Sia Furler
Encyclopedia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (icon; born 18 December 1975) or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems
peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200
. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009
, she won the award for 'Best Music DVD' and received six nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010
and won 'Best Independent Release' and 'Best Pop Release' for We Are Born
and 'Best Video' for the song "Clap Your Hands
". Furler has also collaborated and performed with Zero 7
and Christina Aguilera
. Her mid-2010 international tour in support of We Are Born was cancelled with Furler citing extreme lethargy and panic attacks, she considered retiring from touring permanently until she was diagnosed with Graves' disease
– an autoimmune disorder with an over-active thyroid
. After resting and hormone replacement therapy
, Furler resumed touring with gigs in Australia, the US and Canada during 2011. Sia also has a planned album slated for a summer 2012 release.
band, The Soda Jerks. Furler is the niece of singer-songwriter Colin Hay
of Men at Work
– Colson briefly played guitar for the group. In her 2008 NPR Music
interview, she said that she had mimicked other singers while growing up and counts Aretha Franklin
, Stevie Wonder
and Sting as her early influences. She attended Adelaide High School
.
At fourteen, Furler said, her parents had enough money to pay for her getting her now famous snaggletooth
removed, or a chance to stay in Italy
. Furler chose Italy, and she said that she doesn't regret keeping her snaggletooth.
.” Because of her unique singing voice, Furler was offered the chance to record a song by a local DJ who happened to be in the bar. Fourteen years on and it all seems rather distant and amusing, as Sia recounts holding back the laughter: “I was seventeen and writing about racism and homophobia; I had a message and wanted to change the world. Then I went back to university in Adelaide (the University of Adelaide
) to finish studying Italian and Politics and I hated it after having spent a year out of school, so I quit straight away.”
artist, released her debut solo album OnlySee
from an Adelaide garage – which sold 1,200 copies, 1,000 in Adelaide alone. It was produced by former Crisp band mate Flavell, who also wrote most of the tracks, for Flavoured Records. During a November 1997 episode of Home and Away
in her OnlySee days, Sia guest starred on the show and she sang a song called "How to Breathe" on a beach after Rebecca and Travis are declared husband and wife.
Furler and her boyfriend, Dan, travelled together on a world trip, she stopped off in Thailand. Dan was killed in a traffic accident in London, a week before she arrived. She lived in a London boarding house with Dan's friends. In 2007 Furler recalled the impact of Dan's death, "We were all devastated, so we got shit-faced on drugs and Special Brew. Unfortunately, that bender lasted six years for me."
. While living in London, she performed backing vocals for Jamiroquai
, a British jazz funk band. On 9 July 2001 she released her second solo album, Healing is Difficult
, an eclectic mix of R&B
and jazz
, that was favourably received by critics. All the tracks were written or co-written by Furler and it was co-produced by Furler and Blair Mackichan. The album included the songs "Drink to Get Drunk" and "Little Man" which became popular in UK nightclubs. The album's single "Taken for Granted", reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart
in June 2000. The album's lyrics dealt with her boyfriend'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." Unhappy with the promotion of the album, Furler fired her manager, left Sony Music and signed with Go! Beat Records
, a subsidiary of UMG
. At the APRA Awards of 2002
, Furler won the 'Breakthrough Songwriter' category alongside Brisbane pop duo Aneiki
's Jennifer Waite and Grant Wallis.
. Her second album, Colour the Small One
, was released in Australia on 19 January 2004 and in Europe later that year. This downtempo
album had Furler employ a mixture of acoustic instruments
and electronic backing to her material, which led to comparisons to artists such as Dido
and Sarah McLachlan
. It featured "The Bully", which was a collaboration with American musician Beck Hansen
. Two further songs were co-written with Beck and recorded, but have yet to be released. Colour the Small One spawned the singles "Breathe Me" and "Where I Belong". The latter was earmarked for the Spider-Man 2
soundtrack, its cover depicts Furler dressed in a Spider-Man costume. However, owing to a record label conflict, it was withdrawn. Six tracks on the album had been co-written with her bass guitarist, Samuel Dixon
.
In early 2005, Furler left Go! Beat Records, disappointed at the company's poor promotion of the album, and the failure of the label's US counterpart to pick up the record. She relocated to New York City. Meanwhile, "Breathe Me" appeared on the series finale of the US HBO television series Six Feet Under and the broadcast of the 2006 Victoria's Secret
Fashion Show. It was also used in an episode of the BBC show "Luther" (Season 1, Episode 5). The track had been licensed to Astralwerks
– which also produces the Six Feet Under soundtracks – and Colour the Small One was given an American release by that label in early 2006.
Furler toured the US throughout that year, promoting the album and cross-promoting the Six Feet Under season five DVD release. The US version of the album features four bonus tracks: "Broken Biscuit" (from the Don't Bring Me Down EP), "Sea Shells" (the B-side to "Breathe Me" in the UK) and two remixes of "Breathe Me" by Four Tet
and Ulrich Schnauss
.
(musical duo of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker) on their first three studio albums and has toured with the band. She is heard on their hit singles "Destiny" and "Distractions" from their debut album, Simple Things
, released in April 2001. Their second album, When It Falls
appeared in March 2004 and featured Furler voicing "Somersault" and "Speed Dial No. 2". Their third album, The Garden
issued May 2006, found six contributions from Furler, with two ("Throw It All Away" and "You're My Flame") released as singles in the UK and North America. Simple Things reached the UK Albums Chart
top 30 and both When It Falls and The Garden peaked in the top 5.
. One new studio track – "Pictures" – was included on the album. Allmusic's Marissa Brown felt "The recordings sound good, the band ... tight and lush, and Sia herself is spot-on, her vocals rich and passionate." In November, a four-song EP, Day Too Soon, was issued on iTunes
, which included the tracks "Day Too Soon", "Buttons", "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine", and a remix of "Day Too Soon" by Mock & Toof. "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" reached No. 8 and "Day Too Soon" peaked at No. 24 on Billboards Dance Music Club Play Singles Chart.
