  Fiona Apple (Maggart) was born
September 13, 1977 in New York. By the time
Fiona turned 20, she had a critical and
commercially successful debut LP, and had
been portrayed as everything from a
victimized and tormented singer to a
ungrateful, aloof musical artist. Although
Fiona's willingness to speak her mind in
public or through her music has turned heads
away, she has allowed it to maintain her
credibility. With parents in the
entertainment field (her mom is a singer, and
her father is an actor), Fiona started
playing the piano when she was 8 years old
and writing songs in her early teens. Her
teen years also included an incident when
Fiona was raped. Fiona was also in therapy by
age 10 for behavior that was considered
antisocial: "Basically, I was young and
I wasn't running around with a yo-yo and a
jump rope all the time, so people thought
there was something wrong with me. I refused
to go to school for weeks straight 'cause
everyone was calling me "dog of the
school," crazy, weird, stupid. When I
switched to an alternative school, my
principal thought that I was emotionally
disturbed. Which I am." (Spin
magazine) When Fiona was 16, she decided to
move to Los Angeles where her father lived
and ended up finishing her entire senior year
of high school in 2 months with home study.
She also made a demo consisting of 3 of her
songs and 78 copies of the demo for
distribution. But when Fiona returned home to
New York for the holidays, 1 tape made it to
the right person, Andy Slater. Slater is now
Fiona's manager and producer, and Fiona is
left with 77 demo tapes no longer needing
distribution.
Fiona signed with Sony Music
after she headed out to Los Angeles at the
age of 16 to pursue her music and then
returning to New York.
 Fiona's debut LP, Tidal, was a success with
critics who compared her with Liz
Phair, Alanis
Morissette, P.J. Harvey, Tori Amos, and other notable
female singers with angst in their lyrics and
pain in their vocals. With the track "Shadow Boxer" getting play on
radio and video channels, Fiona's music
became more widespread.
Tidal was certified gold.
 # 53
Singles Artist of the Year
Fiona's touring and other sultry
live appearances made her an even bigger
musical force as she participated in the
successful Lilith Fair tour, toured with The
Wallflowers, and had her first Top 10 pop
hit with "Criminal."
Tidal was certified
platinum.
 Fiona won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best New Artist ("Sleep To
Dream"). Fiona was most remembered for
her acceptance speech: " "This
world is bulls---, and you shouldn't model
your life about what you think that you think
we think is cool, and what we're wearing, and
what we're saying and everything. Go with
yourself." The speech and intensity of
her appearance had Fiona explaining her
thoughts throughout the end of the year.
In a Rolling
Stone magazine interview at the end
of the year, Fiona reflected on her MTV
speech:"I just had something on my mind
and I just said it... and that's really the
foreshadowing of my entire career and my
entire life. When I have something to say,
I'll say it."
Fiona hit the Top 40 with "Criminal."
Tidal was certified 2x
platinum.
 In Spin magazine, Fiona
stated: "It's psychologically and
chemically impossible for me to be happy, I
know I'm going to die young."
Fiona helped out People For The
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for the
impending, annual Thanksgiving turkey feast.
A recorded message on PETA's phone line had
Apple stating her opposition to the
slaughtering of turkeys for Thanksgiving. The
message also singled out Butterball with a
request to call the company and complain
about their phone message which gives ideas
on cooking their turkeys. As Apple stated on
the message, "...millions of people are
learning that a vegetarian diet is the
healthy choice for themselves, the earth, and
the animals."
Fiona finished the year on the
cover of Rolling
Stone magazine when she was named
Artist of the Year. Fiona also won a
Billboard Music Video Award for Best New
Artist Clip (Pop/Rock). Fiona hit the Top
10
with "Criminal."
Readers of Rolling
Stone named "Criminal" Best Single of
the Year and Fiona the Best Female Performer
of the Year.
 # 81
Singles Artist of the Year
Fiona won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("Criminal") and was
nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rock Song ("Criminal").
Fiona hit the Top 40 with "Never
Is A Promise."
Fiona canceled the remaining
tour dates due to "personal family
problems."
Fiona hit the Top 40 with "Shadow Boxer."
The video for "Criminal" won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Cinematography (Harris Svides) and
was also nominated for Best Female Video.
 New Fiona tracks could be heard
on the soundtrack to Pleasantville with her versions of
the Beatles' "Across The
Universe" and "Please Send Me
Someone To Love."
 # 113
Singles Artist of the Year
Tidal was certified 3x
platinum.
 November 9: Fiona released her
sophomore LP: When
the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a
King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He
Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole
Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No
Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might
So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand
and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of
Heights And if You Know Where You Stand, Then
You Know Where to Land And if You Fall It
Won't Matter, 'Cuz You'll Know That You're
Right with the Top 40 single "Fast
As You Can." Apple said that the
title of the LP is from a poem she penned:
"I knew I didn't want to make it into a
song, but I needed to write something for
myself to remind me that everybody who was
making fun of me wasn't right..."
When
the Pawn... topped the Billboard
Internet Album Sales chart for a week.
When
the Pawn... was certified gold.
MTV: 100
Greatest Videos Ever Made includes
"Criminal" at # 79.
Fiona was listed on the infamous
yearly "Worst Dressed Women" list.
She was nominated for 3
California Music Awards including Outstanding
Album.
Fiona stopped her New York
performance in New York because of technical
problems. After performing for 40 minutes,
Apple left the stage and it was later
announced that the show would not proceed.
Fiona won a California Music
Award for Outstanding Female Vocalist.
Fiona was nominated for a
Billboard Music Video Award for Best Pop Clip
of the Year ("Fast
As You Can").
Fiona was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best Rock Vocal
Performance - Female ("Paper Bag") and Best Alternative Music
Performance (When
the Pawn...).
VH1: 100
Greatest Videos includes:
# 63
- "Criminal."
Fiona ranked #
84 on VH1: 100
Sexiest Artists.
Fiona was
nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country
Collaboration with Vocals ("Bridge Over
Troubled Water" with Johnny
Cash from his LP, American
IV: The Man Comes Around).
# 495 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart.
 Fiona performed on ReAct
Now: Music & Relief - a benefit
program shown on music video channels to
raise money for those affected by Hurricane
Katrina.
As Fiona's
third LP sat on the shelves of Sony Records
since 2002, various "Free Fiona"
protests developed on the streets in front of
Sony Record's New York office and on the
Internet. The revised LP, Extraordinary
Machine, was finally released on
October 4th.
Extraordinary
Machine was certified gold.
Fiona was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album (Extraordinary
Machine).
VH1: 100
Greatest Songs of the 90's included "Criminal" at # 55.
Entertainment Weekly:
100 Best Albums of the Last 25 Years included Tidal at # 20.
Rolling Stone:
'100 Best Albums of the Decade (2000-2009)' included Extraordinary
Machine at # 49.
 Fiona released her long-awaited
next LP The
Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The
Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More
Than Ropes Will Ever Do.
Fiona topped the Billboard Rock
Albums chart and Alternative Albums chart
with The
Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The
Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More
Than Ropes Will Ever Do.
Fiona was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album (The
Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The
Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More
Than Ropes Will Ever Do).
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound
samples). |
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