Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (/ˈsiːə/ⓘSEE-ə; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised inAdelaide, she started her career as a singer in theacid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. When Crisp disbanded in 1997, she released her debutstudio album,OnlySee, in Australia. Sia moved to London and provided vocals for the British duoZero 7. She released her second studio album,Healing Is Difficult, in 2001 and her third,Colour the Small One, in 2004.
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler was born on 18 December 1975[3] inAdelaide, South Australia.[4] Her father, Phil Colson, is a guitarist, and her mother, Loene Furler, is an art lecturer.[5] She is the niece of actorKevin Colson.[6] At age 12, Sia stayed with family friendColin Hay in New York City for a month, during which Hay attended theGrammy Awards. She cites watching the ceremony from his limousine as inspiration to pursue a music career.[7] As a child, Sia imitated the performing style ofAretha Franklin,Stevie Wonder andSting, and has cited them, in addition to Hay, as early influences.[7][8] She attendedAdelaide High School.[5]
In the mid-1990s, Sia started a career as a singer in the localacid jazz band Crisp.[5] Sia collaborated with the band and contributed vocals to their albumWord and the Deal (1996) and EPDelirium (1997).[9]In 1997 Crisp disbanded,[4] and Sia released her debutstudio album,OnlySee, on Flavoured Records, in Australia, on 23 December.[10] The album sold about 1,200 copies.[11] Unlike her later albums,OnlySee was marketed under her full name, "Sia Furler". It was produced, and the songs were mostly written, by Jesse Flavell, with Sia co-writing or writing six tracks.[12]
1997–2006: Zero 7,Healing Is Difficult andColour the Small One
After Crisp disbanded in 1997, Sia moved to London,[4] where she performed as a background vocalist for British bandJamiroquai.[1] She also provided vocals for English downtempo groupZero 7 on their first three studio albums and toured with the group.[13] On Zero 7's 2001 albumSimple Things, Sia contributed vocals to two tracks[14] including the single "Destiny", which peaked at No. 30 on theUK Singles Chart.[15] In 2004, she provided vocals for Zero 7 on "Somersault" and "Speed Dial No. 2" (from the albumWhen It Falls).[16] In 2006, Sia collaborated with Zero 7 for their third album,The Garden.[17][18]
In 2000, Sia signed a recording contract withSony Music's sub-label DancePool and released a single, "Taken for Granted", which peaked at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] In 2001, she released her second solo album,Healing Is Difficult, which blends retrojazz andsoul music and lyrically discusses Sia's dealing with the death of her first love affair.[4][19] Displeased with the promotion of the album, Sia fired her manager, left Sony Music and signed withGo! Beat, a subsidiary ofUniversal Music Group (UMG).[13] At theAPRA Awards of 2002, Sia won the Breakthrough Songwriter category alongside Brisbane pop duoAneiki's Jennifer Waite and Grant Wallis.[20]
Dissatisfied withColour the Small One's poor marketing and the album's struggle to connect with a mainstream audience, Sia relocated to New York City in 2005.[4] During that time, "Breathe Me" appeared in the final scene of the U.S.HBO television seriesSix Feet Under, which helped increase Sia's fame in the United States. Consequently, Sia's manager, David Enthoven, set up a tour across the country to maintain her career.[24]
2007–2010:Some People Have Real Problems andWe Are Born
In May 2009, Sia releasedTV Is My Parent onDVD, which includes a live concert at New York's Hiro Ballroom, four music videos and behind-the-scene footage.[32] At theARIA Music Awards of 2009, Sia won the Best Music DVD category forTV Is My Parent.[33] She also received a nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist Album forSome People Have Real Problems.[34]
In June 2010, Sia released her fifth studio album,We Are Born.[40] The release peaked at No. 2 on theARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[26] The release of the album was preceded by three singles: the lead single, "You've Changed", was released in December 2009 and charted at No. 31 in Australia.[41] The follow-up single, "Clap Your Hands", peaked at No. 17 in Australia, No. 10 in the Netherlands and No. 27 in Switzerland.[42][43] At theARIA Music Awards of 2010,We Are Born earned Sia two categories won: Best Independent Release and Best Pop Release.[44] Meanwhile, at the 2011APRA Music Awards, Sia received a nomination for Song of the Year for "Clap Your Hands".[45] To promoteWe Are Born, Sia gave theWe Meaning You Tour, which visited North America and Europe in April–May 2010.[46] TheWe Are Born Tour followed with stops in Australia in February 2011 and North America in July–August 2011.[47]
2010–2013: Songwriting career and mainstream recognition
Following the success ofWe Are Born, Sia became uncomfortable with her growing fame. She later toldThe New York Times: "I just wanted to have a private life. Once, as my friend was telling me they had cancer, someone came up and asked, in the middle of the conversation, if they could take a photograph with me. You get me? That's enough, right?"[24] She refused to do promos for her tours, began to wear a mask on stage and became increasingly dependent on drugs and alcohol on the road; she considered suicide.[24] Sia fired Enthoven and hired Jonathan Daniel, who suggested that she write songs for other artists.[24]
Sia retired as a recording artist and began a career as a songwriter. She wrote the song "Titanium" for American singerAlicia Keys, but it was later sent toDavid Guetta, who included Sia's originaldemo vocals on the song and released it as a single in 2011.[48] "Titanium" peaked within the top ten of record charts in the United States, Australia and numerous European regions.[49] However, Sia recalled: "I never even knew it was gonna happen, and I was really upset. Because I had just retired, I was trying to be a pop songwriter, not an artist."[48]
In October 2013, Sia released "Elastic Heart" featuringthe Weeknd andDiplo forthe soundtrack of the American filmThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013).[53] She executive-producedBrooke Candy's debut EP,Opulence, released in May 2014, and co-wrote 3 songs on the EP.[54] In July 2014, Sia released her own sixth studio album,1000 Forms of Fear.[55] She again collaborated withGreg Kurstin.[56][57] The album debuted at No. 1 in the USBillboard 200 with first-week sales of 52,000 copies.[58] By October 2015, it was certified gold by theRIAA denoting 500,000 equivalent-album units sold in the United States.[59] The record peaked at No. 1 in Australia and reached the top ten of charts in numerous European regions.[60] It was certified silver by theBritish Phonographic Industry and gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[61]By early 2016, the album had sold 1 million copies worldwide.[62]
1000 Forms of Fear's lead single, "Chandelier" was released in March 2014. The song peaked at No. 8 on the USBillboard Hot 100, becoming Sia's first entry on that chart as a lead artist.[63] Elsewhere, the song experienced similar commercial success, ranking in the top ten of therecord charts in Australia and numerous European regions.[64] As of January 2015, the single had sold 2 million copies in the United States.[65] At the57th Annual Grammy Awards (2015), Sia received four nominations for "Chandelier":Record of the Year,Song of the Year,Best Pop Solo Performance andBest Music Video.[66]
For performances of songs from1000 Forms of Fear, Sia chose not to show her face, either facing away from audiences or hiding it behind oversized platinum blonde wigs. In videos for the singles "Chandelier", "Elastic Heart" and "Big Girls Cry", choreographed byRyan Heffington and co-directed by Sia andDaniel Askill, and in many of the promotional live performances, child dancerMaddie Ziegler performed as a proxy for Sia in bobbed blonde wigs similar to Sia's familiar hairstyle.[67][68][69][70] The three videos have received a total of more than 4 billion views onVevo.[71] In an interview withKristen Wiig inInterview magazine, she said she decided to conceal her face to avoid a celebrity lifestyle and maintain some privacy: "I'm trying to have some control over my image. And I'm allowed to maintain some modicum of privacy. But also I would like not to be picked apart or for people to observe when I put on ten pounds or take off ten pounds or I have a hair extension out of place or my fake tan is botched. Most people don't have to be under that pressure, and I'd like to be one of them."[72] The video forElastic Heart "courted controversy and plaudits in equal measure", with some commentators perceiving it to havepaedophilic undertones due to the relative ages of the dancers.[73][74] Sia explained that the two dancers represented "warring 'Sia' self states", but she nevertheless apologised on Twitter to anyone who was "triggered".[75][76] Gia Kourlas wrote inThe New York Times in 2016 that Sia's collaborations with Heffington have "done more to raise the standards of dance in pop music than nearly any current artist integrating the forms".[77] The "Chandelier" video was ranked as the 10th "greatest music video" of the 2010s byBillboard.[78]
