Emerging from her native Australia, Sia Furler has spent some time and dedicated herself to making it big in the states. Although she released her own independent solo album in 1997, OnlySee, Furler did not actually achieve commercial success until she moved to the UK. Now the artist is getting ready to kick off a North American tour starting Oct. 22 in San Diego, bring her all the way through Canada, Chicago and plant her in London toward the end.

The 31-year-old singer/songwriter has been receiving serious attention from the music world since 2000, when she released her debut single, “Taken For Granted”- a pairing of her native Australian drawl with the poignant strings of Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet” and her debut album, “Healing is Difficult.” Now, the talented vocalist, who goes by Sia but was born Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, has been met with a cult fan following.

Born in Adelaide, Australia, Sia was raised on the “hippiest” street ever and her parents played in a rockabilly band called “The Soda Jerks” and her father briefly played in the band Men at Work (”A Land Down Under”), she said in an article published on Sing365.com. Her interest in music was piqued at age 17 when she joined the jazz-funk band Crisp. Since then Sia has released three full-length albums and collaborated with artists such as Zero 7 and Beck.

Her performance with Beck to the Grease song “You’re the One that I Want” was a major experience for the young singer.  Her most recent release,”Lady Croissant,” has contained the hit singles “Buttons” and “Breathe Me,” and contain many catchy songs such as Little Black Sandals. Rolling Stone reviewed the artist positively, classifying Sia as “An artist to watch” and Billboard Magazine writes: “While she hasn’t had a Hollywood ending just yet, Sia is starting to come pretty close.”

Sia’s “Lady Croissant” was recorded live at one of her shows during 2006 and is a direct reflection of the fun and energy that she conveys as a live entertainer, she said in an interview with ArtistDirect.com.

“The whole thing about seeing someone live is that it’s about being in the present,” Sia said. “Otherwise I’d stay at home and press play on the CD. It’s about hearing the songs newly interpreted, and about getting a glimpse into the character of the person. Isn’t it? It is for me. I don’t want to go see a band and just have them play what sounds like the CD, and not even talk to us, or include us in the experience.”

Recently, Sia was approached by American Eagle Outfitters to be the official face of their 2007 summer line and to provide $50,000 for her to make an exclusive music video for the company. The music video “Pictures” was the result - a song that she was not planning to include on her recently released album but still gained her much popularity.
What a perfect time to see this artist in concert. Check out the rest of her North American tour schedule on her official Web site, http://siamusic.net.