Missy Higgins makes waves in the US

Homeward bound Missy Higgins can call her three month US sojourn a success after one of her songs was chosen to appear in a popular TV drama.

Her track Where I Stood played during a scene of teen superhero drama Smallville this week in what is hoped to be a run of inclusions on such shows.

It's a small but significant step into the American market for Higgins, who has been performing shows in stores of retail chain Borders where a "teaser" release of her second album On A Clear Night is being sold.

The full version of the album is predicted to reach four-time platinum status in Australia by January, when it will be released in the US.

"It all looks really positive at the moment, the response to the songs and the performances has been amazing," Higgins told AAP from Los Angeles this week.

While she is reluctant to call it networking, Higgins said she had made contacts during her stay that have proven valuable.

"It's just amazing how many people, contacts I guess, that you can find when you base yourself in LA for a little while," she says.

"Just friends of friends who decide they like your work and all of a sudden they've put it on a show."

In addition to the Smallville appearance, Higgins said another song would soon be confirmed to appear on another major program.

Australians bands such as Youth Group know the power of TV in America when it comes to recording artists.

After plugging away in relative obscurity, the band's critical acclaim didn't match its success until producers of The OC asked them to record a new version of Alphaville's 1984 hit Forever Young. The new version saw Youth Group's profile skyrocket.

"The way music's being promoted now is constantly changing," Higgins says.

"It's not as simple as putting out an album and hoping people buy it.

"When I started out - it was just four years ago really - the internet was only a minor part of the business. Now when I go to the label's office there's this huge department and (internet marketing) is all they do."

Despite building up momentum in the US, whose radio networks are notoriously difficult for Australian acts to crack, Higgins returns home to a busy schedule next week.

In addition to a run of tour dates and festival performances, she will perform at the ARIA Awards, at which she is nominated for two gongs including best female artist.

She admits there is some nervous excitement about her return to the ARIAs fold for the first time since 2005, when her debut album The Sound of White won five awards, including album of the year.

"They're always fun, but it's going to be interesting to see what it's like going there with a second album under my belt. It's never going to be like it was again," she says.

In addition to the prospect of sleeping in her own bed, Higgins says she couldn't be more excited about her upcoming performances in Australia.

After the ARIAs, Higgins will embark on a tour in support of On A Clear Night's third single, Peachy, which has just hit radio and will be released to stores on November 10.

Her performance at Legs 11, a concert in support of breast cancer research next Friday at Sydney's The Domain, will be her first ever live show with the backing of an orchestra.

When she performs at the same venue for Homebake on December 8, it will not only be to a sold out crowd, but as part of a line-up which pays tribute to the women of rock featuring The Divinyls.

And when she hits the road for the tour, starting November 17 in Cairns, she will take in some regional areas she has grown to love, especially during the writing of her latest album, which she did mostly while based in Broome, Western Australia.

"I have a real affinity with country towns, I love the idea of places where people look each other in the eye and it's normal to say hi to whoever you walk past," she says.

"As for performing in towns like that, they're just so much fun, maybe they're grateful you're there because they don't get too many acts touring through, but either way, I love it."