Music

Five of the Best: Missy Higgins

Australian singer songwriter Missy Higgins is set to perform with some of Australia’s best Symphony Orchestras throughout November and December.

Missy Higgins will perform with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at Sydney’s State Theatre on November 3-5 and with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at Kings Park on December 3. Click here to purchase tickets.

To celebrate the upcoming performances, we have selected Missy Higgins as the subject of today’s Five of the Best.

Missy Higgins is one of the nation’s most talented performers. As well as singing, she is an accomplished song writer and plays both the guitar and piano. The singer was discovered through Triple J’s ‘Unearthed’ competition after Missy’s sister sent a tape of All for Believing, a song the young performer wrote and performed as part of a school assignment.

All for Believing won the competition and Missy Higgins was quickly signed to a record label, Eleven. Following a backpacking holiday, the singer returned to Australia and released her debut album, The Sound of White, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Check out our five favourite Missy Higgins tracks below.

5 Ten Days

Missy Higgins was signed to her record label while still in high school and embarked on a backpacking holiday prior to releasing her first album. Ten Days was inspired by a pre-holiday break up and kick-started the singer’s reputation for using personal experience in her song writing. Ten Days was released as the second single on The Sound of White, Missy Higgins’ debut album, and peaked at number 12 on the Australian charts. The track is very emotive but also maintains an upbeat feel, which prevents it from falling into the pop ballad category. The song is an incredible example of the song writing prowess of Missy Higgins – have a listen to it below.

Missy Higgins - Ten Days (Official Video)

4 Where I Stood

Missy Higgins enjoyed yet another top 10 hit in Australia when she released Where I Stood as the second single on her 2007 album, On a Clear Night. The ballad is a good representation of the musical style of Missy Higgins and a fine example of her song writing ability and aptitude for creating emotion through music. Where I Stood has been used in countless American television shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights, Pretty Little Liars and The Ghost Whisperer. The universal appeal of the track is testament to Missy Higgins – check out the song below.

Missy Higgins - "Where I Stood" (Official U.S. video)

3 The Special Two

The Special Two was the third single off Missy Higgins’ debut album The Sound of White. The track is autobiographical with Missy Higgins describing it as “a good sorry letter”. Knowing the track is autobiographical adds an edge, which connects the listener to the singer. The Australian public certainly liked the track and The Special Two hit number 2 on the Australian music charts and was certified gold. The Special Two was nominated for Single of the Year at the 2005 ARIA Awards, but lost out to Ben Lee’s Catch My Disease. The track is an excellent example of Missy Higgins’ song writing ability and highlights her willingness to put heart and soul into her work. We love this track, we hope you do too.

Missy Higgins - The Special Two (Official Video)

2 Steer

Following the huge success of The Sound of White, the anticipation for the second Missy Higgins album was palpable. The singer songwriter released On a Clear Night in 2007 with Steer as the lead single. Similarly to her first album, the lead single from On a Clear Night was the album’s most successful, reaching number 1 on the Australian charts. The song was more upbeat than the majority of tracks on The Sound of White and Missy Higgins states she wrote the track after overlooking the Southern Celestial Sphere in Western Australia. Interestingly, the accompanying film clip was directed by Australian stuntman Nash Edgerton. Check it out below.

Missy Higgins - Steer (Official Video)

1 Scar

While All for Believing was the song that first propelled Missy Higgins onto the airwaves, it was Scar that gave the singer her first big hit and catapulted her onto the mainstream stage. The 2004 hit went straight to number 1 on the Australian music charts and was certified platinum.  Scar was the lead single on Missy Higgins’ debut album, The Sound of White, and won a 2004 ARIA Award for Best Pop Release as well as two APRA Awards for Song of the Year and the Breakthrough Award. Scar is a very upbeat pop track, which was out of step with the majority of songs on Sound of White, which were slower and closer to pop ballads. The track is hugely popular and remains the quintessential Missy Higgins hit more than a decade after its release.

Missy Higgins - Scar (Official Video)

Missy Higgins will perform with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at Sydney’s State Theatre on November 3-5 and with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at Kings Park on December 3. Click here to purchase tickets.