POLISHED APPLE : THE `TIDAL' PULL OF HER SONGS BELIES A TENDER AGE OF JUST 18.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

In high school, singer-songwriter Fiona Apple got used to such unfriendly nicknames as Macintosh, Granny Smith and even the ``Welcome to the Dollhouse''-esque Dog.

These days, she's called Potential Next Big Thing.

Everything about Apple seems wise beyond her years. At just 18, this rising star has been compared to confessional singer-pianist Tori Amos, sophisticated song stylist Sade, a toned-down Alanis Morissette and even Nina Simone. Her lyrics and voice suggest a woman much older. She seems to have emerged fully formed, with her own identity intact.

Apple's voice has a comfortable, lived-in quality, while her ballads are sultry, insightful and instantly accessible. Her first single, ``Shadowboxer,'' complete with funky gospel piano and smoky vocals that recall Laura Nyro, already has been added at radio stations across the country.

In person, Apple (yes, that's her real name) comes across like a seasoned music biz veteran, silver belly-button piercing and all.

``Music is the only thing I could ever imagine as a career, but I never told anyone,'' Apple said. ``I never told my friends that I wrote songs, and nobody knew that I had this musical ambition.''

Apple, whose promising debut album, ``Tidal,'' was released July 23 to a chorus of accolades, is having to deal with the sudden change from years spent alone in her room with only a piano for company to widespread media interest.

``The real point is to do what I do naturally and have fun with it and enjoy myself,'' she said during an interview at a Venice beach cafe. ``If all I'm worrying about is what other people think about me, then my music won't be pure.''

One thing that surprises most people exposed to the 10 songs on ``Tidal'' (Work/Columbia) is the depth of the lyrics. On ``Shadowboxer,'' for example, Apple employs the boxing metaphor to suggest a person blindly punching at emotional shadows.

Arranger-composer Van Dyke Parks, who wrote a string arrangement for one of Apple's album tracks, calls her ``a lifer'' and believes she is in the business for the long haul.

``If she doesn't become frozen in the headlights, she'll be great,'' Parks said. ``I think she has a lot to contribute. She's very musical and intuitive. I think she's a wonderful talent who should be given any benefit of the doubt. I wish there was more of her artistry in artists today.''

As for being compared to other female artists, Apple understands that people need labels, at least in the beginning.

Still, Apple, who turns 19 on Sept. 13, chirped, ``I honestly don't think my music is anything like theirs. Initially, I'll probably be lumped in with the others, but after people are familiar with my music, it won't happen anymore.''

It was December 1994 when Apple and her father, playwright-actor Brandon Maggart (Showtime's ``Brothers''), went to a small demo studio in Los Angeles to cut three songs with Apple singing and accompanying herself on piano. They eventually made 78 copies of the tape, and Apple took four of them with her when she returned to New York for Christmas.

``I wasn't going to do anything with them until after Christmas,'' Apple said. ``Then a friend mentioned that she baby-sat for a woman who does music publicity. She played the tape at a party and Andy (Slater) heard it.''

Slater, who also manages the Wallflowers and Michael Penn, was knocked out by the demo, got in touch with Apple and became her manager. Apple was signed six months later by the Work Group, an in-house division of Sony Music, and she moved to Los Angeles last October to record her debut with help from multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion and members of the Wallflowers.

``Shadowboxer'' was the third song she wrote.

``It's about when somebody is in your life and you know they're not good for you, but your heart wants them and your mind doesn't,'' Apple explained. ``They leave your life and try to come back and you feel the danger, but you also want them back in a way. It's about that conflict and keeping yourself aware. It's like I'm blindly punching at shadows because I know you're coming at me, but I don't know from where.''

Growing up in Manhattan, where she lived with her mother and sister, Apple said the city's charged atmosphere contributed to her independence.

``Everything that's happened to me and everything I've experienced contributed to who I am,'' she said. ``Growing up in the city, I had a lot of freedom to go where I wanted. That way, you develop your own originality and confidence.''

Apple insists her songs don't deal with specific people or incidents. Yet, to many observers, she appears to have a sharp eye for the ebb and flow of love relationships.

``There's a lot on the album that seems to be about me and one person,'' she said. ``But usually, I've just personified the world by using one person.''

Apple has performed live just eight times, and only in Europe. Her first local date is Sept. 10 at the Troubadour in West Hollywood.

``I know performing is the best part of this whole thing,'' she said. ``But it's unbelievable how little music I'm getting to do these days.''

That's because the Work Group is banking on Apple as a potential moneymaker. Her pre-tour days are spent doing TV, radio and print interviews, along with photo sessions.

And even though ``Tidal'' was released a month ago and has yet to crack the Billboard 200 albums chart, the label's marketing strategy is right on track, said Barbara Bausman, marketing director for the Work Group.

The initially low-key plan got under way last May when industry and media ``tastemakers'' received a striking black-and-white video of Apple performing ``Shadowboxer'' alone at the piano. Three weeks later, employees at Columbia each got an advance CD of the album and were asked to send it to a personal friend along with a note.

Interest was peaked when Chris Douridas, influential music director at National Public Radio's flagship station, Santa Monica's KCRW-FM (89.9), fell head over heels for ``Tidal'' and began spinning more tracks than just the first single.

``We wanted to get retailers excited early,'' Bausman explained. ``And a lot of them thought the music was special enough that they put the album on their discretionary listening stations'' at Virgin, Musicland and other chains.

Bausman said the main promotional campaign for Apple's album won't begin until September, two months after ``Tidal'' first appeared in stores, but just as the street buzz is expected to be at its height and all those magazine and TV features begin appearing.

``Obviously, it started with the music,'' the marketing executive said. ``We felt we had something special here that was very different from what's out now. But we didn't want to come out with guns blazing or try and sell Fiona as some kind of pop diva. We've had other record companies calling to ask how we created such interest.''

Apple, for her part, is taking it all in stride. She's currently staying with her actor dad in Venice, doesn't know how to drive and has had to revert back to even earlier in her childhood when she needs to get somewhere.

``I always have to ask my dad, `Can you take me to the store?' '' she said with a laugh. ``It's weird, but I know I'll be on tour soon.''

Mention Nyro, Tracy Bonham, Jewel or other singer-songwriters you assume she's heard of, and Apple just shakes her head.

``I don't listen to music, and I hardly ever buy CDs,'' she explains. ``But I've just started getting into Smashing Pumpkins - Billy Corgan writes really good lyrics, and the some of the music is beautiful. But about the only things I listened to growing up were Joan Armatrading's `To the Limit' and some stuff by Joni Mitchell.

``I've never been into going to concerts because I hate being part of the crowd watching something happen. Usually, I'm stuck in a seat really far back, and somebody is spilling their beer on me. I'd rather listen to music in my room.''

THE FACTS

Who: Fiona Apple.

Where: Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 10.

Tickets: $10.

Information: Call Ticketmaster, [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) The Apple of pop's eye

Rising s tar Fiona Apple rides a `Tidal' wave to popularity

(2) ``The real point is to do what I do naturally and have fun with it and enjoy myself,'' Fiona Apple says.