In an interview withNME in February 2015, Sia revealed that she had completed the follow-up to1000 Forms of Fear, titledThis Is Acting. The album was another collaboration with producer and co-writer Greg Kurstin.[56][57] She said she released1000 Forms of Fear to free herself from her record deal and had planned simply to write for other artists, but the album's success spurred her to continue writing her own music.[81] Also in February 2015, alongside the digital deluxe release of1000 Forms of Fear, she released a mobile game,Bob Job.[82] "Alive" fromThis Is Acting was co-written byAdele and had originally been intended for her third album,25.[83]
In November, Sia collaborated with composerJ. Ralph on the soundtrack of the environmental documentaryRacing Extinction, co-writing and singing the song "One Candle".[84] She released two more songs from the album, "Bird Set Free"[85] and "One Million Bullets".[86] The single "Cheap Thrills", featuringSean Paul, reached No. 1 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[87] Sia released two videos for the song. One features Ziegler and two male dancers,[88] while the other, featuring Sean Paul, shows a 1950s style teen dance party; it has accumulated more than 1.7 billion views.[89]
Sia performing in 2016
In April 2016, Sia's performance at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival wentviral online.[90][91][92][93] Her performance received an effusively positive critical reception[92][93] as "one of the greatest moments in Coachella's 17-year history",[94] and it was consistently called one of the best performances of the 2016 festival.[95] The performance was her first full concert since 2011.[90] Sia is an avid fan of the television reality seriesSurvivor; in 2016, she made a surprise appearance on the live reunion ofSurvivor: Kaôh Rōng, where she donated $50,000 to contestant Tai Trang and another $50,000 to an animal charity of his choice, noting that the two share a mutual love of animals.[96] After that she regularly awarded prizes to her favouriteSurvivor contestants.[97]
In June 2016, Sia gave a concert atRed Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, featuring Ziegler.[98] From May to August, Sia performed in nearly a dozen festivals and other concerts in America and European and Middle Eastern countries, including Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Romania, Poland, the United Kingdom, Russia, Lebanon and Israel.[99][100][101] In September 2016, she released a single, "The Greatest", with vocals from American hip hop recording artistKendrick Lamar. A video was released the same day featuring Ziegler – the dancer's fifth video collaboration with Sia and Heffington.[102][103] The two performed the song with several other dancers, and also performed "Chandelier" live the next day at theApple annualfall event, drawing media attention.[104][105] Her YouTube videos have accumulated a total of more than 12 billion views,[106] and the channel has more than 24 million subscribers.[107]
Sia gave herNostalgic for the Present Tour in North America from September to November 2016, featuring Ziegler.[108] As at Coachella and subsequent live performances, Sia appeared at the back of the stage with her familiar wig covering her face, while her dancers performed Heffington's choreography synchronised with pre-recorded videos played on big screens.[109] The tour received a warm reaction: "She let her dancers own center stage, carrying out one skit/performance after another as Sia [sang]. It defied all the regular rules of pop concerts, which are usually designed to focus ... on the star of the show. Yet, Sia's bold gamble paid off, resulting in one of the most daringly original and wholly satisfying shows of 2016."[110] Ed Masley ofThe Arizona Republic described the show as "part performance art, part interpretive dance. ... [Sia] sounded amazing. ... There's so much raw emotion in her songs. And you can definitely hear that in her voice, but it becomes more visceral when you can also read it in the faces of her dancers, especially Ziegler. ... The entire performance was brilliantly staged".[111] Sia was nominated for three 2017 Grammy Awards.[112] She co-wrote and performed on a platinum-selling single, "Dusk Till Dawn", byZayn.[113][114] Sia performed in concert at the close of theDubai World Cup in March 2017, together with her dancers, led by Ziegler.[115] The second leg of the Nostalgic for the Present Tour was her first stadium tour in Australasia, in late 2017.[116][117]
