][93][94][95] and she was named one of Billboard magazine's 2007 Top 10 Green Artists.[96] She also contributed to Green Music Australia and Creative Victoria's 2022 initiative 'Sound Country: A Green Artist Guide' which aims to provide a practical framework for touring musicians to implement sustainable solutions.[97]
Higgins has also participated in many environmental fundraising and donation campaigns including the Sierra Club's 2009 2% Solution Campaign where she made her song "Where I Stood" available for free to those who pledged to decrease their carbon output by 2% .[44][98][99] Higgins also donated royalties from her 2009 "More Than This"[100] to the Save the Kimberley organisation[101][102] focused on conservation of Western Australia's Kimberley Region; an area which Higgins is passionate about protecting from industrialisation.[103] In October 2012, Higgins also performed at two "Save the Kimberley" events held at Federation Square in Melbourne and The Esplanade in Fremantle, Western Australia;[104][105] march to protest against the proposed gas refinery construction at James Price Point accompanied the free concert and campaign supporters were photographed with banners and placards.[106]
Higgins was among 21 artists to write and record music for the album 'Sounds for the Reef'[107] which raised funds for legal action against plans to turn Queensland'sAbbot Point into one of the world's largest coal ports and the decision to allow dredging near the Great Barrier Reef.[108][109] The album's 21 songs were sold on the Bandcamp website.[110][111]
Higgins also vocally protested against the Adani coal mine in 2017, writing an open letter to the former Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and current Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, and donating time to narrating two campaign videos[112] and the #StopAdani Roadshow Opener.[113]
Climate change played a large role in the creation of the music[114] for her 2018 album 'Solostalgia', which was named for a kind of distress brought on by environmental changes close to home.[115] The album is also influenced by the feeling of climate grief and climate anxiety.[116]
In 2012, Higgins voiced a series of radio advertisements organised by the group Animals Australia in a campaign to put an end to battery-hen egg production in Australia.[119][120] Higgins was one of numerous publicly known advocates for the 'Oscar's Law' campaign. The campaign, launched in 2010, protests against the existence of "puppy factories" in Australia, whereby animals are factory farmed. One of the campaign's slogans was "Break the Puppy Trade—Don't buy puppies from pet shops" and the list of notable advocates included Paul Dempsey, Kate Ceberano and Mick Molloy.[121]
Higgins has also performed at animal welfare and conservation related fundraising and awareness concerts.This includes kicking off Animal Australia's 2013 event 'Animal Matters' with a performance of 'Hidden Ones',[122][123] and performing at Melbourne Zoo's Twilights concert in 2012,[124] 2013[125] and the 2020[126] where proceeds from the event went to conservation efforts and aims to save threatened species.
Refugees
In 2016, Missy Higgins released "Oh Canada", which was written from the perspective of the refugee father of Alan Kurdi,[127][128] a two-year-old Syrian boy who drowned while fleeing to Europe. All of the song's net profits went to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC),[129] and Higgins performed the song during the ASRC telethon held on World Refugee Day.[129] In 2017 Higgins was announced as a new ASRC Ambassador[129] and in 2018 appeared on ABC's Q&A program and expressed her views on the Australian Government's treatment of asylum seekers.[130]
Higgins also featured in the 2022 documentary 'Scattered People: A Song Can Take You Home'[131][132] presented by the ASRC and Being Reel Films, along with other Australian Musicians.[131]
In 2021, Higgins appeared on the panel of ABC's Q&A Season Finale 'Power, Protests and Parliament' and discussed her views on the behaviour of Australian Parliament in relation to women in parliament, advice for young women who want to move into the music industry and the power imbalance of the music industry.[137]
When discussing the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Higgins stated that First Nations people have never been treated as equals and have been oppressed as a people.[137]
Higgins mentioned that her album Total Control was partly inspired by strong First Nations women who she knew[135][133] and in an interview with Rolling Stone Australia, Higgin's was quoted saying "Australian First Nations people have to cop so much every day and they're still surviving in a country that refuses to acknowledge our history.".[133]
Other charitable works
Higgins has also been involved in other charitable works throughout her career.
All proceeds from her 2015 charity show at Sydney's 'The Vanguard' were donated[146] to the One In Five Foundation, a Melbourne charity supporting research into mental health.[146]
Missy Higgins during the Second Act tour. Melbourne, December 2024
Higgins has been a patron of multiple mental health charities since 2003. She described her younger self as introverted, and that she had "experienced various degrees of depression" from childhood onwards.[13][158] Prescribed antidepressant medication while in high school, she learned to channel low moods into songwriting, calling music her "emotional outlet".[2][79] In a 2006 interview she said that her songs were "coming from more of a happier place".[159] While recording her second album, she discovered a passion for rock climbing, as a "meditative pursuit"[160][79]
From 2004 to 2007, Higgins's 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 "Yeah, definitely. ... I think sexuality is a fluid thing and it's becoming increasingly more acceptable to admit that you're that way."[161] In November 2007, her Myspace page and website reported, "I've been in relationships with both men and women so I guess I fall most easily under the category 'Bisexual'."[162][163][164] In 2024 it was revealed that she had had a relationship with her female tour manager during those early years.[78]
In 2013, Higgins began a relationship with Broome playwright and comedian Dan Lee.[165][166] Higgins gave birth to a son in 2015.[167] Higgins and Lee were married in March 2016,[168][169] and she gave birth to a daughter in August 2018.[170]
In early 2022, Higgins and Lee separated amicably.[171] The songs on her 2024 album The Second Act were written during and following the breakup. She spoke at some length about her career and relationships on Australian Story in August 2024.[78]
Higgins at the ARIA Awards ceremony, December 2013, Star Event Centre, Sydney
APRA Awards
The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA).[172] Higgins has won two awards from eight nominations.[173][174]
The ARIA Music Awards are presented annually from 1987 by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Higgins has won eleven awards, including a hall of fame induction.[185][186]
The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001.[192] Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
^ abZiffer, Daniel (29 October 2005), "No one's idol", The Age, pp. 1–3, retrieved 15 January 2009 Note: pages 2–3 are accessed by tabs at bottom of text.
^Zuel, Bernard (22 October 2005), "Hits and Missy", The Sydney Morning Herald, pp. 1–4, retrieved 15 January 2010 Note: pages 2–4 are accessed by tabs at bottom of text.
^"Miracle City – Sydney Opera House". 28 October 2017. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ abcBakker, Tiffany (6 August 2007), "Missy Higgins steering clear", Herald Sun, The Herald and Weekly Times (News Corporation), retrieved 1 February 2010
^Fox, Katrina (19 October 2007), "Down to Earth", Cherrie, Evolution Publishing, archived from the original on 2 November 2007, retrieved 5 March 2010
^Taylor, Christian (27 November 2007), "Missy Clarifies Things", Same Same, SameSame Pty Ltd, archived from the original on 12 July 2012, retrieved 29 November 2007
Nimmervoll, Ed. "Missy Higgins". Howlspace – The Living History of Our Music (Ed Nimmervoll). White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
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