• June 6, 1986
• In 2004, she became the youngest winner of the International Songwriting Competition when at age 18, her song "Hallelujah" took the grand prize.
• She is heavily tattooed, and there is one she regrets: the one on her lower back. She calls it a "tramp stamp."
• The backing band for her 2009 debut album Holy Smoke was The Cardinals, who were Ryan Adams' band. Adams had recently married Mandy Moore and was taking some time off, so the group took the gig as a side project. The Cardinals never reunited with Adams and disbanded soon after.
• She met Jason Butler from the band Letlive at the 2013 Warped Tour, where they were both performing. A year later, he took her on a trip to Hawaii and proposed. They got married the next day.
• The cover photo on Blood to Bone was taken by Leigh Jeffries and finds Wigmore drenched. Jeffries got the shot by throwing a bucket of water at Wigmore's face. Wigmore loved the result, especially since it presented her without makeup.
• She's from New Zealand, where she has been wildly successful. Her debut album spent five weeks at #1 in that country, and her next two albums each hit the top spot as well.
• Songwriting can be cathartic for Wigmore. In her Songfacts interview, she explained how it feels to write in which she expresses something meaningful: "It feels like the weight in my world gets lifted. It truly feels as though nothing is weighing on me, the problems are all solved and my mind, heart and soul all fall into alignment and are at peace for a moment."

Comments

More Songfacts:

Ziggy StardustDavid Bowie

David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" was likely based on various musicians in his ambit, including Iggy Pop (zIGGY), and Jimi Hendrix, who played guitar left-handed ("He played it left hand").

Born on the BayouCreedence Clearwater Revival

John Fogerty was not born on the bayou - he's from Berkeley, California. He got the idea for the song when CCR was on tour in Louisiana.

QuicksandBritney Spears

Before she was famous, Lady Gaga was a staff songwriter, and wrote the song "Quicksand," which Britney Spears recorded in 2008.

AnticipationCarly Simon

Carly Simon wrote "Anticipation" when Cat Stevens was late for their first date. She was "anticipating" his arrival and set down with her guitar to calm her nerves.

Dark FantasyKanye West

"Dark Fantasy" by Kanye West opens with a reinterpretation of Cinderella as read by Nicki Minaj.

RoyalsLorde

Lorde was 16 years and 11 months old when "Royals" topped the Hot 100. In doing so she became the youngest ever solo artist to write and perform a #1 hit.

Editor's Picks

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.