Her tenth studio album,Reasonable Woman, was released on 3 May 2024.[135] Mark Kennedy wrote, for the Associated Press, "Sia hasn't lost a step [in her] ability to switch from hurt and broken ("I Forgive You") to ecstatic lover ("Towards the Sun") to vengeful, hell-releasing angel, like on "I Had a Heart". ... But on this outing, the ... forever catchy Sia is most interesting with others. In addition to theKhan duet, the best songs are "Dance Alone" with Kylie Minogue, "Incredible" with Labrinth and "Fame Won't Love You" with Paris Hilton"; he says, however, that Sia "rarely shift[s] out of third gear" on the album.[136] Sia executive producedParis Hilton's 2024 album,Infinite Icon.[137]
In 2009, after leaving Zero 7, Sia dedicated herself entirely to her solo career.[147]We Are Born (2010), incorporated various pop styles, includingsynthpop andR&B, with introspective themes accompanied by more insistent and livelier rhythms.[148]1000 Forms of Fear (2014) consolidated her connection with pop (with traces ofelectropop, reggae and hip-hop),[149][150] whileThis Is Acting (2016) is mostly composed of songs written by Sia with other female pop artists in mind, but the artists did not include the songs on their albums.[151] Sia described songwriting for others as "play-acting".[146]The Guardian's Kitty Empire commented that the latter album "provides an obvious counterpoint to Sia's more personal album of 2014,1000 Forms of Fear, whose stonking single, 'Chandelier', tackled her intoxicated past.This Is Acting makes plain the fact of manufacture – a process akin to bespoke tailoring."[151] The record also alternates reggae and electropop with more introspective themes.[152][153]
Sia's voice has been described as "deep, playful, and powerful".[154] In her 2016 live performances, Sia's music was part of performance-art-like shows that involved dance and theatrical effects.[110][155] AnMTV News writer opined that "Sia's throaty, slurred vocals are her norm",[156] while a contributor toThe Fader noted that "in theBillboard Hot 100 landscape, Sia's songwriting voice, which deals with depression and addiction, is singular – her actual voice even more so."[157]Everyday Is Christmas (2017), Sia's first release ofChristmas music, is a pop album that gives old-fashioned holiday music "some 21st century pop gloss"[158] and is made for those who grow tired of the classics.[159]Music – Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (2021) further developed Sia's pop music catalogue, with the album incorporating more electropop and reggae, alongsideR&B and EDM.[160]National Public Radio called Sia "the 21st century's most resilient songwriter".[161]
In March 2021, alaneway inAdelaide city centre was renamed Sia Furler Lane, and a mural titledShe Imagined Buttons was painted on a wall nearby to commemorate Sia's 2011 performance in Adelaide.[164][165] As of October 2022, Sia has 15 entries on theAPRA billion streams list, the most of any artist.[166]
She wrote a screenplay, based on a story that she had written in 2007,[171] for the 2021 musical film,Music, which starred Ziegler,Kate Hudson andLeslie Odom Jr.[11] Sia also directed the film and wrote its soundtrack.[172] The film was released in Australia in January 2021 and in selectIMAX theatres in the US for one night on 10 February 2021, followed by an on-demand release. It received negative reviews from critics[173][174] and generated controversy for its depiction of autism. Sia said after the release of the film and subsequent backlash that she was diagnosed with autism.[175] It was nominated forBest Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the78th Golden Globe Awards.[176][177] As director ofMusic, Sia later won theGolden Raspberry Award for Worst Director.[178]
Since 2016, Sia has given money to her favourite contestants in the reality television seriesSurvivor; the tradition has been billed the "Sia Award".[186][187] At the end of the45th season, she had given a total of $1 million to contestants over the years.[188]
