1000 Forms Of Fear
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''1000 Forms of Fear'' is the sixth studio album by Australian singer Sia. It was released on 4 July 2014 by Monkey Puzzle and
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
worldwide, and Inertia Records in Australia. Primarily an
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
album, the record also incorporates influences from
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
and
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
. Lyrically, the record is focused on Sia struggling to deal with
drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
and a misdiagnosis of
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
at the time, later rediagnosed as complex PTSD in 2019. ''1000 Forms of Fear'' received generally favorable reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
, who praised Sia's vocals as well as the album's lyrical content. The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 52,000 copies. The release also charted atop the charts of Australia and Canada, and reached the top five charts of Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As of 26 October 2015, it has been certified gold by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
denoting 500,000 equivalent-album units sold in the United States. As of January 2016, the album has sold 1 million copies worldwide. The album spawned four singles. Its lead single, "
Chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...
", released in March 2014, became a worldwide top-10 single; it also peaked at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the first song by Sia to enter the chart as a lead artist. " Big Girls Cry" was released in June 2014. Sia's solo version of " Elastic Heart", which was originally a collaboration with
The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...
and
Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
, was released in January 2015, and reached the top 20 of the Hot 100. " Fire Meet Gasoline" was released as the fourth and final single in Germany on 19 June 2015. The official
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Chandelier" has been viewed on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
more than 2 billion times, and the video for "Elastic Heart" has been viewed more than 1 billion times. To promote the project, Sia appeared on a number of TV shows, including ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'' and ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'', where she recruited
Maddie Ziegler Madison Nicole Ziegler (; born September 30, 2002) is an American actress and dancer. She appeared in Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime's reality show ''Dance Moms'' from 2011 (at age 8) until 2016, and starred in a series of music videos by Si ...
, who starred in three music videos from the album, as her persona onstage, during 2014 and 2015. ''1000 Forms of Fear'' earned Sia three
ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...
in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
and was listed as one of the best albums of 2014 by several publications, including ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' and ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''. The lead single "Chandelier" received four
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nominations for Song of the Year,
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best Music Video.


Background

In 2010, Sia released her fifth studio album, '' We Are Born'', which peaked at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart and was certified gold by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
. Following the release of ''We Are Born'', Sia decided to retire from the career as a recording artist and established a career as a
songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
. She wrote the song "
Titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
" for American singer
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...
, but it was later sent to
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...
, who included Sia's original demo vocals on the song and released it as a single in 2011. "Titanium" was a commercial success worldwide, peaking within the top five of record charts in the United States, Australia and numerous European regions. However, Sia was not pleased with the success of the single: " ..I never even knew it was gonna happen, and I was really upset. Because I had just retired, I was trying to be a pop songwriter, not an artist." From 2011 to 2013, Sia became well known for writing songs for
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
,
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
,
Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), known professionally as Flo Rida ( ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 debut and breakout single "Low (Flo Rida song), Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the ...
, and
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
. By September 2013, Sia was recording vocal tracks at her home studio with the hope of releasing a new album the following spring. Later that year, a team of
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
representatives including the label's CEO
Peter Edge Peter Edge is an English-American record executive. He is the chairman and CEO of RCA Records. Early life and education Edge was born near Coventry, England. Fueled in part by his sister's record collection – which included influential re ...
met with Sia to discuss a record deal. The singer agreed to a contract for a new album in which she was not obliged to tour or do press appearances to promote the album. In an interview published by ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' in February 2015, Sia revealed that ''1000 Forms of Fear'' was released as a contractual obligation: "Basically, I put this out to get out of my publishing deal. I was planning to be a pop song writer for other artists. But my publishing deal was as an artist so I had to put one more album out. I didn't want to get famous so I kept all the songs I wanted and had a lot of fun making it."


