The Price Of Fame - Sia

“I’m exhausted and I’m starting to feel like human jerky” announces Sia before slumping onto the sofa in her dressing room, curling into a ball and breaking into bursts of almost uncontrollable laughter.

Gigwise has been keeping tabs on the Australian pocket rocket for some time now so naturally accepted the offer to have a quick chat with her backstage ahead of her sell-out Koko show. It’s been eleven years since the release of her debut solo album ‘Only See’ and the period between has not only seen her work with Zero 7, but release several more albums and build up a sizable following in the process; but fame has come at a price as Sia explains:

“It’s terrifying and I hate it” once again her sentence is broken mid flow by fits of laughter but she soon regains her composure “I like the whole selling records part and I like the fact that the audience has increased, but I don’t like playing too big places. Here is perfect for me but I don’t really want to get any bigger. Like now I can still communicate with the audience, have fun, get heckled, keep everyone involved, but I fear maintaining the intimacy if it gets any bigger and also I do not want to be famous and I do not want to be on gossip websites; that was gross, I don’t want to be that kind of thing.”

She’s referring to a recent article on Perez Hilton’s gossip website, which sensationalized her sexuality after she ‘recently came out’. But as with all gossip, the truth had been somewhat exaggerated:

“I’ve been talking about liking boys and girls since I first started. I’ve always been open about being an advocate of it’s not what you are it’s who you are so it’s nothing new for me. But I guess because I got successful, it became a story.”

Sia might come across as being an outgoing extrovert, an image brought to life by the You Tube video for her song ‘Buttons’ but in person, her bubbly persona covers a shy demeanour, preferring anonymity to front page status. Famed as much for her vocal range as for involving the crowd at her live show’s, Gigwise was interested to find out how increased success has changed the way she conducts business and Sia is all too willing to talk: