Inside a cosy cottage tucked away in the foliage-filled outskirts of Melbourne, Missy Higgins lets out a quiet sob.
The celebrated artist has spent the morning wrangling her two children, Luna, six, and Samuel, nine, through the school gates before settling into the makeup chair on the set of her marie claire cover shoot.
It is here – between a final coat of mascara and a thick cloud of hairspray – that the news breaks, bringing the crew and surrounding set to an abrupt standstill: Higgins’ long-awaited album, The Second Act, has hit the number one spot in the Australian charts, 20 years to the day since her debut album, The Sound of White, reached the same milestone.
She’s fresh off the back of a sold-out national tour (which, due to popular demand, will return later this year with an encore performance) and has an upcoming induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame (on November 20), and the news about her fifth studio album is met with a cheer from Higgins’ team, each of whom understand the deep personal reckoning that came with putting it out in the world.
“It’s written from right in the middle of all the mud. From the depths of the messiness of figuring out where to take your life after it’s been completely flipped upside down,” explains Higgins of The Second Act, which lyrically unpacks the breakdown of her six-year marriage to her children’s father, comedian Dan Lee.
After a short pause for celebration, a makeup artist begins masking any evidence of the fleeting emotional release, and Higgins wriggles into a crisp white Prada dress and hunting boots. The show that is Higgins’ life must go on. The second act has already commenced.
It’s been two decades since Missy Higgins (born Melissa Higgins) first stepped onto the scene as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, after being discovered by Triple J’s Unearthed competition in 2001.
With the support of a record label and a growing fan base, Higgins quickly went on to release her first album, The Sound of White, in 2004. From the bouncing ballad of “Scar” to the emotional tug of “The Special Two” and the gut-punching piano chords of “All For Believing”, the album not only soundtracked many of our first loves and heartbreaks, but it cemented itself as one of the great Australian records – being certified platinum 12 times over.
Now, after several global tours, five studio albums, a marriage, two children, a divorce and a defiant return, Higgins is ready for a fresh chapter. And her fans, many of whom have been on the journey with her from the beginning and have shared similar experiences, are here for it.
“There’s a real reckoning happening inside me,” she says. “The story I had planned out for myself isn’t going to plan. So, how do I rebuild my identity now, after somebody didn’t fulfill the thing that I thought was going to make me a successful human being?
“I also think it coincided with turning 40 [in August last year], which is a time when women go through a massive shift in identity. At 40, you’re finally becoming more comfortable and giving less shits about what you look like and what other people think of you. You don’t expect to start again.”
Pick up a copy of the November issue, on sale Thursday 17th October to read the full story including what life and dating looks like now and reflecting on the intense public scrutiny around her sexuality earlier.
