Sia

Sia (born Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, 1975, in Adelaide) is one of pop’s most consequential songwriters — author of hits for Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Katy Perry before her own “Chandelier” (2014) made her a superstar. She is equally famous for refusing celebrity itself, performing with her face hidden behind oversized wigs so the voice, not the person, carries the brand.

Licensing the voice behind the wig

In November 2023 Sia became one of nine artists — alongside John Legend and Charli XCX — to license an AI clone of her singing voice to Dream Track, YouTube’s experiment powered by Google DeepMind’s Lyria model. US creators could type a prompt, choose a participating artist, and generate an original 30-second track — lyrics, instrumentation, and vocals — in that artist’s AI-rendered voice for YouTube Shorts.

Her launch statement was unreservedly upbeat, framing the pilot as a creative game for fans — “recipes” cooked up by creators — rather than a threat. There is a certain logic to it: an artist who spent a decade decoupling her voice from her face was arguably better prepared than most for a world where the voice can travel on its own, provided it does so with consent and a license attached.