Fiona Apple (born Fiona Apple Maggart on September 13, 1977) is a New York City-born singer-songwriter.

Apple is the daughter of singer Diane McAfee and actor Brandon Maggart . As a child, there was concern she had anti-social tendencies and she underwent psychotherapy. At the age of 12 she was the victim of a sexual assault. She attended high school in Los Angeles where she recorded a demo tape. The tape found its way to a record executive through his babysitter, a friend of Apple's. Her 1996 (see 1996 in music) debut album Tidal with its hit song "Criminal" was released to huge popularity and critical acclaim. It eventually went on to sell millions of copies. It was accompanied by a music video for "Criminal." In it Apple, who at the time was quite thin, appeared in various states of undress and appeared in her underwear. Other singles released included "Sleep to Dream," "Shadowboxer" and "Never is a Promise." Musically "Tidal" was fleshed out with orchestras and piano/vocal solos, bringing focus to Apple's throaty alto singing voice.

Apple's public persona began to garner some controversy. In particular, while accepting an MTV music video award for Best New Artist Video of 1997 ("Sleep To Dream"), she appealed to her audience not to be enamoured of celebrity culture. Referring to the MTV/Music Industry she proclaimed "this world is bullshit" and quoted Maya Angelou: "Go with yourself." Though her comments were generally greeted with cheers and applause at the awards ceremony, some considered her remarks hypocritical, seeing a contradiction between her appearance in a risque music video in only her underwear and her telling young women to ignore celebrity culture. However she was unapologetic: "When I have something to say, I'll say it."

Fiona is also a vegan and supporter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). In 1997, Apple recorded a message on PETA's hotline expressing her concern for the plight of turkeys on Thanksgiving. In reference to a Butterball Turkey hotline people could call to get tips on cooking their turkeys, she claimed, "There's no proper way to kill and cook these beautiful birds." She continued, "Millions of people are learning that a vegetarian diet is the healthy choice for themselves, the Earth and the animals."

During a relationship with film director Paul Thomas Anderson Apple wrote and recorded her 1999 second album, 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 (commonly shortened to When the Pawn).

Some press immediately dismissed the album. The initial review in Spin Magazine simply quoted the title, and then underneath read "Whoops. Now we don't have room for a review. One star." The album used more expressive lyrics and experimented more with drum loops and heavily incorporated clavichord and organ. However, it did not commercially fare as well as her debut, though it was an RIAA-certified Platinum selling release in the United States. Several singles were released ("Fast as You Can," "Paper Bag" and "Limp"), but the videos received very little airplay. The album's lyrics were also often difficult to decipher due to Apple's usage of archaic and intellectual words in place of layman's terms, for example: "My derring-do allows me to dance the rigadoon around you. But by the time I'm close to you I lose my desideratum [..]" Fans of Apple, however, consider her esoteric turn-of-phrase as part of her appeal. Many critics eventually heralded the material as a musical achievement, but the difficult lyrics, the lengthy title, and the controversy surrounding her public appearances made her material inaccessible for many.

Apple's third album, entitled Extraordinary Machine was completed in 2002. Originally set for release in September 2003, the album is currently being held from release by Sony Music as they say it doesn't have a marketable single. Despite this, all of the album's tracks, which include "Extraordinary Machine", "A Better Version of Me", "Not About Love", "Used To Love Him", "Get Him Back", "Red Red Red", "Oh Well", "Oh Sailor", "Waltz", "Window", and "Please Please Please" have been leaked onto the Internet and have been played on US radio.

In response to the label's reluctance to release the album, fans started a website called Free Fiona with the idea of sending "apple-related" items to the head of Apple's label, Epic, in January 2005, with notes insisting that the record be released. The mailings were accompanied by a small protest outside Epic's headquarters in New York City on January 28, 2005.

Discography

• Tidal (1996)
• When the Pawn (1999) (actual title longer, see text)
• Extraordinary Machine (2005)

Links

• http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/apple_fiona/audvid.jhtml