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Sia is an Australian artist who has become popular all over the world. While her voice and music are well-known to many music fans, her face is not.

Sia’s blonde wig that she uses to cover her face is now a famous part of her image. Additionally, her use of actors in music videos instead of herself is something that makes Sia stand out from other artists.

However, there are no doubt a lot of fans out there who are wondering: Why is Sia often so reluctant to show her face? Will she ever perform without a wig or costume? Here’s what we know about this iconic pop star.

Sia used to perform a lot without hiding her face

Sia Furler arrives at the 15th Annual Trevor Project Benefit.
Sia Furler | Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Sia has actually been making music for a long time now. In the 1990s, she was a part of a local jazz band called Crisp. After Crisp’s disbandment, she also became a singer for another group called Zero 7.

In the 2000s, Sia began releasing solo music. She released several albums and got a bit of recognition in both Australia and overseas.

Throughout all of this, Sia did not hide her face at all. She often performed with her face out in the open as any artist would.

Sia became uncomfortable with fame when she got more popular

Things started to change in the early 2010s when Sia became more well-known. Around this time, she started working closely with big artists in the music industry by writing songs for them. Sia worked with the likes of Beyonce, Kylie Minogue, and Rihanna.

Her voice was also featured in popular songs like David Guetta’s “Titanium” and Flo Rida’s “Wild Ones.” After her solo songs like “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart” became international hits, Sia found herself in the center of people’s attention.

Sia, then, realized that she did not enjoy the attention that came with being a famous artist. It worsened her depression and made her spiral down a dark hole of drug and alcohol abuse.

Additionally, Sia did not like being recognized when she went about her daily life. In 2014, she shared with the New York Times that the tipping point came when a fan interrupted her during an important conversation with her friend.

“Once, as my friend was telling me they had cancer, someone came up and asked, in the middle of the conversation, if they could take a photograph with me,” Sia said.

Additionally, in an interview with Nightline, Sia shared: “I don’t want to be critiqued about the way that I look on the internet. I’ve been writing pop songs for pop stars now for a couple of years and I’ve become friends with them and see what their life is like and that’s not something I want.”

Sia, then, began to experiment with different ways of hiding her face on stage. She also started using actors in her music videos instead of herself. Dance Mom star Maddie Ziegler has appeared in a number of videos for Sia and became a close friend of the singer.

Sia only hides her face when she performs

A lot of people are now accustomed to seeing Sia with her face concealed. However, Sia typically does not hide her face when she goes about her daily life.

For example, she has posted many pictures of herself on her Instagram account, albeit less often than most other celebrities. Sia has also been photographed out and about without her wig.

Ziegler once opened up to E! News about her friend Sia’s unique image.

“She only covers her face for appearances, for performances and things,” Ziegler shared. “It could be weird if she just wore a wig talking to her friends… I think she just wants to be known for like a great artist rather than just being known for her face or something. What I love about her is she so in love with dance that she makes that the main focus.”