Where She Stands Now: Missy Higgins

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LAST TIME MISSY HIGGINS walked out on D.C. stage, the room wasn't even half full.

Of course, the main event for the evening was Ben Folds, not Higgins, so she was performing early, facing the cavernous confines of D.A.R. Constitution Hall for a few brave early-comers.

Back home in Australia, however, Higgins is a superstar who consistently sells out shows, releases multi-platinum records and co-stars in the upcoming feature film "Brand New Dae" with Geoffrey Rush. Still, Higgins wasn't bitter about the way things flushed out last time on this side of the equator.

"When you're a supporting, there's no pressure, people have little expectations when you're the opening band," said Higgins. "American audiences are really accepting, and seem really grateful that you're playing for them. I feel very accepted and it allows me to explore myself and my music better."

Five months after that D.A.R. concert, Higgins headlines the 9:30 Club on March 2 and Ram's Head Live on March 3.

Australia's best-kept secret has numerous selling points that should put her over in the U.S.: She plays her own instruments, has the cheeky "girl next door" cuteness factor, and a stunning accented voice that functions as auditory catnip for the American ear. Plus, Higgins possesses the rare gift of being able to write an honest pop song.

Higgins started exploring that gift at a young age. She started writing songs as a teenager, and she was discovered after her sister submitted a rough recording of "All for Believing" to a nationwide competition. Higgins ended up winning, despite including a less than perfect lyrical metaphor.

"The line goes, 'I'm all for believing if you can reveal / Your true colors within,'" Higgins said. "I cringe every time I have to sing that line live. In my defense though, I was 15."

Cringe-worthy or not, Higgins was signed to Eleven Music as a result of the competition, but decided to spend a year backpacking before releasing her first EP in 2003, which was followed by the chart-topping album "Sound of White" in 2004.

"The 'Sound of White' was written while I was a teenager," Higgins said. "There was a lot of self-doubt, overwhelming questions about purpose and direction in my life. I feel like I've got a more expanded view of the world and a firmer grip on my own world, but I haven't stopped questioning everything. I don't want to stop. It's just become less painful."

During the past five years Higgins' confidence has grown along with her popularity, which means she's playing concerts frequently, and her current album, "On a Clear Night," was written largely tour.

"It's been almost five years now so I've become pretty well-adjusted," Higgins said. "I've had the luxury of touring through the U.S., which has been pretty humbling because I have to start from scratch. It's never let me get enveloped by my success, I've always been pushed to improve, and it's something that's good for the soul."

But even with the increased visibility in Australia, Higgins has tried to stay true to art while keeping a sense of privacy.

"I've always tried to be very honest in my songs without naming any names," Higgins said . "That's the beauty of metaphors. I can pour my heart out on the stage and still feel like I'm hiding behind a wall of anonymity. I don't want to give too much of myself away."

That balance between revelation and mystery is something that Higgins has wrestled with throughout her lyrics, especially when it comes to her bisexuality and a repressed love, as on "Secret."

"I was trying to work [out the topic] in my own head, before I did it with journalists," Higgins said. "What I finally realized was that it was OK to talk about it if you're not sure about it, and that there are a hell of a lot of people in the same position. I built it up to be such a big deal, but its not. It's not what defines me, sexuality doesn't. Nothing defines me."

While Higgins has come to grips with that part of her life, and the influence she can have on struggling LGBT teens, she had no judgment for how a certain Cherry ChapStick-loving musician has chosen to explore that part of her life.

"I don't know much about [Katy Perry]," Higgins said. "I don't think we can really understand the motivations behind the song. ... Maybe she was just trying to write about something that happened to her, and the record company felt like they could use that. It's talking about it though, and maybe the more voices we have talking about it, the better."

But sexuality isn't the only social issue that Higgins has wrestled with in a public forum. The 25-year-old was named one of Billboard's Top 10 Green Artists in 2007 because she uses a bio-diesel tour bus and fights against industrialization along Australia's west coast. But Higgins' social consciousness is a small part of what keeps people coming back to her songs.

Back at D.A.R., Higgins belted out a soaring rendition of her heart-breaking piano-ballad single "Where I Stood." The tune has been roaming through the Top 20 on VH1 lately, but it was largely unknown to American audiences back then. But after Higgins' performance, she showed up at her merchandise table and discovered a long line of fans.

When Higgins walked out in D.C. she may have seen empty seats, but she left the city in a traffic jam.

» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; Mon., March 2, 7 p.m., $25; 202-393-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express Nathan Martin

Photo by Peter Brew