It’s been 15 years since Missy Higgins’ The Sound Of White: an album that debuted at #1, sold more than 10x platinum, and was the highest selling album in 2005.
Sharing a live version of ‘Any Day Now’ from her debut album, Missy Higgins took to Facebook today with heartfelt message about the anniversary.
“I cannot believe it but it has been fifteen years since I released ‘The Sound of White’! Then again, it feels like another lifetime ago that I wrote and recorded those songs, the first of which I wrote when I was fifteen years old myself,” said Missy.
“So, on this special day, I wanted to write and tell you what you all mean to me. It’s been a gigantic personal journey for me over the last fifteen years. I’ve made so many mistakes, I’ve broken apart along every seam, been put back together by the things I least expected.
“I’ve felt connections with audiences so strongly that my entire body felt electrified and boundary-less and I’ve wanted to cry from happiness. I’ve ridden the wave of what it feels like to be in your twenties and learning un-pretty things about yourself every day, I’ve taken risks, I’ve been careful, I’ve crawled away from the light and come running back to it.”
Released on the 6th of September, 2004, The Sound of White featured hits ‘Scar’, ‘Ten Days’, and ‘The Special Two’. The album was received so well it spent every week from its 2004 release in the charts and became one of the most popular releases in Australian history. To this day, it still is.
While there are a lot of women from the early to mid-2000s who played a part in influencing and inspiring the upcoming generations of musicians, Missy Higgins was without a doubt leading the charge in Australia, singing real truths through clever metaphors and paving the way for artists to come.
Triple j’s Declan Byrne goes into this a little bit over here, listing Amy Shark, Odette, Gordi, Gretta Ray, and Alice Skye as just some of the Australian women inspired by Missy.
Missy Higgins’ hits continue to resonate with young Australians today. Dear Seattle took on her track ‘The Special Two’ for Like a Version just a couple of months ago.
In our Love Letter To A Record segment, Sammi Constantine cites The Sound of White as her first introduction to metaphorical songwriting.
“My two favourite lines from her record ‘Special Two’ is and always will be “I remember someone old once said to me…. that lies will lock you up, with truth the only key” and “so it is better to tell and hurt or lie to save their face, I guess the answer is don’t do it in the first place,” said Constantine.
Missy Higgins came up through triple j Unearthed, winning the competition for ‘All For Believing’ in 2002.
Read her post in full below, alongside a clip from Her Sound, Her Story in which Higgins discusses her experience as a woman in the music industry. Catch her on tour at various in the coming months. Head here for dates.
MISSY HIGGINS from Her Sound, Her Story on Vimeo.
