Fiona Apple | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fiona Apple Performing at Lincoln Center's Out of Doors series, August 8, 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (1977-09-13)September 13, 1977 (age 48) New York City, U.S. |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | fionaapplestore |
| Signature | |
 | |
Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. All five of her albums have reached the top 20 on theBillboard 200 since 1996,[1] and as of 2021, she has sold over 15 million records worldwide.[2] Apple has received numerousaccolades, including threeGrammy Awards, twoMTV Video Music Awards, and aBillboard Music Video Award. Three of her albums appear onRolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
The youngest daughter of the actorBrandon Maggart, Apple was born in New York City and was raised alternating between her mother's home in New York and her father's in Los Angeles. She studied piano as a child and began writing songs when she was eight years old. Her debut album,Tidal (1996), comprises songs written during her teens, and wonBest Female Rock Performance at the39th Annual Grammy Awards for its single "Criminal". Her second album, produced byJon Brion,When the Pawn... (1999), was met with critical acclaim, and receivedplatinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
For her third album,Extraordinary Machine (2005), Apple again collaborated with Brion and began recording the album in 2002. Apple, however, was reportedly unhappy with the production and opted not to release the record, leading fans to protestEpic Records, erroneously believing that the label was withholding its release. The album was eventually re-produced without Brion and released in October 2005. The album was certifiedgold, and nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. In 2012, she released her fourth studio album,The Idler Wheel..., which received critical praise and was followed by a tour of the United States, also receiving a nomination forBest Alternative Music Album at the55th Annual Grammy Awards. Apple's fifth studio album,Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020), won two Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Music Album andBest Rock Performance for the lead single "Shameika."
Fiona Apple was born Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart on September 13, 1977, inNew York City to singer Diane McAfee and actorBrandon Maggart, who met when both were cast in the Broadway musicalApplause.[3][4] Her father is fromTennessee, and through him, Apple hasMelungeon ancestry.[5] Her maternal grandparents were dancer Millicent Green andbig band vocalist Johnny McAfee. Her sister Amber singscabaret under the stage nameMaude Maggart, and actorGarett Maggart is her half brother. Apple grew up inMorningside Gardens inHarlem[6] with her mother and sister, but spent summers with her father in Los Angeles, California.[7]
She attended the private Episcopal schoolSt. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School[8] and laterAlexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles),[9] as well as being homeschooled. As she studied piano, she would often transcribeguitar tablature into standard notation.[7] Apple later began to play along with jazz standards, discoveringBillie Holiday andElla Fitzgerald, who became major influences.[10]
Since childhood, Apple has struggled withobsessive–compulsive disorder,depression, andanxiety, and has also been diagnosed withcomplex post-traumatic stress disorder.[11] At age twelve she was raped outside the apartment she shared with her mother, step-father, and sister in Harlem.[12] She subsequently developed aneating disorder, purposely slimming her developing body, which she saw as "bait" for potential predators.[12] "I definitely did have an eating disorder", she recalled. "What was really frustrating for me was that everyone thought I wasanorexic, and I wasn't. I was just really depressed and self-loathing."[12] She also described how her OCD developed intoavoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, requiring food to be a certain color or shape.[5][12]
After the rape, Apple began attendingModel Mugging classes, practicing self-defense,[11] but continued to sufferpanic attacks while walking home from school, which led to her relocating to Los Angeles to live with her father for one year.[5] In Los Angeles, Apple attendedAlexander Hamilton High School for her second year.[13][14]
In a 2000 interview, Apple stated that, despite speculation from journalists, she did not write songs about the trauma surrounding her rape: "It doesn't get into the writing. It's a boring pain. It's such a fuckin' old pain that, you know, there's nothingpoetic about it."[15]