Sia is avegetarian and an "animal lover".[189] She has been an advocate for animals throughout her career.[190][189] In 2010, she participated in aPETA campaign to tackle animaloverpopulation and encourage people to spay or neuter their pets.[191][192] She performed her song "I'm in Here" at the Beagle Freedom Project Gala in 2013,[193][194] and, in 2015, "Free the Animal" was used for PETApublic service announcements supportingcruelty-free fashion.[195] During herNostalgic for the Present Tour in 2016, Sia partnered with variousanimal rescue organisations to set up dog adoption fairs at each of the shows.[196] In 2017, she released another public service announcement, in collaboration with theASPCA, using her song "Puppies Are Forever", to encourage pet adoption.[197][198] Sia co-narrated the 2018 animal rights documentaryDominion.[189]
After Crisp disbanded in 1997, Sia moved to London to be with her boyfriend Dan Pontifex.[199] While on her way to England, she received the news that Pontifex had been hit by a car and died in hospital.[200][13] She returned to Australia but received a call from one of Pontifex's former housemates, who invited her to stay in London.[4] Her 2001 albumHealing Is Difficult lyrically deals with Pontifex's death: "I was pretty fucked up after Dan died. I couldn't really feel anything", Sia recalled in a 2007 interview forThe Sunday Times: "We ... got shit-faced on drugs andSpecial Brew. Unfortunately, that bender lasted six years for me."[2][13]
Sia married documentary filmmaker Erik Anders Lang at her home in Palm Springs, California, in August 2014.[201] The couple divorced in 2016.[202][203] During a 2014 appearance onThe Howard Stern Show, when asked if she was religious she responded, "I believe in a higher power and it's called 'Whatever Dude' and he's a queer, surfingSanta that's a bit like my grandpa, so yes."[204] In the same interview, she stated that she is a feminist and that Whatever Dude divinely inspired the lyrics she wrote forRihanna's song "Diamonds".[204] One of Sia's tattoos on her hand reads "Whatever Dude".[205] Sia is a cousin of AustralianChristian rock musicianPeter Furler.[206]
In 2019, Sia adopted twoblack American boys[207] who were ageing out of thefoster care system.[208][209] In 2020, she announced that she had become a grandmother when one of her two 19-year-old sons had fathered twins.[210][211] In December 2022, she married Dan Bernad, followed by a ceremony inPortofino, Italy, in May 2023.[212][213] She gave birth to their child on 27 March 2024.[214] In March 2025 she separated from Bernad and filed for divorce.[214][215]
In 2008, Sia discussed her sexual orientation in interviews[216] and revealed her relationship withJD Samson;[217] they broke up in 2011.[218][219] When asked about her sexuality in 2009, she said, "I've always dated boys and girls and anything in between. I don't care what gender you are, it's about people. ... I've always been... well, flexible is the word I would use."[220] Sia identified asqueer on Twitter in 2013.[221]
Sia has experienceddepression and addictions topainkillers andalcohol. In 2010, she wrote a suicide note, planning tooverdose; a friend phoned her and, unintentionally, saved her life.[24] Afterwards, Sia joinedAlcoholics Anonymous.[222] Sia cancelled various promotional events and shows due to her poor health in 2010.[223] She mentioned having extreme lethargy andpanic attacks, and considered retiring permanently from performing and touring. Sia also discussed being diagnosed withGraves' disease.[224] Later that year, she said her health was improving after rest and thyroid suppression therapy.[225]
In 2019, Sia stated that she hasEhlers–Danlos syndrome.[226] She has also said that she was diagnosed withcomplex post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from childhood traumas including being sexually abused at the age of nine.[227][228] Sia said that due tothe backlash she received regarding her 2021 filmMusic, she relapsed, became suicidal again and returned to rehabilitation.[229]
^abMason, Kerri (3 October 2009)."Albums: Zero 7 – Yeah Ghost".Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 39. p. 56.Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved21 March 2015.
^"The 1,000,000,000 list". APRA AMCOS.Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved1 October 2022. Note: Non-Australasian co-writers are not shown.
^Portwood, Jerry; Exposito, Suzy; Sheffield, Rob (1 June 2019)."25 Essential LGBTQ Pride Songs".RollingStone.com.Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved19 October 2020.
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