Composition

''1000 Forms of Fear'' is primarily an
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
album, with influences of
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
. It opens with "
Chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...
", an electropop song that features a reggae-influenced beat. Lyrically, the track talks about "the glitter and fatigue of a party girl's life." The follow-up, " Big Girls Cry", was compared to
Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
's " Hands Clean". On "Burn the Pages", Sia described a friend she wants to cheer up: "You're twisted up like a slipknot / Tied by a juicehead who just took his T-shot." " Eye of the Needle" is a "military-march" piano ballad, while "Hostage" is a new wave pop and ska track that features Sia's voice "cracking like a
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
singer." The sixth song, "Straight for the Knife", is instrumented by
string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
s and lyrically details a tempestuous relationship: "But will someone find me swinging from the rafters / From hanging on your every word." "Fair Game", where Sia sings "Watch me squirm baby, but you're just what I need," is a minimalist and string-laden song about the desire to find an equal partner. The solo version of " Elastic Heart", which originally featured
The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...
and
Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
, is a trap song. The song addresses "the overwhelming strength ianeeded to convince herself that life was worth living after coming out of a crushing relationship." "Free the Animal" lyrically "imagines being killed in lurid, masochistic detail" with the lyrics "Detonate me / Shoot me like a cannon ball / Granulate me / Kill me like an animal." The tenth song, " Fire Meet Gasoline", was compared to
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
's " Halo" by Harriet Gibsone from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. "Cellophane" is an electropop track, where Sia likens herself to "a basket filled with pain." ''1000 Forms of Fear'' concludes with "Dressed in Black", which Heather Phares of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
described as a ballad "with more depth than the ones she writes for hire."


Singles

"Chandelier" served as ''1000 Forms of Fear''s
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
. It was released for digital download onto the iTunes Stores on 17 March 2014. A music video for the song was released on 6 May 2014 and has been viewed on YouTube more than 2 billion times. It features dancer
Maddie Ziegler Madison Nicole Ziegler (; born September 30, 2002) is an American actress and dancer. She appeared in Lifetime (TV network), Lifetime's reality show ''Dance Moms'' from 2011 (at age 8) until 2016, and starred in a series of music videos by Si ...
in a blonde wig resembling a Sia hairstyle. The single became a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming the first single by Sia to appear on the chart as a lead artist. "Chandelier" also peaked within the top five of
record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, ofte ...
s in Europe and Oceania countries, including: Flanders and France (number one), Australia and Norway (number two), New Zealand (number three), United Kingdom (number six), and Slovakia (number five). The track was
certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...
triple platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
and gold by
Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
. " Big Girls Cry" was made available for music download on 25 June. On 2 April 2015, a music video was released, starring Ziegler in the same blonde wig in front of a black background, contorting her face and using her hands to express a slew of emotions. " Elastic Heart" was released as the third single from ''1000 Forms of Fear'' in January 2015. A music video for the song was released on 7 January 2015 and features Ziegler in the same blonde wig dancing in a giant birdcage opposite actor Shia LaBeouf. It has been viewed on YouTube more than 1 billion times. "Elastic Heart" peaked at number 17 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and charted within the top five charts of several countries, including Australia and Ireland. " Fire Meet Gasoline" was officially released as the fourth and last single from the album in Germany on 19 June 2015. A music video was released on 23 April 2015 on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. It was filmed for Heidi Klum's lingerie line, and stars Klum and ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...
'' actor Pedro Pascal.


Promotional singles

" Eye of the Needle" was released digitally on 3 June 2014 as a
promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...
.


Promotion

In an interview with '' Dazed & Confused'', Sia explained that she had decided not to show her face in videos and press shots in the campaign for ''1000 Forms of Fear''; instead, she focused on creating visual art through her videos. During the promotion of the album, Sia recruited Ziegler to be her persona on stage and performed with her back facing to the camera. On 19 May 2014, Sia performed "Chandelier" on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'', where Maddie Ziegler recreated the choreography in the music video. Sia also performed the song on ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...
'' on 9 June 2014, with '' Girls'' star
Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...
performing the choreography. On 4 July 2014, Sia made an appearance on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'', where she performed "Chandelier", "Big Girls Cry" and "Elastic Heart". On 30 July 2014, Sia performed "Chandelier", "Elastic Heart" and "Big Girls Cry" on the
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
's show "SoundClash". On 17 January 2015, Sia performed "Chandelier" and "Elastic Heart" on ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. On 8 February 2015, Sia and Ziegler together with actress Kristen Wiig performed "Chandelier" in a room reminiscent of the video set on the 2015 Grammy Awards telecast.


