Life as a hall of famer begins at 40 for Missy Higgins
It’s fitting that Missy Higgins has become the youngest solo artist to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, as the acclaimed musician continues to pulse with youthful vitality.
It’s fitting that Missy Higgins has become the youngest solo artist to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, as the acclaimed musician continues to pulse with youthful vitality.
“I keep having to pinch myself that I’m actually at this point in my career, because I still feel 25,” Higgins, 40, told The Australian with a laugh.
“I still feel very much at the beginning of my career, and that I’ve got a lot more to make.”
The Melbourne-born artist’s upcoming induction was announced on Thursday, and will take place during the annual ARIA Awards ceremony, to be held on November 20 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion.
Australian Recording Industry Association chief executive Annabelle Herd said: “The ARIA Hall of Fame is all about celebrating legendary music talent who leave a unique mark, inspiring not only the industry but Australia and the world. Missy is the absolute epitome of this.”
The accolade elevates Higgins into elite company shared by the nation’s most popular and influential musicians. Among solo artists, she joins the likes of John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue, Paul Kelly and Nick Cave. Bands entered into the Hall of Fame include AC/DC, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Yothu Yindi, Crowded House and The Wiggles.
Higgins’ inclusion continues a change of approach to ARIA’s highest honour that began last year with Melbourne band Jet – or perhaps as far back as 2015 and 2018, the years when Tina Arena and Kasey Chambers were inducted at 47 and 42, respectively. Rather than waiting until major artists’ twilight years, why not champion their achievements while they continue to work and create?
Higgins has had an action-packed 2024: last weekend in Darwin with her band, the singer-songwriter completed a run of 40 sold-out shows to about 80,000 people, in what has been one of the year’s most popular tours. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of her multi-platinum, chart-topping debut The Sound of White, whose lead single Scar this masthead recently named one of the 60 best Australian songs of the past 60 years, as part of this newspaper’s 60th birthday celebrations.
“It’s pretty cool to realise that, at this point in my career, so many people still want to come to my shows; that people still want to hear my new music,” she said. "They still think of The Sound of White as a very important album to them, and they still feel a special attachment to those songs.”
Far from being a pure nostalgia trip, the national tour was designed as a bridge between her past and present, as September 6 will mark the release of her sixth album, The Second Act.
“I feel like this album is my best yet; it's definitely my best songwriting yet,” said Higgins. “When I first started out, I didn't really have any ambition other than to keep surprising myself, and keep making albums that I felt were better than the last. I feel like I've achieved that so far, so I hope that I stay inspired, and I keep writing songs that inspire and surprise me.”
On Wednesday, a one-off encore performance of her Sound of White tour was announced as part of Victoria’s Always Live music program: on December 6 at Melbourne’s Myer Music Bowl, she will join Dan Sultan and Mia Wray at an outdoor event.
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