Much loved singer-songwriter Missy Higgins opens up to Anh about her meteoric rise from schoolgirl to chart-topper, and the emotional stories behind her music.
The youngest of three, Missy grew up in Melbourne in a musical household and spent her weekends as a teen performing with her brother’s jazz band. She wrote her first hit, All For Believing, for a school assignment, which took out Triple J’s Unearthed competition for new talent in Missy’s final year of school.
Record deals in Australia and the US followed and her acclaimed first album The Sound of White went straight to number one in 2004. She has gone on to have five number one hits and is a nine-time ARIA Award winner.
Amid the many highs, Missy also shares with Anh the low points of her life. She has battled with depression since collapsing from a panic attack as a schoolgirl and writer’s block and burnout have proved challenges in her career.
She opens up about the media scrutiny around her sexuality at a time when she herself was in doubt. She reveals the stories behind her well-known songs The Special Two and the more recent Oh Canada, a tribute to a young Syrian refugee whose death affected her deeply.
Missy lives with her husband and two young children and is relishing motherhood, and she continues to write and perform music. How will Anh portray such a warm and deep-thinking artist?
Production credits: A Screentime Production. Executive Producer Johnny Lowry.
ABC Commissioning Editor Julie Hanna.
