Sia's two faces
Our resident Kiss92 DJ/ journo thinks the mysterious Aussie singer is smart to use a cute kid as her public face
COMMENTARY
In Sia's new music video for Big Girls Cry, you don't see her.
You see Maddie Ziegler, the talented 12-year-old dancer who also appeared in the Australian singer-songwriter's previous MVs Chandelier and Elastic Heart.
Their latest collaboration is pretty weird by any standard.
Ziegler basically makes funny faces and flails her hands around until a pair of larger hands comes from behind her and picks her up by the throat.
Fortunately, the hands put her down again so she can continue with her crazy routine.
There are no cuts and the camera never moves.
The video shouldn't work, but it does.
The reason it works is that Sia's song is really good, as most of her songs are.
It also works because Ziegler has off-the-charts visual charisma.
She looks like a young Debbie Harry, or a miniature Pris from Blade Runner.
As a physical presence, she's elite.
Given the fact that people are generally superficial, I think Sia is really smart to use Ziegler as her public face.
Sia is a normal-looking 39-year-old woman, and there is no way that her videos would be generating the buzz they do if she were to take Ziegler's place.
It's just a fact.
Sia knows her strengths and weaknesses, and has guided her career accordingly.
She's a songwriter, not an underwear model, and she not only knows it but owns it.
She obscures her face beneath bushy blonde wigs when she's on red carpets or doing photo shoots.
During her performance at the Grammysin February, she kept her back turned to the audience.
FAME & IDIOTS
In a recent chinwag with Interview magazine, Sia said she keeps her face hidden because she doesn't want to be famous and endure the judgment of idiots on the Internet.
I totally get where she's coming from.
People expect pop stars to look like gods and goddesses.
In fact, it's so obvious that looks have become more important than musical talent that we just take it for granted.
One Direction is One Direction because Harry Styles looks like Harry Styles. Fine. Sure. Whatever.
If the world wants a pretty face, why shouldn't Sia just give it to them in Ziegler?
Meanwhile, Sia can get on with her real work, which is creating reasonably great music.
I think they should do the same thing with politicians, firemen, lawyers, pilots, professors, chefs and even journalists.
Let the pretty ones pretend to do the work the rest of us really have to do.
Trust me, this column would read so much better if you thought that I look like Keanu Reeves.
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