Missy Higgins

Melissa Morrison "Missy" Higgins (born 19 August 1983) 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, On a Clear Night (2007) and The Ol' Razzle Dazzle (2012). In 2018, she released a greatest hits album called The Special Ones.

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.

"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. Higgins collaborated with Dan Sultan for the recording of the Slim Dusty song "The Biggest Disappointment".

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.

Oz debuted at number 3 on the ARIA Albums chart and remained in the top five positions until 18 October 2014.

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. in her response to the death of Alan Kurdi.

In May 2017 Higgins released "Torchlight", for the Australian drama film, Don't Tell.

In October 2017, Higgins appeared in a revival of the 1996 musical Miracle City by Nick Enright and Max Lambert at the Sydney Opera House, playing the role of Bonnie Mae.

In February 2018 Higgins released the single "Futon Couch", the first single from her fifth studio album, called Solastalgia, released in May 2018.

In February 2018 it was announced that Missy Higgins would support Ed Sheeran's tour around Australia.

In November 2018 Higgins released her first greatest hits album titled The Special Ones. A stand-alone single, "When the Machine Starts", was released in November 2020; a second, "Edge of Something", was released in October 2021.

In October 2019 new music by Higgins featured in the Australian television series Total Control. This would later serve as the basis of a mini-album, also titled Total Control, that Higgins released on 4 March 2022.

2024: The Second Act On 23 February 2024 Higgins released "You Should Run", the lead single from her forthcoming sixth studio album. The album, titled The Second Act, was released on 6 September 2024. 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.

Musical influences and technique Higgins grew up in the 1980s and 1990s listening to artists that her older siblings liked—Nicola played Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, while David favoured Queen and Kiss.

In the 2020 Australian documentary film Slim and I, directed by Kriv Stenders, Higgins paid tribute to the influence on her life and career of acclaimed Australian country music singer-songwriter couple Slim Dusty and Joy McKean. The film features interviews and covers of McKean songs by acclaimed contemporary artists including Higgins (The Biggest Disappointment), Keith Urban, Paul Kelly, and Troy Cassar-Daley.

She has also been a creative inspiration for a number of artists including Gretta Ray, Angie McMahon, G Flip and Amy Shark

Activism and charitable works 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.

From her early tours such as her On a Clear Night tour, Higgins has aimed for her tours to be carbon neutral, 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.

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% . Higgins also donated royalties from her 2009 "More Than This" focused on conservation of Western Australia's Kimberley Region; an area which Higgins is passionate about protecting from industrialisation. 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; 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.

Higgins was among 21 artists to write and record music for the album 'Sounds for the Reef' which raised funds for legal action against plans to turn Queensland's Abbot Point into one of the world's largest coal ports and the decision to allow dredging near the Great Barrier Reef. The album's 21 songs were sold on the Bandcamp website.

Higgins also vocally protested against the Adani coal mine in 2017, writing an open letter to the former Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and former Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, and donating time to narrating two campaign videos and the #StopAdani Roadshow Opener.

Climate change played a large role in the creation of the music for her 2018 album 'Solostalgia', which was named for a kind of distress brought on by environmental changes close to home. The album is also influenced by the feeling of climate grief and climate anxiety.

Animal welfare Higgins has been a vegetarian for many years after being introduced to the idea by an ex-boyfriend and wanted to do something for animals rights after reading 'Eating Animals' by Jonathan Safran Foer. She helped promote the 2005 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) 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.

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', and performing at Melbourne Zoo's Twilights concert in 2012, 2013 and the 2020 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, 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), and Higgins performed the song during the ASRC telethon held on World Refugee Day.

Higgins also featured in the 2022 documentary 'Scattered People: A Song Can Take You Home' presented by the ASRC and Being Reel Films, along with other Australian Musicians. with themes of exploitation and female empowerment. The album was about taking control as a woman, with songs like 'I Take It Back' which was written about reclaiming story, identity and power as a woman.

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.

Higgins also headlined the all-female festival tour Wildflower in 2022 alongside Kate Miller-Heidke, Kasey Chambers, Sarah Blasko, Deborah Conway, Thornbird and Alice Skye to celebrate women and the return of the live scene.

Generational strength has also been a motivator for Higgins, wanting to show her daughter how to be a strong, independent woman.

