Missy Higgins shared a graphic tribute to her mother Margaret as she was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2024 ARIA Awards on Wednesday.
The 41-year-old thanked her family for their support over the years as she was impressed by her mother’s guidance when she took to the stage.
“The love of my fierce mama bear mother who stood up for me from the first day I stepped into the industry,” the singer said.
“It is common knowledge to this day that you have no quarrel with Marg Higgins,” she added as the crowd erupted in laughter.
She also called for Australian artists to be given a better chance at success in the music industry.
“The young singer-songwriter just starting out isn’t going to be as lucky as I was,” she said, recalling her rise to fame.
Missy Higgins shared a graphic tribute to her mother Margaret as she was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 2024 ARIA Awards on Wednesday
‘We must continue to demand local content here. We can’t lose Australian stories: we lose that, we lose who we are.’
Missy also won Best Australian Live Act at the awards ceremony.
Her induction into the Hall of Fame comes after Missy recently opened up about the shocking demands made by her record label during the height of her career.
The Australian singer-songwriter revealed that the American label – which she did not name – wanted her to “look more beautiful” by wearing feminine clothing.
Speaking on Abbie Chatfield’s It’s A Lot podcast in September, Missy recalled how her managers wanted her to “sex it” and “have more sex appeal” by forcing her to wear a dress for her 2007 music video Where I Stood – her first American single.
‘It just got really dirty. Like they didn’t see me for who I was,” she told Abbie.
‘They tried to make me into some kind of little pop star, I think. I don’t know, it just didn’t feel authentic.”
“I had to reshoot my movie segment for Where I Stood, and they wanted me to look prettier and they wanted me to wear a dress,” Missy added. ‘I was convinced I wanted to wear shorts.
The 41-year-old thanked her family for their support over the years as she was overwhelmed by her mother’s guidance when she took the stage
‘From the top of the label came the message: “No, she’s wearing a dress. She definitely shouldn’t be wearing shorts.”
Missy said she was “furious” at the time.
“All day I felt like a triangle trying to squeeze through a circle,” she sang, referring to the lyrics of her hit Scar.
She also recently opened up about the pressure she felt to keep her same-sex relationship a secret amid her growing popularity.
The Sound Of White hitmaker appeared on ABC’s Australian Story and revealed how she had a ‘secret’ relationship with her tour manager Emma Goodland early in her career.
“At first, people were very interested in my love life, very interested in my sexuality, who I was dating and what gender I was dating,” Missy revealed.
‘And I found that very difficult at the time, because I was still figuring it out, but I was also a very individual person.’
Emma, who also appeared in the episode, said it was a “tough time” for the star, trying to keep the relationship out of the public eye.
“It’s common knowledge to this day that you don’t fuck Marg Higgins,” she added as the crowd erupted in laughter
“Newsflash. I was that person,” Emma said, confirming the relationship.
‘We went outside. Missy and I dated and had a great relationship. We had a really nice time,” she added.
Missy, who revealed her relationship with Emma ended during the recording of her second album On A Clear Night, added that she was surprised at how much easier it was for young people to express their sexuality these days.
“Kids coming up today are so comfortable saying, ‘I’m fluid in every way: gender fluid, sexuality fluid.’ If I started at that age now, I think I would be the same: no labels,” she said.
‘But I came into the industry at a time when it was still very taboo. It all felt quite terrifying, and I didn’t feel like I could be myself, and all I wanted was to just relax somewhere and not be noticed.’
The singer, who topped the charts in 2004 with her hit Scar, first sparked the wagging about her sexuality when she told Rolling Stone magazine in 2005 that “everyone is a little bit bisexual.”
Missy appeared on Anh’s Brush With Fame in 2021 and said she was pressured to define herself as gay, while at the time she wasn’t sure how to define her own sexuality.
“Everyone was speculating about my sexuality, which was so personal and something I struggled with,” she said at the time.
She also called for Australian artists to be given a better chance at success in the music industry
“All the journalists were trying to get an answer from me, they all wanted me to say I’m gay and be loud and proud.”
Missy said the constant pressure caused her to “shut down” and eventually withdraw from the spotlight.
She said: ‘Every time I did an interview I was in shutdown mode because they were investigating and trying to get me to make a mistake. I’m trying to get me to say a pronoun, you know? I would say, how do I describe what this song is about without saying ‘they?’
“It was so traumatic in a way. That became my personality: closing off in that way meant that I could no longer express myself, because that would make me far too vulnerable.