Sia – Chandelier

Recorded In A Closet In Under Fifteen Minutes

Released on March 17, 2014, as the lead single from 1000 Forms of Fear, “Chandelier” shattered expectations for what a comeback single could be. The track peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Sia’s first top ten hit as a lead artist after years of writing for others. But here’s what most people don’t know: those soaring, jaw-dropping vocals that made everyone’s heads spin were recorded in her home closet in less than fifteen minutes. The song was born from a jam session with producer Jesse Shatkin, where Sia played piano and Shatkin played marimba. In under twenty minutes, they had the chords, melody, and raw lyrics about the dark side of partying until you collapse.

The numbers told an astonishing story. “Chandelier” topped charts in France and Poland, hit number two in Australia and Italy, peaked at number six in the UK where it spent 114 weeks on the chart, and appeared in the top five across twenty countries. Billboard called it the best song of 2014, while the track collected three Grammy nominations including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The song spent 46 weeks on the Hot 100 and sold over two million copies in the United States alone. Its success marked a turning point in pop music, proving audiences were hungry for raw emotion over polished perfection, and for a singer who refused to show her face over manufactured celebrity.

Sia initially intended “Chandelier” for Rihanna or Beyoncé, continuing her lucrative career as a behind-the-scenes songwriter who’d already penned massive hits like Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts”. But something shifted. After years of semi-retirement following struggles with alcoholism and addiction, Sia realized nobody could sing this particular song better than she could. The lyrics chronicled the rationalization and self-destruction of a party girl swinging from the chandelier, desperately trying to feel something, anything, through the numbness. Shatkin and co-producer Greg Kurstin understood they had captured lightning in that closet recording, Sia’s voice curling around each syllable with a rawness that couldn’t be replicated in a proper studio.

The recording sessions at Hot Closet Studios in California were deliberately stripped down, with Shatkin and Kurstin playing all the instruments themselves. They built an electropop framework with militant drums, hip hop beats, and reggae-tinged verses that shifted from B-flat minor to D-flat major before soaring into G-flat in that explosive chorus. The production emphasized space over clutter, letting Sia’s vocal gymnastics carry the emotional weight. Her voice moved from whisper to wail within single phrases, demonstrating the power and agility that had made her a sought-after session vocalist before her solo career took off. The track felt simultaneously intimate and massive, a confessional letter written in stadium-sized letters.

“Chandelier” launched 1000 Forms of Fear, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in July 2014 and sold over a million copies worldwide. The album marked Sia’s emergence as a reluctant superstar, someone who desperately wanted artistic success without the trappings of fame. She performed the song on television with her face concealed or her back to the camera, often positioning young dancer Maddie Ziegler as her proxy. The strategy worked: she could have commercial success and critical acclaim without sacrificing her privacy or mental health. The song’s success paved the way for three more top twenty hits including her first number one, “Cheap Thrills”, and influenced a generation of songwriters like Charli XCX and Julia Michaels to step out from behind the scenes.

The song’s reach extended beyond Sia’s own career resurgence. Rock band PVRIS delivered a powerful cover for Punk Goes Pop Vol. 6 in 2015, stripping away the pop sheen for something darker and heavier. Adam Lambert performed it with a trapeze artist soaring above him during live shows, while Kelly Clarkson showcased her signature belting on her talk show to massive acclaim. The track has accumulated over 2.5 billion YouTube views, spawned countless vocal covers, and remains a showcase piece for singers wanting to prove their range and emotional depth. Producer Jesse Shatkin later reflected that the emotion coursing through the song was one hundred percent raw and visceral, something audiences immediately recognized and connected with.

A decade later, “Chandelier” stands as one of the defining songs of the 2010s, the moment when Sia transformed from industry secret to international phenomenon. That closet recording captured something most artists spend years in expensive studios trying to achieve: genuine, unfiltered human emotion set to an unforgettable melody. As Time magazine observed, it was a disarming, unforgettable listen that made everyone glad Sia kept this one for herself. Sometimes the best art happens not in perfectly controlled environments, but in cramped spaces where there’s nowhere to hide from the truth.

“Chandelier” – Single by Sia from the album 1000 Forms of Fear
Released: March 17, 2014
Recorded: 2013
Studio: Hot Closet Studios
Echo Park
Larrabee Sound
Label: Monkey Puzzle RCA
Songwriters: Sia Furler, Jesse Shatkin
Producers: Greg Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin
Charted No.8 in US and No.6 in UK

“Chandelier” won the ARIA Award for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2014.The song received nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year and Best Choreography, and ultimately won the latter. It was also nominated for a 2015 Grammy Award for Best Music Video. The video went viral on YouTube and became the seventh most-watched video on the video-sharing website of 2014.