Apple was introduced to the music industry in 1994, when she gave a demo tape containing the songs "Never Is a Promise", "Not One of Those Times", and "He Takes a Taxi" to her friend who was the babysitter for music publicist Kathryn Schenker.[16] Schenker then passed the tape along toSony Music executive Andy Slater.[17] Apple's abilities captured his attention, and Slater signed her to a record deal.[18][19]
In 1996, Apple's debut album,Tidal, was released byWork Records andColumbia Records.[12] The record was largely inspired by Apple's recent breakup with her first boyfriend.[12] The album sold 2.7 million copies and was certified three timesPlatinum in the U.S.[20][21] "Criminal", the third single, became a hit and the song reached theTop 40 on the U.S.Billboard Hot 100. The song's controversialMark Romanek-directed music video played onMTV.[22] Other singles fromTidal included "Shadowboxer", "Sleep to Dream", and "Never Is a Promise". Apple accepted theMTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist at the1997 MTV Video Music Awards for her song "Sleep to Dream", during her acceptance speech she said:
This world is bullshit. And you shouldn't model your life—wait a second—you shouldn't model your life about what you think that we think is cool and what we're wearing and what we're saying and everything. Go with yourself.[23]
Apple responded to criticisms of her acceptance speech inRolling Stone in January 1998, stating, "When I have something to say, I'll say it."[12] During this period, Apple alsocoveredthe Beatles' "Across the Universe" andPercy Mayfield's "Please Send Me Someone to Love" for the soundtrack of the filmPleasantville. She later canceled the last 21 dates on a tour in support of her album due to "personal family problems".[24] In 1997, Apple met directorPaul Thomas Anderson during a photoshoot, and the two began a relationship that lasted until 2002.[25][26]
Apple's second album,When the Pawn..., was released in 1999. Its full title is a poem Apple wrote after reading letters that appeared inSpin regarding an article that had cast her in a negative light in an earlier issue.[27] The title's length earned it a spot in theGuinness Book of Records for 2001. However, as of October 2007, it no longer has the longest album title, asSoulwax releasedMost of the Remixes, aremix album whose title surpassesWhen the Pawn's length by 100 characters.[28]When the Pawn was cultivated during Apple's relationship with film directorPaul Thomas Anderson.When the Pawn, which was produced byJon Brion, used more expressive lyrics, experimented more withdrum loops, and incorporated both theChamberlin anddrummer Matt Chamberlain.[29] The album received a positive reception from publications such asRolling Stone.[30] It did not fare as well commercially as her debut, though it was anRIAA-certifiedPlatinum album[20] and sold one million copies in the U.S.[21] The album's lead single, "Fast as You Can", reached the top twenty onBillboard'sModern Rock Tracks chart and became Apple's first Top 40 hit in the UK. The videos for two follow-up singles, "Paper Bag" and "Limp" (directed by then-boyfriend Anderson), received very little play.[citation needed]
In a February 2000 set hampered by equipment issues to 3,000 audience members at the New York CityRoseland Ballroom, a frustrated Apple left the stage without returning. Her performance saw Apple appearing distraught at the sound quality, apologizing numerous times for the sound and crying.[31] After completing aconcert tour in support of her second album in 2000, Apple relocated to Los Angeles,[32] where she still resides as of 2020.[11]
During her hiatus, Apple contemplated retiring from her recording career. Apple sang withJohnny Cash on a cover ofSimon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water" that ended up on his albumAmerican IV: The Man Comes Around and was nominated for aGrammy Award for "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals". She also collaborated with Cash onCat Stevens's "Father and Son", which was included in his 2003 collectionUnearthed.
Apple's third album,Extraordinary Machine, was originally produced byJon Brion. In spring 2002, Apple and Brion, her longtime friend and producer onWhen the Pawn, met for their weekly lunch meeting. Brion reportedly "begged" Apple to make another album. Apple agreed, and Brion went to Apple's label,Epic Records, with strict stipulations (including no deadline), which the label eventually agreed to. Recording sessions began in 2002, atOcean Way Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, but later moved to theParamour Mansion in Los Angeles. Work on the album continued until 2003, and in May of that year it was submitted to Sony executives. In 2004 and 2005, tracks were leaked on the Internet in MP3 format and played on U.S. and international radio. Subsequently, MP3s of the entire album went online. Although a website distributing the album was quickly shut down, it soon reachedP2P networks and was downloaded by fans.[33] A fan-led campaign supported the album's official release.
