At the age of 16, Missy Higgins wrote the song “All for Believing” just 30 minutes before she was to turn it in as an original composition for her music class. Soon after, it became a hit song that catapulted Higgins from anonymity to super-stardom in her native Melbourne, Australia.

In 2004 she finished her first album, “The Sound of White.” It received rave reviews, debuting at number one and yielding the most played song of the year in Australia, the lead single “Scar.”

Higgins’ reputation preceded her album, released in September 2004 in United States. She has received rave reviews for both her album and her live shows and was even voted Australian Artist of the Year, but it does not seem likely that American listeners will deem her worthy of the same honor.

Higgins is undeniably talented on many levels. She plays the piano with ease and is skilled with the acoustic guitar. Still, Higgins fails to deliver anything more than a mainstream performance.

In “All for Believing,” the soft, syrupy melody of the piano gives the illusion of a Fiona Apple style of poetry set to music, but despite the melodious tones, Higgins’ lyrics fall short of the intensity and significance expected. Even the way her light, airy voice, heavy with an Aussie drawl, blends harmoniously with the tune isn’t enough to salvage infantile lines.

“I need to know just how you feel/ To comfort you/ I need to find the key to your heart/ To let me in,” she sings. The song was written when she was 16, and it shows.

The mood of “Scar” is just plain confusing. The tune is bubbly and upbeat while the lyrics are a bit glum and disheartening. She is begging to be hurt with lines like “So that I do remember/ To never go that far/ Could you leave me with a scar?”

Higgins is definitely full of talent. “The Sound of White” is not so fluffy and devoid of insight that it can be deemed strictly bubblegum pop. She has a gripping voice and may one day become a lyrical force to reckoned with.

For now, however, she should keep living, keep learning, and keep a journal to improve her writing.