Furler's third studio album, Some People Have Real Problems
, was released in January 2008, which peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200
. Its first single, "Day Too Soon", was issued in November 2007. A video for the song "Buttons" was created. The track "Little Black Sandals" was featured on the television show Private Practice in the season one episode, "In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead". Also in January 2008, Furler performed "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
. It has remix versions by Sander van Doorn
, Stonebridge
, and Jens O. The Sander van Doorn remix was a hit in the Netherlands, reaching the No. 11 spot on the Dutch Singles Chart and it peaked at No. 12 on the Spanish Singles Chart. Furler and her band members wore glow-in-the-dark
costumes on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January, performing "Buttons" and "Breathe Me". The Mylo remix of "Breathe Me" was used in the nightly segment "Wall Street Crisis: Is Your Money Safe?" during the economic crisis of 2008–2009.
Furler's music video, "Soon We'll Be Found", was used on the US front page of the iTunes Music Store. Customers were able to download a high quality version of the video for free. It has garnered overall good reviews from customers, although the average rating as of 10 November 2008 is 3.5 stars. Her cover of Ray Davies
' "I Go to Sleep" appeared on the TV shows Dollhouse
("Gray Hour" episode) and Packed to the Rafters
("Perfect Bubble" episode).
In May 2009, Furler released TV Is My Parent on DVD, which includes a live concert at New York's Hiro Ballroom on 12 September 2007, four music videos and behind-the-scenes footage. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009
, she won the award for 'Best Music DVD' for TV Is My Parent. Some People Have Real Problems was nominated for 'Best Breakthrough Artist Album'.
's manager in 2007 to record "Death by Chocolate" and Aguilera contacted Furler herself. During 2009, Furler and Dixon
collaborated with Aguilera on tracks for the US artist's sixth studio album, Bionic (2010). Three of the songs were included on the standard version and a fourth was included on the deluxe edition.
Furler, Aguilera and Dixon also co-wrote "Bound to You" for the soundtrack of Burlesque
of the film of the same name
, which was performed by Aguilera who co-starred with Cher
. "Bound to You" was nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
.
In May 2011, Furler appeared on the fourth episode of the US version of a singing competition, The Voice
, as an adviser for Aguilera who is a vocal coach and judge.
, on 18 June 2010. She had performed some new material from the album ("You've Changed", "The Co-Dependent" and "Clap Your Hands
") during her 2009-2010 tours. In 2008, "The Co-Dependent" was expected to be part of an animated pop project, "The H-Crusaders". The album's first single, "Clap Your Hands
" was issued in May. The track "You've Changed
" was premièred on music blog, Sheena Beaston, on 18 November 2009. It was co-written with Lauren Flax
, American DJ and producer, and was originally released in 2008 by Flax, Furler re-recorded it for We Are Born.
"You've Changed" peaked at No. 31 on the ARIA Singles Chart
. It was played in the television show The Vampire Diaries
, while "I'm in Here" (piano vocal version) was used in Gossip Girl
,Rookie Blue, a Canadian police drama, The Nine Lives Of Chloe King
, and Nikita
. "You've Changed" placed 72nd in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2009
, despite being only available from December, her track "Buttons" (CSS Remix) appeared in 50th place.
She received six nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010
and won 'Best Independent Release' and 'Best Pop Release' for We Are Born while Kris Moyes
won 'Best Video' for "Clap Your Hands". The album was also nominated for 'Album of the Year', and "Clap Your Hands" was nominated for 'Single of the Year'. "Clap Your Hands" peaked at No. 17 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It earned Furler and co-writer Samuel Dixon a nomination for 'Song of the Year' at the 2011 APRA Music Awards
. The album received gold album accreditation by the Australian Recording Industry Association
in 2011 for shipment of 35000 units.
According to her Twitter site, Furler wanted to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show
in the 2010 season. Furler did not appear on the show, although the trailer for Oprah's final season featured "Breathe Me". In June 2010, Furler cancelled her touring commitments and later announced that she had been diagnosed with Graves' disease
, after rest and treatment she resumed performing from January 2011. She performed at the Big Day Out
concerts in New Zealand and Australia. Further touring of Australia followed in February. According to Furler's website, her tour of North America is due to start in late July.
(ex-George
). It was expected to be included on each artists' next solo albums but it did not appear on Furler's Some People Have Real Problems nor Noonan's Skin
. "Sweet One" appeared on Katie Noonan and the Captain's album, Emperor's Box (2010). In 2006, Furler recorded a cover version of Radiohead
's "Paranoid Android
", which appeared on the tribute album, Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
. It was used on an episode of teen drama The O.C.
.
Furler provided backing vocals on The Bird and the Bee
's cover version of the Bee Gees
's "How Deep Is Your Love
", which appears on the soundtrack for the Sex and the City film (2008). The Bird and the Bee's Greg Kurstin
produced Furler's 2010 album We Are Born; he also provided keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drums and xylophone; and co-wrote five tracks. Kurstin's band mate, Inara George
provided additional vocals. Furler collaborated with Lior
on the song "I'll Forget You" for his album, Corner of an Endless Road
(2008). In August, "Breathe Me" was licensed to Coles Supermarkets Australia and appeared in their commercial airing during coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In October, she performed two songs on the BBC2 TV show, Later with Jools Holland
– "Buttons" and "Soon We'll Be Found". Furler's song "Breathe Me" is used as the backing music for the Tokyo Games Show trailer of the video game Prince of Persia
, published by Ubisoft
in 2008, also for the trailer of the 2005 film Derailed, as well as the final sequence for the TV show Six Feet Under and the movie The Ultimate Gift
.
In 2009, Furler contributed backing vocals on "Carol Brown" and "You Don't Have to Be a Prostitute" for Flight of the Conchords
' second album, I Told You I Was Freaky. She appeared on the Swedish singer Peter Jöback
's album East Side Stories on the cover song duet "Wicked Game
", written by Chris Isaak
. She provides guest vocals on the song "Never So Big" on David Byrne
and Fatboy Slim
's concept album
Here Lies Love
released in 2010.
Her cover of The Church
song "Under the Milky Way
" was used in a Lincoln MKT
car commercial, and in January 2010, was released to the iTunes store. She has performed cover versions of Britney Spears
's "Gimme More
", Cyndi Lauper
's "Time After Time", Grease
's "You're the One That I Want" – a duet with Beck
, and the Madonna
song "Oh Father". Also in 2010, Furler contributed "My Love" to the soundtrack of the third instalment of The Twilight Saga
pentalogy. The soundtrack debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart.
Furler wrote and sang on a song called "Titanium
" for the 2011 album, Nothing But the Beat by DJ David Guetta
. According to Sia's official Twitter, she described Titanium in more vivid detail: "It's amazing that 40 minutes of my life and zero promo turned into my most successful song to date." Also in 2011, "Lullaby" was heard on the season finale of The Big C and "Breathe Me" can be heard in the ABC movie "Cyberbully".
In 2008, Furler discussed her bisexuality in interviews with Scotland on Sunday
and AfterEllen.com. She was included on a list of gay entertainers in the June–July 2009 issue of The Advocate
. In both 2009 and 2010, Furler was nominated by readers of SameSame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential lesbian and gay Australians, though she is bisexual. According to Furler, "I've always been honest if anyone ever asked me. Before I was actually successful I'd always 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 didn't just recently open up, I just recently got famous! I've always been… well, flexible is the word I would use." In June 2010, Furler expressed a wish to marry her then girlfriend JD Samson
of electro-punk band Le Tigre
. The couple have since broken up.
Furler, who is a vegetarian, participated in an advertisement with her dog Pantera, for PETA Asia-Pacific
to encourage pet neutering
.
In June 2010, Furler's official website announced that all scheduled promotional events and shows had been cancelled due to her poor health. She cited extreme lethargy and panic attacks and considered retiring permanently from performing and touring. According to her Twitter account she was diagnosed with Graves' disease – an autoimmune disorder with an over-active thyroid
. Four months later, in an ARIA Awards interview Furler said her health was improving after rest and thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
Some People Have Real Problems
Some People Have Real Problems is the fourth studio album by Australian singer Sia. Released in 2008, the album featured singles including 'Day Too Soon', 'The Girl You Lost' and 'Soon We'll Be Found'. In live performances of the latter song, Sia used sign language to accompany her singing...
peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009
ARIA Music Awards of 2009
The 23rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards took place on 26 November 2009 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. The ceremony was telecast on the Nine Network at 8:30pm that night...
, she won the award for 'Best Music DVD' and received six nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010
ARIA Music Awards of 2010
The 24th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards are a series of award ceremonies which included the 2010 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine Arts Awards and ARIA Awards. The latter ceremony took place on 7 November at the Sydney Opera House and was...
and won 'Best Independent Release' and 'Best Pop Release' for We Are Born
We Are Born
-Track listing:-Personnel:Credits for We Are Born adapted from Sia's official website.* Henry Binns – composer* Felix Bloxsom – drums, additional vocals* Dan Carey – composer* Madonna Ciccone – composer* Pierre de Reeder – engineer...
and 'Best Video' for the song "Clap Your Hands
Clap Your Hands (Sia song)
"Clap Your Hands" is a 2010 single from Sia Furler's fifth studio album We Are Born . The song was written by Sia Furler and Samuel Dixon, and produced by Greg Kurstin....
". Furler has also collaborated and performed with Zero 7
Zero 7
Zero 7 is a British musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. The group members began their musical careers as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, Simple Things was released in 2001 and received critical acclaim...
and Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
. Her mid-2010 international tour in support of We Are Born was cancelled with Furler citing extreme lethargy and panic attacks, she considered retiring from touring permanently until she was diagnosed with Graves' disease
Graves' disease
Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease where the thyroid is overactive, producing an excessive amount of thyroid hormones...
– an autoimmune disorder with an over-active thyroid
Thyroid
The thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...
. After resting and hormone replacement therapy
Hormone replacement therapy
Hormone replacement therapy may refer to:*Hormone replacement therapy *Hormone replacement therapy *Hormone replacement therapy *Androgen replacement therapy -See also:...
, Furler resumed touring with gigs in Australia, the US and Canada during 2011. Sia also has a planned album slated for a summer 2012 release.
Early life
Furler was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 18 December 1975. Her father, Phil Colson, was a musician in various bands including Foreday Riders, Rum Jungle, Fat Time, Jump Back Jack, and Mount Lofty Rangers. Her mother, Loene Furler, was an art lecturer who also provided backing vocals for Mount Lofty Rangers. Her parents were both in an Adelaide rockabillyRockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
band, The Soda Jerks. Furler is the niece of singer-songwriter Colin Hay
Colin Hay
Colin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
of Men at Work
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
– Colson briefly played guitar for the group. In her 2008 NPR Music
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
interview, she said that she had mimicked other singers while growing up and counts Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
and Sting as her early influences. She attended Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. It is the first government high school in South Australia...
.
At fourteen, Furler said, her parents had enough money to pay for her getting her now famous snaggletooth
Snaggletooth
Snaggletooth may refer to:*Snaggletooth, a character seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.*Snaggletooth A.K.A Warpig, the mascot of the British heavy metal band Motörhead.*Snaggletooth, a tooth that is broken or not in alignment with the others....
removed, or a chance to stay in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Furler chose Italy, and she said that she doesn't regret keeping her snaggletooth.
Discovering her voice and Italy
Discovering her voice in a karaoke bar while in Italy, taking a university gap year, Sia explains to gigwise.com: “I got up and sang at this karaoke bar in Italy. I didn’t like any of the songs they had so I just got them to clap their hands and sang ‘Lean On Me’ by Bill WithersBill Withers
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...
.” Because of her unique singing voice, Furler was offered the chance to record a song by a local DJ who happened to be in the bar. Fourteen years on and it all seems rather distant and amusing, as Sia recounts holding back the laughter: “I was seventeen and writing about racism and homophobia; I had a message and wanted to change the world. Then I went back to university in Adelaide (the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
) to finish studying Italian and Politics and I hated it after having spent a year out of school, so I quit straight away.”
Crisp and OnlySee
In the early 1990s, Sia Furler started gigging in the Adelaide acid jazz scene and at the age of 17, joined the jazz funk band, Crisp. Crisp included Furler on vocals, Jesse Flavell on guitar, Jeremy Glover on bass guitar, Sam Langley, Ben Timmis on keyboards, Steve Rooney on drums. The group released two albums: Word and the Deal (1996) and Delerium (1997). By 1997, Furler had left Crisp and as a trip hopTrip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
artist, released her debut solo album OnlySee
OnlySee
OnlySee is a Trip-hop album released by Australian singer Sia Furler in 1997, and was her first attempt at a solo career after leaving the Adelaide based acid-jazz band Crisp. Unlike her later albums, OnlySee was marketed under her full name, Sia Furler, instead of simply Sia. It was produced by...
from an Adelaide garage – which sold 1,200 copies, 1,000 in Adelaide alone. It was produced by former Crisp band mate Flavell, who also wrote most of the tracks, for Flavoured Records. During a November 1997 episode of Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
in her OnlySee days, Sia guest starred on the show and she sang a song called "How to Breathe" on a beach after Rebecca and Travis are declared husband and wife.
Furler and her boyfriend, Dan, travelled together on a world trip, she stopped off in Thailand. Dan was killed in a traffic accident in London, a week before she arrived. She lived in a London boarding house with Dan's friends. In 2007 Furler recalled the impact of Dan's death, "We were all devastated, so we got shit-faced on drugs and Special Brew. Unfortunately, that bender lasted six years for me."
Healing is Difficult
In 2000, Sia Furler signed a recording contract with the Sony Music sub-label Dance PoolDance Pool
Dance Pool was one of Sony Music's dance / house labels.CBS Dance Pool started in 1988 at CBS Schallplatten GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. It was the most successful dance label from a major company in Germany. Right after starting under the name and logo of DANCE POOL it dominated the German sales...
. While living in London, she performed backing vocals for Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...
, a British jazz funk band. On 9 July 2001 she released her second solo album, Healing is Difficult
Healing Is Difficult
Healing Is Difficult is a 2001 album by Sia. It was released in the US on 28 May 2002. In the UK the album's first single Taken for Granted was released in June 2000 and peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up Little Man failed to chart even though it received a two-step garage remix...
, an eclectic mix of R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, that was favourably received by critics. All the tracks were written or co-written by Furler and it was co-produced by Furler and Blair Mackichan. The album included the songs "Drink to Get Drunk" and "Little Man" which became popular in UK nightclubs. The album's single "Taken for Granted", reached No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in June 2000. The album's lyrics dealt with her boyfriend'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." Unhappy with the promotion of the album, Furler fired her manager, left Sony Music and signed with Go! Beat Records
Go! Beat Records
Go! Beat Records was a record label launched as a subsidiary of Go! Discs Records for dance artists like David Holmes and Portishead. When Go! Discs folded, Go Beat continued as a label within the Universal Music Group....
, a subsidiary of UMG
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
. At the APRA Awards of 2002
APRA Awards of 2002
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2002 are a series of awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Classical Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards were presented by APRA and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society . The Classical Music...
, Furler won the 'Breakthrough Songwriter' category alongside Brisbane pop duo Aneiki
Aneiki
Aneiki is a Brisbane pop duo made up of Jennifer Waite and Grant Wallis. They worked with songwriter Daniels Jones and were signed to his label, Meridienmusik. Their debut single, "Pleased To Meet You", reached #26 on the ARIA singles chart, spending 18 weeks in the top 100 and was #13 on 2001's...
's Jennifer Waite and Grant Wallis.
Colour the Small One
In 2003, Sia Furler released an extended play, Don't Bring Me Down, its lead track was used over the closing titles of the French film, 36 Quai des Orfèvres36 Quai des Orfèvres (film)
36 Quai des Orfèvres is a 2004 French film directed by Olivier Marchal and starring Daniel Auteuil and Gérard Depardieu. The film takes place in Paris, where two cops are competing for the vacant seat of Chief of Police while involved in a search for a gang of violent thieves...
. Her second album, Colour the Small One
Colour the Small One
Colour the Small One is a 2004 album by Australian singer Sia. It is her third solo studio album.It was re-released 10 January 2006 in the United States, after the track "Breathe Me" became popular on alternative radio, following its feature as the closing song in the series finale of the HBO drama...
, was released in Australia on 19 January 2004 and in Europe later that year. This downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
album had Furler employ a mixture of acoustic instruments
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
and electronic backing to her material, which led to comparisons to artists such as Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
and Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
. It featured "The Bully", which was a collaboration with American musician Beck Hansen
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
. Two further songs were co-written with Beck and recorded, but have yet to be released. Colour the Small One spawned the singles "Breathe Me" and "Where I Belong". The latter was earmarked for the Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi, written by Alvin Sargent and developed by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, and Michael Chabon. It is the second film in the Spider-Man film franchise based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man...
soundtrack, its cover depicts Furler dressed in a Spider-Man costume. However, owing to a record label conflict, it was withdrawn. Six tracks on the album had been co-written with her bass guitarist, Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon is an Australian record producer, songwriter and musician, based in London.He has frequently collaborated with fellow-Australian Sia Furler. His compositions have featured on her albums, Some People Have Real Problems, Colour the Small One and We Are Born...
.
In early 2005, Furler left Go! Beat Records, disappointed at the company's poor promotion of the album, and the failure of the label's US counterpart to pick up the record. She relocated to New York City. Meanwhile, "Breathe Me" appeared on the series finale of the US HBO television series Six Feet Under and the broadcast of the 2006 Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
Fashion Show. It was also used in an episode of the BBC show "Luther" (Season 1, Episode 5). The track had been licensed to Astralwerks
Astralwerks
Astralwerks is a New York-based record label that releases primarily electronic music. It is owned by Virgin Records/EMI and distributed by Caroline Distribution in the United States....
– which also produces the Six Feet Under soundtracks – and Colour the Small One was given an American release by that label in early 2006.
Furler toured the US throughout that year, promoting the album and cross-promoting the Six Feet Under season five DVD release. The US version of the album features four bonus tracks: "Broken Biscuit" (from the Don't Bring Me Down EP), "Sea Shells" (the B-side to "Breathe Me" in the UK) and two remixes of "Breathe Me" by Four Tet
Four Tet
Kieran Hebden is a post-rock and electronic musician. Hebden first came to prominence as a member of the band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist under the moniker of Four Tet....
and Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss
-Biography:Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of Kiel in 1977. He became interested in a range of music: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Tangerine Dream, Chapterhouse, and early bleep & breakbeat tracks...
.
Zero 7
Sia Furler has provided vocals for English downtempo group Zero 7Zero 7
Zero 7 is a British musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. The group members began their musical careers as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, Simple Things was released in 2001 and received critical acclaim...
(musical duo of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker) on their first three studio albums and has toured with the band. She is heard on their hit singles "Destiny" and "Distractions" from their debut album, Simple Things
Simple Things (Zero 7 album)
-Singles:The following singles were released from the album:...
, released in April 2001. Their second album, When It Falls
When It Falls
-Singles:The following singles were released from the album:- External links :**...
appeared in March 2004 and featured Furler voicing "Somersault" and "Speed Dial No. 2". Their third album, The Garden
The Garden (Zero 7 album)
The Garden is Zero 7's third studio album. It was released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2006, and in the United States on 6 June 2006....
issued May 2006, found six contributions from Furler, with two ("Throw It All Away" and "You're My Flame") released as singles in the UK and North America. Simple Things reached the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
top 30 and both When It Falls and The Garden peaked in the top 5.
Lady Croissant, Some People Have Real Problems
On 3 April 2007, Sia Furler released a live album, Lady Croissant, in the US. It featured eight live songs from her April 2006 performance at New York's Bowery BallroomBowery Ballroom
The Bowery Ballroom is a music venue in the Bowery section of New York City. The structure, at 6 Delancey Street, was built just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It stood vacant until the end of WWII, when it became a high-end retail store. The neighborhood subsequently went into decline...
. One new studio track – "Pictures" – was included on the album. Allmusic's Marissa Brown felt "The recordings sound good, the band ... tight and lush, and Sia herself is spot-on, her vocals rich and passionate." In November, a four-song EP, Day Too Soon, was issued on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, which included the tracks "Day Too Soon", "Buttons", "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine", and a remix of "Day Too Soon" by Mock & Toof. "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" reached No. 8 and "Day Too Soon" peaked at No. 24 on Billboards Dance Music Club Play Singles Chart.
Furler's third studio album, Some People Have Real Problems
Some People Have Real Problems
Some People Have Real Problems is the fourth studio album by Australian singer Sia. Released in 2008, the album featured singles including 'Day Too Soon', 'The Girl You Lost' and 'Soon We'll Be Found'. In live performances of the latter song, Sia used sign language to accompany her singing...
, was released in January 2008, which peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Its first single, "Day Too Soon", was issued in November 2007. A video for the song "Buttons" was created. The track "Little Black Sandals" was featured on the television show Private Practice in the season one episode, "In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead". Also in January 2008, Furler performed "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
. It has remix versions by Sander van Doorn
Sander van Doorn
Sander van Doorn Sander van Doorn Sander van Doorn (born Sander Ketelaars [] on February 28, 1979 in Eindhoven, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands is a Dutch tech trance DJ and producer...
, Stonebridge
Stonebridge (DJ)
StoneBridge is the pseudonym for the Swedish DJ and record producer, Sten Hallström.-History:StoneBridge won international renown with the remix of the 1993 hit "Show Me Love" with Robin S. Until then, he had been running the Swedish DJ/remix outfit Swemix, formed at the end of the 1980s...
, and Jens O. The Sander van Doorn remix was a hit in the Netherlands, reaching the No. 11 spot on the Dutch Singles Chart and it peaked at No. 12 on the Spanish Singles Chart. Furler and her band members wore glow-in-the-dark
Phosphorescence
Phosphorescence is a specific type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. Unlike fluorescence, a phosphorescent material does not immediately re-emit the radiation it absorbs. The slower time scales of the re-emission are associated with "forbidden" energy state transitions in quantum...
costumes on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January, performing "Buttons" and "Breathe Me". The Mylo remix of "Breathe Me" was used in the nightly segment "Wall Street Crisis: Is Your Money Safe?" during the economic crisis of 2008–2009.
Furler's music video, "Soon We'll Be Found", was used on the US front page of the iTunes Music Store. Customers were able to download a high quality version of the video for free. It has garnered overall good reviews from customers, although the average rating as of 10 November 2008 is 3.5 stars. Her cover of Ray Davies
Ray Davies
Ray Davies, CBE is an English rock musician. He is best known as lead singer and songwriter for the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave...
' "I Go to Sleep" appeared on the TV shows Dollhouse
Dollhouse (TV series)
Dollhouse is an American science fiction television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon under Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on February 13, 2009, on the Fox network and was officially cancelled on November 11, 2009. The final episode aired on January 29, 2010...
("Gray Hour" episode) and Packed to the Rafters
Packed to the Rafters
Packed to the Rafters is an Australian family-orientated television series which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The drama series features a mix of lighthearted comedy woven through the plot. It revolves around the Rafter family facing work pressures and...
("Perfect Bubble" episode).
In May 2009, Furler released TV Is My Parent on DVD, which includes a live concert at New York's Hiro Ballroom on 12 September 2007, four music videos and behind-the-scenes footage. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2009
ARIA Music Awards of 2009
The 23rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards took place on 26 November 2009 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. The ceremony was telecast on the Nine Network at 8:30pm that night...
, she won the award for 'Best Music DVD' for TV Is My Parent. Some People Have Real Problems was nominated for 'Best Breakthrough Artist Album'.
Christina Aguilera
Furler approached Christina AguileraChristina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
's manager in 2007 to record "Death by Chocolate" and Aguilera contacted Furler herself. During 2009, Furler and Dixon
Samuel Dixon
Samuel Dixon is an Australian record producer, songwriter and musician, based in London.He has frequently collaborated with fellow-Australian Sia Furler. His compositions have featured on her albums, Some People Have Real Problems, Colour the Small One and We Are Born...
collaborated with Aguilera on tracks for the US artist's sixth studio album, Bionic (2010). Three of the songs were included on the standard version and a fourth was included on the deluxe edition.
Furler, Aguilera and Dixon also co-wrote "Bound to You" for the soundtrack of Burlesque
Burlesque (soundtrack)
Burlesque: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is a soundtrack album by Christina Aguilera and Cher from the film of the same name. It was released on November 22, 2010 by RCA Records. The first buzz single from the soundtrack "Express" was released on November 19, 2010. The other two singles from...
of the film of the same name
Burlesque (film)
Burlesque is a 2010 musical film directed and written by Steven Antin and starring Christina Aguilera and Cher. The film was released on November 24, 2010 in North America....
, which was performed by Aguilera who co-starred with Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
. "Bound to You" was nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
.
In May 2011, Furler appeared on the fourth episode of the US version of a singing competition, The Voice
The Voice (U.S. TV series)
The Voice is an American reality talent show that premiered on April 26, 2011 on the NBC television network. Based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland, the series was created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. It is part of an international series...
, as an adviser for Aguilera who is a vocal coach and judge.
We Are Born
Sia Furler released her fifth studio album, We Are BornWe Are Born
-Track listing:-Personnel:Credits for We Are Born adapted from Sia's official website.* Henry Binns – composer* Felix Bloxsom – drums, additional vocals* Dan Carey – composer* Madonna Ciccone – composer* Pierre de Reeder – engineer...
, on 18 June 2010. She had performed some new material from the album ("You've Changed", "The Co-Dependent" and "Clap Your Hands
Clap Your Hands (Sia song)
"Clap Your Hands" is a 2010 single from Sia Furler's fifth studio album We Are Born . The song was written by Sia Furler and Samuel Dixon, and produced by Greg Kurstin....
") during her 2009-2010 tours. In 2008, "The Co-Dependent" was expected to be part of an animated pop project, "The H-Crusaders". The album's first single, "Clap Your Hands
Clap Your Hands (Sia song)
"Clap Your Hands" is a 2010 single from Sia Furler's fifth studio album We Are Born . The song was written by Sia Furler and Samuel Dixon, and produced by Greg Kurstin....
" was issued in May. The track "You've Changed
You've Changed (song)
"You've Changed" is the first single released from Sia Furler's 2010 album We Are Born. "You've Changed" was originally co-written and released in 2008 by American DJ/producer Lauren Flax which was then re-recorded for Sia's 2010 album, We Are Born. The single was announced through a Twitter update...
" was premièred on music blog, Sheena Beaston, on 18 November 2009. It was co-written with Lauren Flax
Lauren Flax
Lauren Flax is a prominent international DJ, songwriter and producer. Lauren currently is a member of the Brooklyn based band CREEP with Lauren Dillard and is the Fischerspooner tour DJ. Her remix of C.Y.O.A. was featured on the Heartsrevolution 12" record, distributed by IHEARTCOMIX Records...
, American DJ and producer, and was originally released in 2008 by Flax, Furler re-recorded it for We Are Born.
"You've Changed" peaked at No. 31 on the ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
. It was played in the television show The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
, while "I'm in Here" (piano vocal version) was used in Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
,Rookie Blue, a Canadian police drama, The Nine Lives Of Chloe King
The Nine Lives of Chloe King
The Nine Lives of Chloe King is an American fantasy drama television series which premiered on ABC Family on June 14, 2011 and ended on August 16, 2011. The one-hour drama is based on the book series of the same name by Liz Braswell...
, and Nikita
Nikita
Nikita is a French thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson; it was released in the United States as La Femme Nikita. The film is about a young criminal who is recruited to work for French intelligence. Nikita was remade into the U.S...
. "You've Changed" placed 72nd in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2009
Triple J Hottest 100, 2009
The 2009 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on Australia Day 26 January 2010. It is the seventeenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J....
, despite being only available from December, her track "Buttons" (CSS Remix) appeared in 50th place.
She received six nominations at the ARIA Music Awards of 2010
ARIA Music Awards of 2010
The 24th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards are a series of award ceremonies which included the 2010 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine Arts Awards and ARIA Awards. The latter ceremony took place on 7 November at the Sydney Opera House and was...
and won 'Best Independent Release' and 'Best Pop Release' for We Are Born while Kris Moyes
Kris Moyes
Kris Moyes is an Australian-born director and producer. He is perhaps best known for his innovative music videos.In 2005 he directed The Presets "Are You The One?" which utilized a large array of film techniques that playfully proposed answers to who the "one" is...
won 'Best Video' for "Clap Your Hands". The album was also nominated for 'Album of the Year', and "Clap Your Hands" was nominated for 'Single of the Year'. "Clap Your Hands" peaked at No. 17 on the ARIA Singles Chart. It earned Furler and co-writer Samuel Dixon a nomination for 'Song of the Year' at the 2011 APRA Music Awards
APRA Awards
The APRA Music Awards are several award ceremonies run in Australia and New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually....
. The album received gold album accreditation by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
in 2011 for shipment of 35000 units.
According to her Twitter site, Furler wanted to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
in the 2010 season. Furler did not appear on the show, although the trailer for Oprah's final season featured "Breathe Me". In June 2010, Furler cancelled her touring commitments and later announced that she had been diagnosed with Graves' disease
Graves' disease
Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease where the thyroid is overactive, producing an excessive amount of thyroid hormones...
, after rest and treatment she resumed performing from January 2011. She performed at the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
concerts in New Zealand and Australia. Further touring of Australia followed in February. According to Furler's website, her tour of North America is due to start in late July.
Covers and other contributions
In November 2005, Sia Furler recorded, "Sweet One", as a duet with fellow Australian singer Katie NoonanKatie Noonan
Katie Anne Noonan is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she sings in the groups george and Elixir, duets with her mother, Maggie Noonan and is currently playing with support from the group The...
(ex-George
George (band)
George are a rock band from Brisbane, Australia. Their first album, Polyserena reached #1 in the Australian Charts on 17 March 2002.-History:...
). It was expected to be included on each artists' next solo albums but it did not appear on Furler's Some People Have Real Problems nor Noonan's Skin
Skin (Katie Noonan album)
-Track listing:# "Logic"# "Return"# "Time to Begin"# "Love's My Song for You"# "Little Boy Man"# "Sunshine"# "One Step"# "Home"# "Send Out a Little Love"# "Who Are You?"# "Bluebird"# "A Little Smile"...
. "Sweet One" appeared on Katie Noonan and the Captain's album, Emperor's Box (2010). In 2006, Furler recorded a cover version of Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's "Paranoid Android
Paranoid Android
"Paranoid Android" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, featured on their 1997 third studio album OK Computer. The lyrics of the darkly humorous song were written primarily by singer Thom Yorke, following an unpleasant experience in a Los Angeles bar...
", which appeared on the tribute album, Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads
Exit Music: Songs with Radio Heads is a tribute album to British band Radiohead released in 2006 on Rapster Records and Barely Breaking Even Records...
. It was used on an episode of teen drama The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
.
Furler provided backing vocals on The Bird and the Bee
The Bird and the Bee
The Bird and the Bee is an American indie pop musical duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of musicians Inara George and Greg Kurstin...
's cover version of the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
's "How Deep Is Your Love
How Deep Is Your Love
"How Deep Is Your Love" is a pop song recorded by the Bee Gees in 1977 and released as a single in September. Originally intended for Yvonne Elliman, it was ultimately used as part of the soundtrack to the film Saturday Night Fever. It was a number three hit in the United Kingdom and Australia...
", which appears on the soundtrack for the Sex and the City film (2008). The Bird and the Bee's Greg Kurstin
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen "Greg" Kurstin is an award-winning American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009 Kurstin received a Grammy Award nomination for Producer of the Year. That same year he won three Ivor Novello awards for his work with Lily Allen, including Songwriters of the Year for "The Fear"...
produced Furler's 2010 album We Are Born; he also provided keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, drums and xylophone; and co-wrote five tracks. Kurstin's band mate, Inara George
Inara George
Inara Maryland George is a Los Angeles, California-based singer-songwriter, one half of The Bird and the Bee, a member of the band Merrick, with Bryony Atkinson, and a member of the trio The Living Sisters, with Eleni Mandell and Becky Stark...
provided additional vocals. Furler collaborated with Lior
Lior
Lior is a male, independent Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne.-Career:In early 2005, Lior independently self-released his debut album Autumn Flow, certified gold by ARIA...
on the song "I'll Forget You" for his album, Corner of an Endless Road
Corner of an Endless Road
Corner of an Endless Road is the second studio album by independent Australian singer-songwriter Lior, released in February 2008. The album was nominated for an ARIA Award for the Best Independent Release at the 2008 ARIA Music Awards.-Track listing:...
(2008). In August, "Breathe Me" was licensed to Coles Supermarkets Australia and appeared in their commercial airing during coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In October, she performed two songs on the BBC2 TV show, Later with Jools Holland
Later with Jools Holland
Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland. A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 1992 and is a part of BBC Two's late-night line-up, usually at around 11pm to 12 midnight...
– "Buttons" and "Soon We'll Be Found". Furler's song "Breathe Me" is used as the backing music for the Tokyo Games Show trailer of the video game Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....
, published by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
in 2008, also for the trailer of the 2005 film Derailed, as well as the final sequence for the TV show Six Feet Under and the movie The Ultimate Gift
The Ultimate Gift
The Ultimate Gift is a film based on author Jim Stovall's bestselling novel released on March 9, 2007 in 816 theaters in the USA. The film was not well attended in the USA and produced low box office receipts, though DVD sales were quite high in relation to its theatrical receipts.-Plot:When his...
.
In 2009, Furler contributed backing vocals on "Carol Brown" and "You Don't Have to Be a Prostitute" for Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...
' second album, I Told You I Was Freaky. She appeared on the Swedish singer Peter Jöback
Peter Jöback
Peter Arne Jöback is a Swedish singer and musical artist, and is regarded as being one of Sweden's best male vocalists .- 1997–2000 :...
's album East Side Stories on the cover song duet "Wicked Game
Wicked Game
"Wicked Game" is a 1989 song by Chris Isaak from his third studio album Heart Shaped World. Despite being released as a single in 1989, it did not become a hit until it was later featured in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart...
", written by Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Early life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
. She provides guest vocals on the song "Never So Big" on David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
and Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
's concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love
Here Lies Love is a concept album and rock musical made in collaboration between David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave...
released in 2010.
