Best Sia Songs
Four songs that turned Sia from hitmaker into headliner, starting with the one that changed everything.
There's a moment in "Chandelier" when you think it's finished. The chorus has peaked, resolved, moved on. Then it cracks open again and comes back rawer, more exposed. That's the whole Sia philosophy in 20 seconds: everything hitting harder the second time, the voice not holding back, the production just winding tighter and tighter.
The breakthrough: Chandelier (2014)
This is the song. Released in 2014, "Chandelier" is the moment Sia stopped being an invisible songwriter and became an artist you actually wanted to hear. The video built around dancer Maddie Ziegler instead of Sia's own face became her trademark, a visual style so distinctive that it's now the shorthand for how she works: present through absence. Press play on the chorus once and you'll understand why this song went everywhere.
The lighter take: Cheap Thrills feat. Sean Paul (2014)
Also 2014, but a completely different mood. Where "Chandelier" breaks you open, "Cheap Thrills" just wants you to have fun. Sean Paul's dancehall verse gives the whole track a lift, a sense of play that "Chandelier" never quite reaches for. Same artist, same year, opposite temperature. Proof that Sia's range is wider than you'd think if you only knew the big ballads.
The darker turn: Elastic Heart with The Weeknd & Diplo (2014)
Stay in 2014 but shift down into something coiled and tense. "Elastic Heart" pulls The Weeknd and Diplo into a track that leans darker, more brooding than her other 2014 singles, with production that feels like it's being held back from breaking loose. The video is pure tension: Maddie Ziegler dancing alone in an empty space, the song building underneath her, never quite exploding. This is Sia when she's not after euphoria but atmosphere.
The quiet moment: Big Girls Cry (2014)
Round things out with "Big Girls Cry". Same rawness as "Chandelier", same cracked vocal, but lower volume and higher vulnerability. After three bigger productions, this one hits different. It's the track you hear once the party's over and you're sitting in the 4am part of your night, thinking about things. The proof that Sia doesn't need a huge production to move you.