Sia

One of the highlights of the live performances at the 57th annual Grammy Awards this year was Sia’s breathtaking rendition of her song Chandelier that got many in the audience scouting for the singer on stage. No one could really find her. Facing the wall, she sang Chandelier and mixed it with Elastic Heart, as Maddie Ziegler and actress Kristen Wiig performed a dance on a stage that featured a messy room. When she arrived at the awards ceremony, Sia wore a blonde wig covering her entire face. But the Australian singer let her guard down backstage giving photographers a chance to photograph her laughing and giving a full view of her face.
It was an incredibly rare sighting of the pop star who usually hides her face due to her unwillingness to be in the spotlight. With star status such as hers, it is strange that she would want to adopt a mysterious identity. But from her biography, it emerges that she has a shy personality and fears fame. She says that she is not interested in the fame that comes with being a successful musician. “It’s horrible. I just wanted to have a private life.”
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler was born on 18 December 1975, in Adelaide, South Australia, to parents Phil and Loene, a musician and an art lecturer, respectively. After completing high school, she began performing with local band Crisp, contributing vocals to two albums, both of which flopped. Crisp then disbanded.
With a bit of luck on her side, she released her debut studio album Only See on an Australian record label. Sia then moved to London and joined British duo Zero 7 providing vocals for a few tracks on their first three albums.
In 2001, she signed a contract with Dance Pool, a sister concern of Sony Music, releasing her second album Healing Is Difficult. The first single Taken For Granted peaked at No. 10 on the U.K. singles chart. Common to many a singer, the label did not promote her as she had expected. She moved on and signed to Go! Beat, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and released her third album Colour The Small One (2004). But the album went nowhere and did not connect with her intended fan base.
While releasing her own albums, she continued providing vocals for Zero 7 on their albums and is regarded as their “unofficial” lead singer. While living in London, she also performed as a background vocalist for British band Jamiroquai.
In 2005 she moved to New York. A track from her last album, Breathe Me, appeared in the final scene of the U.S. TV series Six Feet Under which helped increase Sia’s fame in the U.S.. At the same time her new manager, David Enthoven, set up a tour across the country to maintain her success. She released her fourth album in 2008, the title of which seemed quite meaningless — Some People Have Real Problems. The album peaked at No. 41 in Australia and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In the U.S., it charted at No. 26 on the U.S. Billboard 200 becoming Sia’s first album to chart in the U.S..
In May 2009, Sia released TV Is My Parent on DVD, which included a live concert at New York’s Hiro Ballroom, four music videos and behind-the-scene footage. At the ARIA Music Awards 2009, she won Best Music DVD for TV Is My Parent and a nomination for Best Breakthrough Artist Album for Some People Have Real Problems.
In 2009, singer Christina Aguilera approached Sia to write ballads for her then upcoming album Bionic; Sia is credited with three songs on the album. In 2010, she co-wrote Bound To You for the soundtrack of the film Burlesque starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. The song was nominated for Best Original Score at the 68th Golden Globe Awards.
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Verus Ferreira is a music journalist for over three decades. He is the author of The Great Music Quiz Book and The Great Rock Music Quiz Book and the founder of Musicunplugged.in