Sia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (/ˈsiːə/ SEE-ə; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. When Crisp disbanded in 1997, she released her debut studio album, OnlySee, in Australia. Sia moved to London and provided vocals for the British duo Zero 7. She released her second studio album, Healing Is Difficult, in 2001 and her third, Colour the Small One, in 2004.
This article is about the musician. For other uses, see Sia (disambiguation).
Sia
- Singer
- songwriter
- director
2
Sia moved to New York City in 2005 and toured the United States. Her fourth and fifth studio albums, Some People Have Real Problems and We Are Born, were released in 2008 and 2010 respectively, and both were certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association and attracted wider notice than her earlier albums. Uncomfortable with her growing fame, she took a hiatus from performing and focused on songwriting for other artists, producing successful collaborations "Titanium" (with David Guetta), "Diamonds" (with Rihanna) and "Wild Ones" (with Flo Rida).
In 2014, Sia broke through as a solo recording artist when her sixth studio album, 1000 Forms of Fear, debuted at No. 1 in the U.S. Billboard 200 and generated the top-ten single "Chandelier", and a trilogy of music videos she co-directed, starring child dancer Maddie Ziegler. Since then, she has usually worn a wig that obscures her face to protect her privacy.[2] Sia's seventh studio album, This Is Acting (2016), spawned her first Billboard Hot 100 number one single, "Cheap Thrills". That year she also began her Nostalgic for the Present Tour, which incorporated dancing by Ziegler and others, and other performance art elements. Sia's eighth studio album, Everyday Is Christmas, was released in 2017 and reissued in 2018 with three bonus tracks. In 2018, she formed a supergroup with Labrinth and Diplo, LSD. They released their self-titled debut album in April 2019. Sia has written many songs for films. Her feature film directorial debut, Music, was released in early 2021 alongside an album, Music – Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture. Her tenth album, Reasonable Woman, was released in May 2024.
Sia is an advocate for animal rights. Among her accolades are nearly a dozen ARIA Awards, nine Grammy Award nominations and an MTV Video Music Award.
Early life and education[edit]
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler was born on 18 December 1975[3] in Adelaide, South Australia.[4] Her father, Phil Colson, is a musician, and her mother, Loene Furler, is an art lecturer.[5] She is the niece of actor Kevin Colson.[6] Sia has stated that as a child she imitated the performing style of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Sting, whom she has cited as early influences.[7] She attended Adelaide High School.[5]
Artistry and musical style[edit]
At the start of her career, with the band Crisp,[143] Sia performed acid jazz in Australia and later in London.[5] With her first solo single, "Taken for Granted", she experimented with trip hop.[143] When she joined Zero 7, she sang downtempo numbers.[144]
With Colour the Small One (2004) and Some People Have Real Problems (2007) she moved into jazz[145] and folktronica,[146] although the album's biggest hit, "Breathe Me", is described as alternative rock and a power ballad.[147] Some People Have Real Problems expanded her connection with indie pop.[148][149] Sia stated, "Colour the Small One ... couldn't be more derivative of Kings of Convenience and James Taylor and the things that Zero 7 were playing on the [tour] bus. I'm very easily influenced."[150]
In 2009, after leaving Zero 7, Sia dedicated herself entirely to her solo career.[151] We Are Born (2010), incorporated various pop styles, including synthpop and R&B, with introspective themes accompanied by more insistent and livelier rhythms.[152] 1000 Forms of Fear (2014) consolidated her connection with pop (with traces of electropop, reggae and hip-hop),[153][154] while This 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.[155] Sia described songwriting for others as "play-acting".[150] 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."[155] The record also alternates reggae and electropop with more introspective themes.[156][157]
Sia's voice has been described as "deep, playful, and powerful".[158] In her 2016 live performances, Sia's music was part of performance-art-like shows that involved dance and theatrical effects.[112][159] An MTV News writer opined that "Sia's throaty, slurred vocals are her norm",[160] while a contributor to The Fader noted that "in the Billboard Hot 100 landscape, Sia's songwriting voice, which deals with depression and addiction, is singular—her actual voice even more so."[161] Everyday Is Christmas (2017), Sia's first release of Christmas music, is a pop album that gives old-fashioned holiday music "some 21st century pop gloss"[162] and is made for those who grow tired of the classics.[163] 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, alongside R&B and EDM.[164] National Public Radio called Sia "the 21st century's most resilient songwriter".[165]
Personal life[edit]
Relationships and family[edit]
Following the disbandment of Crisp in 1997, Sia moved to London to follow her relationship with boyfriend Dan Pontifex.[203] Several weeks later, while on a stopover in Thailand, she received the news that Pontifex had died after being in a car accident in London.[204][12] 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 album Healing Is Difficult lyrically deals with Pontifex's death: "I was pretty fucked up after Dan died. I couldn't really feel anything." Sia recalled the effect of his death in a 2007 interview for The Sunday Times: "We were all devastated, so we got shit-faced on drugs and Special Brew. Unfortunately, that bender lasted six years for me."[2][12]
Sia married documentary filmmaker Erik Anders Lang at her home in Palm Springs, California, in August 2014.[205] The couple divorced in 2016.[206][207] During a 2014 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Sia was asked if she was religious, to which she responded, "I believe in a higher power and it's called 'Whatever Dude' and he's a queer, surfing Santa that's a bit like my grandpa, so yes."[208] In the same interview, she stated that she is a feminist and that Whatever Dude divinely inspired the lyrics she wrote for Rihanna's song "Diamonds".[208] One of Sia's tattoos on her hand reads "Whatever Dude".[209] Sia is a cousin of Australian Christian rock musician Peter Furler.[210]
In 2019, Sia adopted two boys who were ageing out of the foster care system.[211][212] In 2020, Sia announced that she had become a grandmother when one of her two 19-year-old sons had fathered twins.[213][214] In 2023, Sia married Dan Bernad in Portofino, Italy.[215][216]
Sexuality[edit]
In 2008, Sia discussed her sexual orientation in interviews[217] and revealed her relationship with JD Samson;[218] they broke up in 2011.[219][220] 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."[221] Sia identified as queer on Twitter in 2013.[222]
Health[edit]
Sia has experienced depression and addictions to painkillers and alcohol. In 2010, she wrote a suicide note, planning to overdose; a friend phoned her and, unintentionally, saved her life.[23] Following this, Sia joined Alcoholics Anonymous.[223] Sia cancelled various promotional events and shows due to her poor health in 2010.[224] She cited extreme lethargy and panic attacks, and she considered retiring permanently from performing and touring. She stated that she had been diagnosed with Graves' disease.[225] Later that year, Sia said her health was improving after rest and thyroid suppression therapy.[226]
In 2019, Sia stated that she has Ehlers–Danlos syndrome.[227] She has also stated that she was diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, stemming from childhood traumas including being sexually abused at the age of nine.[228][229] In 2023, she revealed that she was diagnosed with autism.[179] Sia said that following the backlash she received regarding her film Music, she relapsed, became suicidal again and returned to rehabilitation.[230]
