Ten Hit Songs You Didn't Know Were Written By Australian Singer Sia

Australian singer Sia Furler, usually known more simply as Sia, has been active across nearly three decades now but most of us weren't very familiar with her until her recent singles “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart.” Before the success of her most recent album, 1000 Forms of Fear, she had been most known for her song “Breathe Me,” featured in the series finale of HBO's hit series Six Feet Under in 2005. While her solo career may finally be taking off, she has also had much success in the last few years writing songs for other artists, here are ten of her hit songs that you probably didn't know she wrote.

10. “Diamonds” - Rihanna

You probably don't know that Sia had a hand in Rihanna's hit 2012 song “Diamonds.” The song served as her lead single off the album Unapologetic. The song was so successful that a little more than a year after it's release, it was certified quadruple Platinum in the United States by the RIAA. It had even more success in Sia's native Australia with the ARIA certifying it 5X Platinum in 2013.

Sia wrote the song along with American rapper Benny Blanco and the Norwegian production duo known as StarGate. Benny Blanco explained in a 2012 interview with The Source magazine that both he and StarGate wrote the beat to the song but it wasn't until Sia came into the writing process that the song we know came together. They sent Rihanna the song while she was in London on tour and she was immediately interested. Blanco explained to The Source, “She [was] flippin' out. She played it like seven times in a row. It's her favorite song [for the new album.]” The most amazing part of the story is that Sia wrote the song in only fourteen minutes.

9. “Wild Ones” - Flo Rida

“Titanium” isn't the only song that Sia both helped write and provide vocals on. She teamed up with American rapper Flo Rida for 2011's “Wild Ones” from an album of the same name. The uptempo song drew inspiration from both house music and electro house. In a similar fashion to “Diamonds,” Sia claims to have written the song in only 15 minutes. As part of an on-going effort to stay out of the limelight, Sia also requested that she not be credited on the song.

The song went on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time with over 6.5 million copies sold worldwide. Flo Rida also performed the song at the WWE's Wrestlemania XXVIII along with another single off his album, as both were chosen to serve as the official theme songs for the event.

8. “Perfume” - Britney Spears

Britney Spear's eighth studio album Britney Jean also included a song written by Sia. The 1980's inspired pop power ballad “Perfume” was written by Sia along with Britney herself and British singer and producer Chris Braide. In a letter to her fans on her website in 2013, Britney shared “Working with people like Sia, William Orbit, and of course will.i.am has been amazing experience. They have listened to all of my ideas and helped me bring them to life. There are a lot of really fun, upbeat dance songs, but it was important to me that I show my strength, and my attitude, and my vulnerability.”

There was, however, some controversy for Britney with some live performances of the song. In 2014, at one of her Las Vegas residency gigs, she was reported to have possibly been lip syncing the song with a copy of the track that contained Sia's vocals, not her own.

7. “Titanium” - David Guetta Ft. Sia

While some of us may have known already that Sia provided vocals for David Guetta's hit 2011 song “Titanium,” many might not know that she also contributed to writing it. The song is a pop ballad with house and urban-dance elements. Both the song and Sia's vocals were widely praised, with Al Fox of the BBC describing her vocals as “ghostly mandolin-esque.” Despite the praise, Sia later admitted that she was embarrassed by her version of the song and that it was even released without her permission.

The song was massively successful and hit a peak position of 7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, making it one of David Guetta's highest charting singles. The song wasn't without controversy however, and was pulled from radio stations in the United States after the Sandy Hook Massacre due to it's lyrical content along with songs by Ke$ha and Foster the People.

6. “We Are One (Ole Ola)” (World Cup 2014 Official Song) - Pitbull Ft. Jennifer Lopez

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil brought with it another song by Sia. Her “We Are One (Ole Ola)” made it's way to the airwaves after being recorded by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull with backup vocals by Jennifer Lopez. The song also featured a guest verse by Brazilian singer and The Voice Brasil's Claudia Leitte.