Mike Elizondo, who had previously played bass onPawn, was brought back as co-producer to complete the tracks he had begun with Brion and Apple.Spin later reported the following: "Fans erroneously thought that Apple's record label,Epic, had rejected the first version ofExtraordinary Machine... in reality, according to Elizondo, Apple was unhappy with the results, and it was her decision to redo the record, not her label's."[33] In August 2005, the album was given an October release date.[33] Production had been largely redone "from scratch" by Elizondo and was co-produced byBrian Kehew. Two of the 11 previous leaked tracks were relatively unchanged, and one new song was also included.[34] Despite suggestions that the album had caused a rift between Brion and Apple, they regularly perform together atLargo, a club in Los Angeles, including a joint appearance with Elizondo on bass just before the news broke of an official release.[35]Extraordinary Machine debuted at number seven and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Vocal Album". It was eventually certifiedGold,[20] though its singles ("Parting Gift", "O' Sailor", "Not About Love", and "Get Him Back") failed to enter anyBillboard charts.[36] Apple went on a live tour to promote the album.Beginning in the mid-2000s, Apple dated writer and television creatorJonathan Ames.[37][38][39]
In June 2006, Apple appeared on the joke track "Come Over and Get It (Up in 'Dem Guts)" by comedianZach Galifianakis. Galifianakis previously appeared in the music video for Apple's "Not About Love".[40] Apple recorded a cover of "Sally's Song" for the 2006 special edition release of the soundtrack for theTim Burton filmThe Nightmare Before Christmas. In May 2006, Apple paid tribute toElvis Costello onVH1's concert seriesDecades Rock Live!, by performing Costello's hit "I Want You". Her version was subsequently released as a digital single.[41] Apple toured the East Coast during August 2007, withNickel Creek.[42][43] In 2008, Apple recorded a duet titled "Still I" with Christophe Deluy. In 2009, Apple covered "Why Try to Change Me Now" and "I Walk A Little Faster" forThe Best Is Yet to Come – The Songs ofCy Coleman.
In January 2010, Apple and Brion performed together at "Love and Haiti, Too: A Music Benefit", a charity concert for the people hurt by theHaiti earthquake. Apple sang a cover of "(S)he's Funny That Way", composed by Neil Moret, lyrics by Richard Whiting, which is often associated with the singerBillie Holiday. In June 2010, Apple released a song titled "So Sleepy", produced by Brion and written by children involved with the non-profit organization826LA. The song was included on a compilation album released by the organization titledChickens in Love. Apple collaborated withMargaret Cho on her albumCho Dependent, which was released on August 24, 2010.[44]
In late 2010,Billboard published an article stating that Apple was planning on releasing a new album in spring 2011, with musicianMichelle Branch claiming to have heard some of the new tracks.[45] DrummerCharley Drayton also toldModern Drummer magazine that he was co-producing the record.[46] However, the album was not released in the spring andBillboard reported later that Epic was not aware of a record.[47] Apple delayed the album's release until 2012, explaining that she was waiting "until her label found a new president and that she didn't want her work to be mishandled amid corporate disarray."[48] In January 2012, after its new record label head,LA Reid hinted at new music from Apple, Epic Records announced that the album would be released later in the year.[49] Apple announced performances at theSouth by Southwest Festival anda spring 2012 tour soon after.[50]
The Idler Wheel...,[51][52] Apple's fourth studio album, was released on June 19, 2012, in the United States.[53] It became Apple's most successful album on theBillboard 200, where it peaked at number three,[54] and received critical acclaim.[55] According to an article inAmerican Songwriter, "The Idler Wheel isn't always pretty, but it pulses with life, brutal and true."[56]
While promotingThe Idler Wheel, Apple revealed in a June 2012 interview that she had briefly married an unnamed French photographer, later revealed to beLionel Deluy, "for complicated reasons" and had a passing liaison with a younger woman.[57][3] She subsequently gave an in-depth interview onMarc Maron'sWTF podcast in July, in which she described her experience withobsessive–compulsive disorder throughout her adult life.[5] She also divulged that she had recently decided to quit drinking.[5] On September 19, 2012, Apple was arrested at aninternal U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint inSierra Blanca, Texas, and charged with possession ofhashish, detaining her en route to a concert inAustin, Texas, at theHudspeth County Jail.[58][59]
Apple contributed a previously unreleased song entitled "Dull Tool" to the soundtrack of the 2012Judd Apatow filmThis Is 40.[60] Another song was recorded for the film but was not used, ending up as the track "Cosmonauts" on her 2020 albumFetch the Bolt Cutters.[61][62] In November 2012, Apple wrote a letter to her fans – a scan of which was posted to her website and her Facebook page – postponing the South American leg of her tour due to the health of her dog, Janet. According to the letter, the dog hasAddison's disease and has had a tumor "idling in her chest" for two years.[63]
