Sia

**Sia Kate Isobelle Furler**, more popularly known as **Sia**, is an Australian singer-songwriter, record producer and music video director.

## Early Life

Sia Kate Isobelle Furler was born on December 18, 1975 in Adelaide, South Australia. Her father, Phil Colson, is a musician, and her mother, Loene Furler, is an art lecturer.

Sia is the niece of actor-singer Kevin Colson. Sia said that as a child she imitated the performing style of Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Sting, who she counted as her early influences. She attended Adelaide High School.

## Career

In the mid-1990s, Sia started a career as a singer in the local acid jazz band Crisp. Sia collaborated with the band and contributed vocals to their two EPs: *Word and the Deal* (1996) and *Delirium* (1997).

In 1997 Crisp disbanded, and Sia released her debut studio album entitled *OnlySee* on Flavoured Records in Australia. The album sold 1,200 copies. She then moved to London, England, and provided lead vocals for the British duo Zero 7.

In 2000, Sia signed to Sony Music's sub-label Dance Pool and released her second studio album, *Healing Is Difficult*, the following year. Displeased with the promotion of the record, she signed to Go! Beat and released her third studio album, *Colour the Small One*, in 2004.

The project struggled to connect with a mainstream audience, and so Sia relocated to New York City in 2005 and began touring across the United States. She released her fourth and fifth studio releases, *Some People Have Real Problems* and *We Are Born*, in 2008 and 2010, respectively. She then took a hiatus from performing, during which she focused on songwriting for other artists. Her catalogue includes the successful collaborations "Titanium" (with David Guetta), "Diamonds" (with Rihanna) and "Wild Ones" (with Flo Rida).

In 2014, Sia released her sixth studio album *1000 Forms of Fear*, which debuted at No 1 in the U.S. *Billboard* 200 and generated the top-ten breakthrough single "Chandelier" and a trilogy of music videos starring child dancer Maddie Ziegler.

In 2016, she released her seventh studio album *This Is Acting*, which spawned her first Hot 100 number one single, "Cheap Thrills". The same year, Sia gave her *Nostalgic for the Present Tour*, which incorporated performance art elements. Sia has received an array of accolades, including ARIA Awards and an MTV Video Music Award and eight nominations for Grammy Awards.

She has collaborated with the former One Direction member, Zayn Malik, on his single, titled "Dusk Till Dawn', which was released on September 07, 2017.

## Personal life

Following the disbandment of Crisp in 1997, Sia decided to move to London to follow her relationship with boyfriend Dan Pontifex. Several weeks later, she received the news that Pontifex had died after being in a car accident in London. She returned to Australia, but soon she received a call from one of Pontifex's former housemates, who invited her to stay in London. Her album *Healing Is Difficult* lyrically deals with Pontifex's death: "I was pretty fucked up after Dan died. I couldn't really feel anything. I could intellectualise a lot of stuff; that I had a purpose, that I was loved, but I couldn't actually 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."

In 2008, Sia announced her relationship with JD Samson and they broke up in 2011. 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."

Sia has suffered from depression, addictions to painkillers and alcohol, and had contemplated suicide, going as far as to write a suicide note. She cited extreme lethargy and panic attacks and considered retiring permanently from performing and touring. She was diagnosed with Graves' disease – an autoimmune disorder characterized by an over-active thyroid. Later that year, Sia said her health was improving after rest and thyroid hormone replacement therapy.

Sia married documentary filmmaker Erik Anders Lang at her home in Palm Springs, California, in August 2014. The couple announced their separation in December 2016. During a 2014 appearance on *The Howard Stern Show,* she stated that she is a feminist and that Whatever Dude divinely inspired the lyrics she wrote for Rihanna's song "Diamonds". One of Sia's tattoos, on her hand, reads "Whatever Dude".

Sia is a cousin of Australian Christian rock musician Peter Furler.

## Discography

* *OnlySee* (1997)
* *Healing Is Difficult* (2001)
* *Colour the Small One* (2004)
* *Some People Have Real Problems* (2008)
* *We Are Born* (2010)
* *1000 Forms of Fear* (2014)
* *This Is Acting* (2016)

## Tours

* *Live from Sydney Tour* (2009)
* *We Meaning You Tour* (2010)
* *Nostalgic for the Present Tour* (2016)

## Filmography

Sia wrote and performed songs on the following film soundtracks:

* *Annie* (2014)
* *Transparent* (2015)
* *Beat Bugs* (2016)
* *Lion* (2016)
* *Charming* (2017)
* *My Little Pony: The Movie* (2017)
* *Wonder Woman* (2017)

## External Links

* Official Facebook
* Official Twitter
* Official Instagram
* Official Youtube