The world became conscious of New York singer Fiona Apple when she appeared at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. Then the star was only 20 years old. She went on stage in an elegant knitted dress and said her legendary phrase that perfectly describes her as a creative personality, “I’m not going to do this like everyone else does it.” At the award ceremony, Fiona prompted everyone to be themselves and not try to follow the path of others. After that, she was called a scandalous singer. But most importantly, she’s honest with herself and the public, showing by example that there is nothing to be afraid of. Learn more on newyorka.
Life path of the singer
Fiona Apple was born on September 13, 1977, in New York City. The girl grew up in a creative family. Her parents, singer Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart met at a Broadway musical. At the time of Fiona’s birth, they were not legally married. When the daughter was four, the couple broke up. The future star, her older sister and her mother stayed in New York City. The children grew up and studied there together.
At school, Fiona was misunderstood by her peers and often bullied. She had an unusual appearance and was constantly alone with her thoughts. At the age of 11, she was even sent for a psychiatric evaluation. Though, this was not the only problem in the schoolgirl’s life because when she was 12, a terrible incident happened to her. She was raped in the entrance of the house where she lived with her family. This led to panic attacks, night terrors and an eating disorder.
Fiona Apple wrote her first songs at the age of 15. She suggested recording them for a successful producer, Andrew Slater, after which she reached the heights of her career. The star also played the piano from an early age, although she had no plans to become a musician.
The singer does not like to talk much about her personal life. Media was only known for her romance with Hollywood director Paul Thomas Anderson early in his career.
Features of Fiona Apple’s work
At the age of 16, Fiona Apple went to visit her father in Los Angeles, where she recorded 3 songs. She also got acquainted with rock singer Lenny Kravitz who later became her close friend.
The star’s debut album was released in 1996. It had quite depressing motives, as Fiona’s songs told her tragic story of sexual abuse. Tidal defined the music of the ’90s and Fiona Apple won Best New Artist right after the release of this album.
In 1997, a very frank and shocking music video was released for Apple’s song “Criminal”. There, a 20-year-old skinny girl took a bath with boys and girls, wriggled on the floor and kitchen table, singing about her sins and the need for protection. At the time, all New York reporters were writing that the image of Fiona Apple became the embodiment of the heroin chic style.
The leading themes in Fiona’s work are sex, sometimes the hard life of girls and women who had to experience violence, guilt and suffering.
Fiona Apple devotes a lot of time to charity. She donated her proceeds for two years from the appearance of her song “Criminal” on television to the While They Wait fund, which helps refugees in New York. In total, the singer gave $90,000 to help 15 families.
Although the outstanding singer and pianist doesn’t like publicity at all, she has remained a real style icon for many years. In her music videos, she is not afraid to experiment with frank and outrageous outfits. Her everyday wardrobe and looks at mass events are a model of minimalism. Fiona Apple is admired by teens and young adults because she demonstrates a perfect understanding of their problems in her work, singing about self-doubt, how others can break us and the importance of being yourself despite everything.