In September 2013, aChipotle ad appeared online with a soundtrack of Apple covering "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 filmWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The video, which follows a scarecrow as he discovers the truth aboutfactory farming and processed food, was described as "haunted", "dystopian", "bizarre", and "beautiful".[64][65]
In 2014, Apple wrote the opening theme, "Container", for the Showtime drama seriesThe Affair.[66] During 2014, Apple also appeared at a number of performances byBlake Mills, including in New York City andCambridge, Massachusetts, during his tour in support of his second full-length album,Heigh Ho. The pair first publicly collaborated on an acoustic version of Apple's song "I Know" in 2013.[67]
Apple has collaborated withAndrew Bird, and in 2016, she was featured in the song "Left Handed Kisses" from the albumAre You Serious. In September 2017, Apple played rarities at the Ohana Festival inDana Point, California.[68] Also in 2017, she released "Tiny Hands" for theWomen's March on Washington.[69] In 2018, she joinedShirley Manson at the female-driven Girl School Festival in Los Angeles for a cover of "You Don't Own Me" byLesley Gore, wearing a white T-shirt with "KNEEL, PORTNOW" written across it in ink. This was considered in response to Grammy headNeil Portnow's heavily criticized comments that women need to "step up" to earn more Grammy nods.[70]
In January 2019, Apple collaborated withKing Princess on a version of her 1999 song "I Know". The song was released forSpotify's RISE program on January 25.[71] Apple was featured in the documentary andsoundtrack forEcho in the Canyon withJakob Dylan covering songs by artists such asthe Beach Boys andthe Byrds.[72] In November, she covered "Whole of the Moon," aWaterboys song, for the series finale ofShowtime'sThe Affair.[73][74]
In twoInstagram posts in March 2019, Apple hinted at the recording of a fifth album.[75] In a September 2019 interview withVulture, she confirmed that the album was in its final stages, recorded with a band and planned for an early 2020 release.[25] In a follow-up interview withVulture in January 2020, she said her new album would likely be out "in a few months."[76] On March 8, 2020, Apple posted a video of herselffingerspelling the phrase "M-Y-R-E-C-O-R-D-I-S-D-O-N-E".[11] In an interview withThe New Yorker, it was announced that the album was to be titledFetch the Bolt Cutters.[11] The album, which consists of 13 self-produced tracks, was released digitally on April 17, 2020.[77] The album was met with widespread acclaim by music critics.[78] At the63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the album wonBest Alternative Music Album and the lead single "Shameika" wonBest Rock Performance.[79]
On June 17, 2020, Apple was confirmed as an additional musician featuring onBob Dylan's 39th albumRough and Rowdy Ways,[80] playing piano on the track "Murder Most Foul". On April 15, 2021, Apple coveredSharon Van Etten's "Love More", from the 10th anniversary of Van Etten's second album,Epic.[81] In December, she was featured on a cover of the Christmas classic "Silent Night" released byPhoebe Bridgers alongside her Christmas EPIf We Make It Through December.[82] Apple joined withBear McCreary to perform his composition "Where the Shadows Lie", the end credits theme for "Alloyed", the final episode of the first season ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The song features Apple singing theRing Verse, part of which is inscribed upon theOne Ring inBlack Speech.[83]
In March 2025, she featured onThe Waterboys' single, "Letter from an Unknown Girlfriend" from their albumLife, Death and Dennis Hopper.[84] On April 25, 2025, Apple coveredNeil Young's "Heart of Gold" as part of the tribute albumHeart Of Gold: The Songs Of Neil Young Volume I.[85] On May 7, 2025, the singer released "Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)", aprotest song against the impact ofcash bail upon working-class families which was inspired by her time as a volunteer court watcher.[86]
Apple's music has been labeled asart pop,[87][88][89]baroque pop,[90]chamber pop,[91]art rock,[92]alternative rock,[93] andjazz pop.[94][95] According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic, "[Apple's] roots lay injazz,show tunes, and classic '70s singer/songwriters, [a] blend that came into sharper focus on her second album,When the Pawn."[96]
On June 30, 2019, Apple pledged to donate two years' worth of earnings from TV and movie placements of her song "Criminal" to the While They Wait fund, which assists refugees with basic necessities, immigration fees and legal services.[97] In 2020, While They Wait'sScott Hechinger revealed toVulture that Apple had donated $90,000, which would help 15 families.[76] Since 2021, Apple has been a volunteer court watcher for Courtwatch PG.[98][99] In June 2020, Apple pledged to donate two years' worth of earnings from TV and movie placements of her song "Shameika" to theHarlem Children's Zone.[100]
Apple's debut album earned her aGrammy Award forBest Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Criminal" and theMTV Video Music Award forBest New Artist in a Video for "Sleep to Dream". ForWhen the Pawn..., Apple won the California Music Award for Outstanding Female Vocalist. ForExtraordinary Machine, she won an Esky Music Award for Best Songbird.Fetch the Bolt Cutters won a Grammy Award forBest Alternative Music Album and the song "Shameika" won a Grammy Award forBest Rock Performance.
Apple's robust contralto, though sometimes heavy on vibrato, gave her line readings a pleasingly sinister feel.
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist 1997 | Succeeded by |
