Missy Higgins is hoping what happened in Australia doesn’t stay down under.
In her own country, the singer-songwriter is a household name. Her albums sell by the truckload, and she regularly tops the chart and sells out wherever she performs.
Now she’s about to find out if the same magic works in the U.S.
In her attempt to go global, Higgins relocated from Melbourne to L.A. to record her sophomore effort with veteran producer Mitchell Froom. The result, titled “On a Clear Night,” was released last week.
Higgins sings vibrant, personal ballads and rockers. The song “Where I Stood” has received airplay on TV’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” “One Tree Hill” and “Smallville.”
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Higgins talked recently before heading out on a tour that brings her to Chicago on Thursday.
You really made it big at home.
The whole thing was a blur. One minute I was just some opening act nobody had ever heard of, and the next minute I was playing to 20,000 people in (Sydney’s) Centennial Park. It was pretty overwhelming.
How’s life in L.A.?
It’s everything they say — totally anonymous, intimidating, hard to get your head around. The people are unlike anywhere else because the industry plays such a big part of their lives. People in L.A. are wrapped up in the lives of stars, whether they know them or not. After living here for a while, you kind of forget that there are more important things going on. I’m giving it a year.
The Australian press made it a big deal when you appeared on the cover of a lesbian magazine.
They got very excited and wanted to ask me personal questions about my private life, which put me in a weird place. Songwriters get into writing songs in the first place because they need a way to express themselves because they have trouble doing it the way everyone else does. Then I’m suddenly being asked to explain myself.
They think the public is fascinated by the personal lives of famous people.
It’s hard to live with the fact that people want to talk about your personal life and want to get into sexuality and that sort of thing. I’m not comfortable talking about my personal life. It’s really none of their business. The songs divulge everything I’m prepared to divulge.
Missy Higgins
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave.