Sia Furler

Sia Kate Isobelle Furler a.k.a. Sia Furler or simply Sia was born in Adelaide, South Australia on December 18, 1975. Her father, Phil B. Colson, was a musician in various bands including Foreday Riders, Rum Jungle, Fat Time, Jump Back Jack and Mount Lofty Rangers while her mother, Loene Furler, was a singer, songwriter, musician, and art lecturer who also provided backing vocals for Mount Lofty Rangers. She is the niece of singer-songwriter Colin Hay of Men at Work.

In early 1990s, Sia started performing in the Adelaide acid jazz scene and at the age of 17, she joined the jazz funk band, Crisp. The group released two albums, 1996's "Word and the Deal" and "Delerium" in 1997. In 1997, Sia left Crisp and later released her debut solo album "OnlySee". It was produced by former Crisp band mate Jesse Flavell, who also wrote most of the tracks. Unlike her later albums, "OnlySee" was marketed under her full name, Sia Furler, instead of simply Sia.

In 2000, Sia signed a recording contract with the Sony Music sub-label Dance Pool. While living in London, she performed backing vocals for British jazz funk band Jamiroquai. In 2001 she released her second solo album, "Healing is Difficult". It's an eclectic mix of R&B and jazz that was favorably received by critics. All the tracks were written or co-written by Sia and it was co-produced by Sia and Blair Mackichan. The album included the songs "Drink to Get Drunk" and "Little Man" which became popular in U.K. nightclubs. The album's single ,"Taken for Granted", reached No.10 on the U.K. Singles chart in June 2000. Unhappy with the promotion of the album, Sia fired her manager, left Sony Music and signed with Go! Beat Records, a subsidiary of UMG.

Her third album, "Colour the Small One", was released in Australia and Europe in 2004. It featured "The Bully", which was a collaboration with Beck. "Colour the Small One" spawned the singles "Breathe Me" and "Where I Belong". Six tracks on the album were co-written with her bass guitarist, Samuel Dixon.

Disappointed at the company's poor promotion of the album and the failure of the label's U.S. counterpart to pick up the record, Sia left Go! Beat Records in early 2005. She then relocated to New York City. Meanwhile, "Breathe Me" appeared on the series finale of HBO's television series "Six Feet Under" and the broadcast of the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. The track had been licensed to Astralwerks and "Colour the Small One" was given an American release by that label in early 2006.

In 2007, Sia released a live album, "Lady Croissant", in the U.S. It featured eight live songs from her April 2006 performance at New York's Bowery Ballroom. One new studio track, "Pictures", was included on the album.

Sia's fourth studio album, "Some People Have Real Problems", was released in 2008 and peaked in the top 30 of the Billboard 200 Albums chart. The album featured singles including "Day Too Soon", "The Girl You Lost" and "Soon We'll Be Found". Beck, once again, contributed to songs "Academia" and "Death by Chocolate".

Sia approached Christina Aguilera's manager in 2007 to record "Death by Chocolate" and Aguilera contacted Sia herself. In 2009, Sia and Dixon collaborated with Aguilera on tracks for the latter's sixth studio album, 2010's "Bionic". Three of the songs were included on the standard version and a fourth was included on the deluxe edition.

Sia, Aguilera and Dixon also co-wrote "Bound to You" for the soundtrack of the feature film, "Burlesque", which featured Aguilera. "Bound to You" was nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

In 2010, Sia released "We Are Born", which was produced by Greg Kurstin and featured guitar from The Strokes' Nick Valensi. "We Are Born" debuted at #2 on the Australian Albums chart and was Sia's first Top 10 release in her home country. The album featured a cover of the Madonna song,"Oh Father".

Sia later began to struggle with the pressures of fame. She became addicted to alcohol and drugs and almost committed suicide before a phone call from a friend persuaded her to enter rehab instead. She spent the next few years out of the spotlight, continuing her parallel career as a backroom songwriter for the likes of Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles, Celine Dion and Rihanna. In 2013 she started working on a new album, reuniting with producer Greg Kurstin. She made her first public appearance to promote the album on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in early 2014. On the show, she performed her new single "Chandelier" with her back facing the audience. The album, entitled "1000 Forms of Fear", is slated for release on July 8.