By Lisa DiCarlucci

Terminal 5 in New York City housed an Australian import last Friday as singer/songwriter Missy Higgins performed to a full house. Though her sound is mellow, her music certainly does not lack passion as Higgins serenaded the crowd about love, life and death in a tone that was undeniably real.

The crowd at Terminal 5 was clearly mixed in terms of age and style, but enthusiastic none the less. For Higgins, who is not exactly a huge celebrity, to have all three levels of the venue crowded with fans was impressive. For someone who has never heard Higgins’ music before, she is easily likened to Sara Bareilles, Rachael Yamagata, and Ingrid Michaelson. In all honesty, Higgins seems pretty typical upon first listen. Not for a lack of talent, she is just very similar to many others. It’s something like the Britney/Christina/Jessica phenomenon of the early 90’s except these women are actually talented in their own right.

Upon further listening however, what makes Higgins really shine is her vocal tone. Many foreigners seem to mysteriously lose their accent when they sing, but she maintains her Australian tongue which is completely charming and soothing. It adds a richness and personality to her music which only enhances her deeply personal and unique lyrics.

Higgins’ words are passionate and that is apparent as she puts her whole body into the notes on her keyboard. Her voice is emotional and runs through the range of emotions she expresses.

Higgins’ songs go beyond the toils of romance and a hard-knock life as she even sings a haunting piece about the loss of a cousin to whom she was extremely close. The song deals with the heartache of feeling as though someone is still around. The lyrics of reality versus the mind pulled at heart strings with fervor.

In lighter moments of the performance, Higgins seemed extremely genuine and humbled. At one point she began to play a song in a completely wrong key and handled it with humor and grace. It takes a real down-to-earth performer to make light of their mistakes and use it as a moment to show their humanity rather than their bruised celebrity ego.

For the most part, Higgins’ gave an enjoyable performance which resonated with real personal emotions.  While a nice cafe with comfortable couches would have been preferred to the standing room only venue, Higgins’ melodic performance seemed worth standing for. She is clearly one to watch and is scheduled to tour with Jason Mraz in the near future.