Indigenous issues Higgins undertook an Indigenous Studies course at the University of Melbourne and has been a supporter of Indigenous Australian peoples. In 2007 she joined the Oxfam Australia 'Close the Gap' campaign and recorded a cover of 'Droving Woman' with Augie March on the tribute album to Kev Carmody, an Aboriginal Australian singer-songwriter and musician. In 2008, Higgins collaborated on a re-release of the song "From Little Things Big Things Grow" along with Tim Levison and others. The song begins with a sample from the 2008 Formal Apology to the Stolen Generations made by former Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. 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." to the One in Five Foundation, a Melbourne charity supporting research into mental health. with the collaborative song "Carry You" which was adapted to the foundation's 2020 campaign to encourage people to carry on Fred Hollows's legacy of ending avoidable blindness. She also performed the song with Minchin at the streamed charity concert Music from the Home Front which paid tribute to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and workers on the frontline of COVID-19 pandemic responses. Proceeds from the album of the same name went towards the music crisis charity Support Act.

In 2022 Higgins headlined the Nine Network telethon concert in support of the Children's Hospital Foundation, raising funds for medical research, equipment and support services for young patients and their families. Higgins also joined the Australian Red Cross event Australia Unites: Red Cross Flood Appeal along with other Australian artists to raise funds for victims of the 2022 eastern Australia floods.

Personal life 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. In 2024 it was revealed that she had had a relationship with her female tour manager during those early years. Higgins gave birth to a son in 2015. Higgins and Lee were married in March 2016, and she gave birth to a daughter in August 2018.

In early 2022 Higgins and Lee separated amicably. 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.

APRA Awards The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Higgins has won two awards from twelve nominations. "Ten Days" (Missy Higgins, Jay Clifford) – Missy Higgins Song of the Year Missy Higgins

Song of the Year Most Performed Australian Work "Set Me On Fire" (Missy Higgins, Butterfly Boucher and Daniel Wilson) 2017 "Oh Canada" Song of the Year

"Carry You" (Tim Minchin) – Missy Higgins

"Edge of Something" (Higgins, Antony Partos, Matteo Zingales) – Missy Higgins "Arrows" Song of the Year 2021 "Carry You" (Tim Minchin) – Missy Higgins Song of the Year 2022 "Bloody Game" from Total Control Best Original Song Composed for the Screen 2023 "Edge of Something" Song of the Year

Song of the Year

Most Performed Alternative Work ARIA Awards 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.

Single of the Year Best Female Artist Breakthrough Artist – Single Best Pop Release "Scar" – Squareyed Films Best Video

Album of the Year Best Female Artist Highest Selling Album Breakthrough Artist – Album Best Pop Release The Sound of White – Cathie Glassby Best Cover Art

Single of the Year Highest Selling Single 2006 If You Tell Me Yours, I'll Tell You Mine Best Music DVD

Best Female Artist Best Pop Release Highest Selling Album "Steer" Highest Selling Single 2008 "Peachy"

Album of the Year Best Adult Contemporary Album "Everyone's Waiting" – Natasha Pincus Best Video 2013 "Set Me on Fire" Best Female Artist 2018 Solastalgia

2022 Total Control

The Second Act Tour 2024 Best Australian Live Act Herself Hall of Fame

Album of the Year Best Solo Artist Best Adult Contemporary Album Best Video Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore for Missy Higgins – "Craters"

Australian Women in Music Awards The Australian Women in Music Awards is an annual event that celebrates outstanding women in the Australian Music Industry who have made significant and lasting contributions in their chosen field. They commenced in 2018.

Songwriter Award Artistic Excellence Award EG Awards / Music Victoria Awards The EG Awards (known as Music Victoria Awards since 2013) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. 2007

2014

Helpmann Awards The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Best Performance in an Australian Contemporary Concert

2017 Missy Higgins Orchestral Concert Series 2016

J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005. 2024 Missy Higgins Double J Artist of the Year MTV Australia Video Music Award The MTV Australia Video Music Award were presented annually from 2005 to 2009 by MTV Australia.

Melbourne Prize for Music The Melbourne Prize for Music is a financial prize, founded in 2004 by Simon H. Warrender, and awarded to music every three years. 2022 Missy Higgins Melbourne Prize Trust Rolling Stone Australia Awards The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.

The Second Act Best LP/EP

Missy Higgins Best Live Act