Despite the addition of Brazilian singer Claudia leitte's singing in Brazilian Portuguese, many Brazilians found the song lackluster. Gaia Passarelli, a former VJ for MTV Brazil, shared, “What I don't like about the music is that it's a poor, dull, generic pop theme. It's a shame considering Brazil's rich musical tradition, which is admired all over the world.” While Sia has had massive success in her songwriting, it seems she may have made a blunder in failing to tailor this one to the World Cup host nation's audience.

5. “Radioactive” – Rita Ora

British singer Rita Ora's fourth and final single from her debut album Ora was also another piece of Sia's work. Sia co-wrote the song with American singer and songwriter Greg Kurstin. “Radioactive” was released as a single on February 11, 2013. The song received much acclaim including one reviewer that remarked, “This is the perfect song to stick on whilst getting ready for a big Friday night out. Well done Rita Ora, this is simply a fantastic song that will appeal to most that hear it and it makes us want to get our party shoes on!”

Sia hasn't always been a fan of taking credit for her work, like her request to not be credited for Flo Rida's “Wild Ones.” With “Radioactive,” however, Sia shared through social media and her website in December 2012, “Radioactive! Another song I wrote that I'm super proud of! @RitaOra SMASHES the vocal!”

4. “Loved Me Back To Life” - Celine Dion

Sia has even worked and collaborated with French-Canadian singer Celine Dion. She wrote the title track from Celine's eleventh English-language studio album Loved Me Back To Life. Celine premiered the song at a performance on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City in July, 2013 and later explained to fans on her website, “I love this song and it was a real thrill to perform it for the first time this past weekend. I'm so very grateful to Sham, Motesart and Sia for giving me this wonderful gift.” In Celine's native Canada, the song landed the Hot Shot Debut on the Canadian Hot 100, coming in at number twenty-six. It was Celine's best debut to date on the chart. Anyone interested in hearing it live can watch her perform it during her Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum inside Caesar's Palace. Her Las Vegas residency, since the debut in 2003, has brought in nearly half a billion dollars.

3. "Cannonball" - Lea Michele

Similar to “Diamonds,” “Cannonball” was another song put together by Sia and her frequent collaborators Benny Blanco and production duo StarGate. The song wasn't originally going to be on Lea Michele's album Louder. However, after her boyfriend (and Glee co-star) Cory Monteith's death in the Summer of 2013, Lea decided to put her album on hold and think whether or not she had anything else to get off her chest. In August 2013, Lea went into the studio with Sia and the other co-writers to record the track. In an interview with MTV, Lea explains, “[Sia] said to me 'How do you feel in this moment?' And I said 'I just feel like grief is the hardest thing in the whole world. And you have the opportunity, at a certain point, to either let if kind of take you down or try your best to rise.' And I said 'I need to get out and I need to move forward in his memory and do everything I can for him.'”

2. “Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)” - Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo's lead single from his fifth studio album, R.E.D., was another collaboration between Scandinavian production duo StarGate and Sia. The song certainly wouldn't have been the Summer hit that it was without that the chorus, which is technically the only part of the song that Sia wrote. The song received favorable reviews including one from Andrew Hampp of Billboard, who exclaimed that the song “re-established Ne-Yo's Top 40 appeal,” calling it "the crème de la crème of emotive dancefloor ballads.”

In an interview with MTV News, Ne-Yo shared, “For me personally, I've been a fan of Sia for a long time.” He also said, “She's been incredible for a long time. Her mastery of melody, from just the way that she works, her words and phrases, it's been incredible. And people are just now catching on! Y'all are late; everybody's late. It's been that way.”

1. “Pretty Hurts” - Beyonce

Sia actually wrote “Pretty Hurts” with singer Katy Perry in mind. She describes in an interview with ABC's Nightline, “I wrote it on the sofa three years ago for Katy Perry, sent it to Katy Perry – she never heard it... Then I sent it to Beyonce's people and Rihanna's people and Rihanna heard it and she had it on hold for eight months and her management forgot to secure it by paying for the track and Beyonce just slid into home base and threw the money down and it was a really awkward situation.” When a cut of Beyonce's version of “Pretty Hurts” was played for Katy Perry by producer Dr. Luke, Perry text messaged Sia saying, “I'm pretty hurt you never sent me this song.” Sia responded, “Check your e-mail” and Perry eventually replied with “It was meant to be with Beyonce, of course.”