Her cover of The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
song "Under the Milky Way
Under the Milky Way
"Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band The Church released in February 1988 with their album, Starfish. The song was written by bass guitarist and vocalist Steve Kilbey and his then-girlfriend, Karin Jansson...
" was used in a Lincoln MKT
Lincoln MKT
The Lincoln MKT is a full-size luxury crossover utility vehicle, first unveiled as a concept vehicle at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. It entered production at the Oakville Assembly plant in July 2009 as a 2010 model. It shares the same crossover D4 platform as the Ford Flex and...
car commercial, and in January 2010, was released to the iTunes store. She has performed cover versions of Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
's "Gimme More
Gimme More
"Gimme More" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, Blackout. It was released on September 27, 2007 by Jive Records as the lead single of the album. The song was written by Jim Beanz, Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica, Nate "Danja" Hills and Keri Hilson...
", Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's "Time After Time", Grease
Grease (film)
Grease is a 1978 American musical film directed by Randal Kleiser and based on Warren Casey's and Jim Jacobs's 1971 musical of the same name about two lovers in a 1950s high school. The film stars John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and Jeff Conaway...
's "You're the One That I Want" – a duet with Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
, and the Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
song "Oh Father". Also in 2010, Furler contributed "My Love" to the soundtrack of the third instalment of The Twilight Saga
The Twilight Saga (film series)
The Twilight Saga is a series of supernatural romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four Twilight series novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $2 billion in worldwide...
pentalogy. The soundtrack debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart.
Furler wrote and sang on a song called "Titanium
Titanium (song)
"Titanium" is a song recorded by French disc jockey -music producer David Guetta, featuring vocals by Australian recording artist Sia. Taken from the former's fifth studio album, Nothing but the Beat, the song was written by Sia Furler, Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack. Production was also...
" for the 2011 album, Nothing But the Beat by DJ David Guetta
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta , known professionally as David Guetta , is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster and Pop Life...
. According to Sia's official Twitter, she described Titanium in more vivid detail: "It's amazing that 40 minutes of my life and zero promo turned into my most successful song to date." Also in 2011, "Lullaby" was heard on the season finale of The Big C and "Breathe Me" can be heard in the ABC movie "Cyberbully".
Planned new album
According to Sia Furler's Twitter account from the 9 September 2011, Furler will be releasing her next album in the summer of 2012 and it will be produced by Nick Valensi.Personal life
Sia Furler's parents, Phil Colson and Loene Furler, were members of Adelaide-based rockabilly band, The Soda Jerks. Colson has been a member of numerous groups, Loene was an art lecturer. Furler described her boyfriend, Dan, as her "first true love". The couple travelled together on a world trip, she stopped off in Thailand while he continued to London. There, Dan was killed in a traffic accident, a week before Furler was due to arrive.In 2008, Furler discussed her bisexuality in interviews with Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday
Scotland on Sunday is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by The Scotsman Publications Ltd and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate The Scotsman...
and AfterEllen.com. She was included on a list of gay entertainers in the June–July 2009 issue of The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
. In both 2009 and 2010, Furler was nominated by readers of SameSame.com.au as one of the 25 most influential lesbian and gay Australians, though she is bisexual. According to Furler, "I've always been honest if anyone ever asked me. Before I was actually successful I'd always 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 didn't just recently open up, I just recently got famous! I've always been… well, flexible is the word I would use." In June 2010, Furler expressed a wish to marry her then girlfriend JD Samson
JD Samson
JD Samson is the stage name of Jocelyn Samson, a member of the feminist electropunk band Le Tigre. Samson grew up in the Cleveland suburb of Pepper Pike, Ohio and attended Orange High School. She came out as a lesbian at age 15...
of electro-punk band Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
. The couple have since broken up.
Furler, who is a vegetarian, participated in an advertisement with her dog Pantera, for PETA Asia-Pacific
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
to encourage pet neutering
Neutering
Neutering, from the Latin neuter , is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The process is often used in reference to males whereas spaying is often reserved for females. Colloquially, both terms are often referred to as fixing...
.
In June 2010, Furler's official website announced that all scheduled promotional events and shows had been cancelled due to her poor health. She cited extreme lethargy and panic attacks and considered retiring permanently from performing and touring. According to her Twitter account she was diagnosed with Graves' disease – an autoimmune disorder with an over-active thyroid
Thyroid
The thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...
. Four months later, in an ARIA Awards interview Furler said her health was improving after rest and thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
Discography
- OnlySeeOnlySeeOnlySee is a Trip-hop album released by Australian singer Sia Furler in 1997, and was her first attempt at a solo career after leaving the Adelaide based acid-jazz band Crisp. Unlike her later albums, OnlySee was marketed under her full name, Sia Furler, instead of simply Sia. It was produced by...
(1997) - Healing Is DifficultHealing Is DifficultHealing Is Difficult is a 2001 album by Sia. It was released in the US on 28 May 2002. In the UK the album's first single Taken for Granted was released in June 2000 and peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up Little Man failed to chart even though it received a two-step garage remix...
(2001) - Colour the Small OneColour the Small OneColour the Small One is a 2004 album by Australian singer Sia. It is her third solo studio album.It was re-released 10 January 2006 in the United States, after the track "Breathe Me" became popular on alternative radio, following its feature as the closing song in the series finale of the HBO drama...
(2004) - Some People Have Real ProblemsSome People Have Real ProblemsSome People Have Real Problems is the fourth studio album by Australian singer Sia. Released in 2008, the album featured singles including 'Day Too Soon', 'The Girl You Lost' and 'Soon We'll Be Found'. In live performances of the latter song, Sia used sign language to accompany her singing...
(2008) - We Are BornWe Are Born-Track listing:-Personnel:Credits for We Are Born adapted from Sia's official website.* Henry Binns – composer* Felix Bloxsom – drums, additional vocals* Dan Carey – composer* Madonna Ciccone – composer* Pierre de Reeder – engineer...
(2010)