Raw, emotional and entrancing, singer-songwriter and pianist Fiona Apple knows how to project her feelings onto an adoring audience so that each fan feels as if he or she is being directly sung to, as Apple did in her most recent tour on the East Coast in fall of 2013. Her concerts are marked by their intimacy, with the singer cooing in her contralto voice almost to herself, as if no one else was there. This is in stark contrast to her extremely reclusive public persona. Reticent to engage in interviews and effectively sequestered between albums and tours, Apple still coaxes devotion from her legions who drift along enchanted by her siren songs of love, loss, sleeplessness and self-image.
Acquiring a level of success like Apple's can be difficult, but still possible with a bit of persistence. In Apple's case, she created a mix tape of songs when she was in high school that found their way to a music mogul who immediately saw her potential, leading to several amazing tours. Though followers cannot buy tickets to any tour currently, they can invest in her varied albums sporting jazz and alternative rock themes. Her most recent album, “The Idler Wheel…,” is her fourth, released in 2012, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The album features the single “Every Single Night,” which Pitchfork Media deemed the Best New Music of the year. Critics as a whole were enamored with the album, almost as much as her previous record, “Extraordinary Machine.” As her Grammy wins and numerous nominations and accolades prove, her talent is appreciated across the world, even if she feels uncertain of her prowess.
