Sia

Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, born 18 December 1975 in Adelaide, Australia, reached a new level of global visibility with “Chandelier,” the top-ten single from her 2014 album 1000 Forms of Fear. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, while its videos, co-directed by Sia and starring child dancer Maddie Ziegler, began a visual collaboration that would extend into her live work.

She began her career in the mid-1990s as singer for the Adelaide acid jazz band Crisp. After the group disbanded in 1997, she released her debut solo album, OnlySee, in Australia. A move to London led to work with English duo Zero 7, for whom she provided vocals, alongside her own albums Healing Is Difficult in 2001 and Colour the Small One in 2004. She relocated to New York City in 2005 and toured the United States.

Her 2008 album Some People Have Real Problems and 2010’s We Are Born were both certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association and brought wider attention. As her profile grew, Sia stepped back from performing and focused on writing for other artists. That period produced major collaborations including David Guetta’s “Titanium,” Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” Flo Rida’s “Wild Ones,” and Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts.”

Sia returned to the foreground with 1000 Forms of Fear, and followed it with This Is Acting in 2016. The latter produced “Cheap Thrills,” which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Her Nostalgic for the Present Tour that year incorporated Ziegler and other dancers, along with performance-art elements. She later released the Christmas album Everyday Is Christmas in 2017, and joined Diplo and Labrinth for the collaborative project LSD, whose album arrived in 2019. Her tenth studio album, Reasonable Woman, was released in 2024.

Since 1000 Forms of Fear, Sia has generally obscured her face with a wig during public appearances to protect her privacy. She has also written extensively for film, and made her feature directorial debut with Music in 2021, accompanying it with Music – Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture. An advocate for animal rights, she has received ten ARIA Awards, an MTV Video Music Award and nine Grammy Award nominations.