Critical reception

''1000 Forms of Fear'' received generally positive reviews from critics. ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' critic Sarah Rodman described the release as "dynamite," while Heather Phares from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called the album "the sound of iaowning her success." Writing for ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', Helen Brown praised the album's production and "inspirational" lyrics showcasing Sia struggling to deal with
drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
and
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...
. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
''s Julianne Escobedo Shepherd simply wrote that "she sounds like a superstar;" while Maura Johnston of '' Spin'' characterised ''1000 Forms of Fear'' as "a chunk of the human emotional spectrum committed to record." On behalf of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', Jon Pareles lauded the "loopy, unresolved passions" on the album in favour of "the triumphal, laminated, computer-perfected tone of Sia’s clients." Writing for ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'', Annie Galvin opined that ''1000 Forms of Fear'' "should be the vessel that rockets the singer out of relative obscurity and into the stratosphere populated by those more recognizable stars who've come to dominate the pop-music universe thanks, in part, to her songwriting skills." Mikael Wood writing for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' praised Sia's vocals and the production held by Greg Kurstin. Likewise, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
''s Adam Markovitz positively viewed Sia's voice as "astonishing," giving the album a B score.
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
gave the album a one-star honorable mention (), citing "Chandelier" and "Elastic Heart" as highlights. On a less enthusiastic review, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'''s Harriet Gibsone shared that the album was so impeccable and "contemporary-sounding" that "its impact may fade with time." ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' writer
Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...
wrote: "''1000 Forms of Fear'' certainly has the songs and contemporary sheen to make Sia a star in her own right, but it's at the expense of both her emotional intimacy and her offbeat personality."


Accolades

Sarah Rodman of ''The Boston Globe'' labelled ''1000 Forms of Fear'' the "Best Surprise" of 2014. It ranked number 13 on
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
's list of Top 15 Albums of 2014. Jon Pareles from ''The New York Times'' placed the album at number 5 on his list of favourite albums of the year. It also appeared on the lists of the best albums of 2014 of Slant Magazine (number 13) and ''The Daily Telegraph'' (number 44). ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 20 on its list of 20 Best Pop Albums of 2014. At the
ARIA Music Awards of 2014 The 28th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) are a series of award ceremonies which include the 2014 ARIA Artisan Awards, ARIA Hall of Fame Awards, ARIA Fine ...
, Sia won Album of the Year, Best Female Artist and Best Pop Release for ''1000 Forms of Fear''. The lead single "Chandelier" received four
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nominations for Song of the Year,
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video at the 57th Grammy Awards.


Commercial performance

''1000 Forms of Fear'' debuted atop the US ''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 52,000 copies. By doing so, it became the lowest sales figure for a number-one album on the chart in nearly two years. ''The Guardian''s Clem Bastow commented on the album's success in the United States: "Australian artists typically fare better in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, but even then, Sia finds herself in rarefied company." On behalf of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'', George Palathingal opined that the album's debuting atop the ''Billboard'' 200 is the result of "a stroke of (anti-)marketing genius" and "a case of quality pop music standing proud." ''1000 Forms of Fear'' had sold 374,000 copies in the United States as of December 2015. In Australia, the release debuted atop the ARIA Albums Chart on 20 July 2014 and remained on the chart for 20 weeks. In April 2015, the album was
certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...
platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
for having shipped 70,000 units in the country. ''1000 Forms of Fear'' also peaked at number one on the
Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...
. The release also charted within the top five albums charts of several countries, including Norway (number two), New Zealand, Sweden and Switzerland (number four) and Denmark (number five). In the United Kingdom, ''1000 Forms of Fear'' peaked at number 5 on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and was certified gold by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
. As of February 2016, the album has sold 268,949 copies in the United Kingdom. As of January 2016, it has sold 1 million copies worldwide.


Track listing

Credits adapted from ''1000 Forms of Fear'' liner notes Notes * signifies a vocal producer * signifies a co-producer


Personnel

* Sia – vocals * Greg Kurstin – drums, guitar , mellotron , piano , bass guitar , percussion , Hammond organ , keyboards , xylophone , celeste , chamberlin *
Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums, One Direction, and Miley Cyrus, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for G ...
– drums , keyboards * Nick Valensi – guitar Production *Delbert Bowers – mixing assistant * Chris Braide – vocal production , vocal recording *Julian Burg – additional engineering *
Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
– production , drum programming , engineering *Chris Galland – mixing assistant *Rob Kleiner – vocal recording * Greg Kurstin – production , co-production , vocal recording , engineering, mixing *
Emily Lazar Emily B. Lazar is an American mastering engineer. She is the founder, president, and chief mastering engineer of The Lodge, an audio mastering facility that has operated in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1997. She won a Grammy Award for ...
– mastering *
Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...
– mixing *Rich Morales – mastering assistant *Alex Pasco – additional engineering *
Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums, One Direction, and Miley Cyrus, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for G ...
– production , programming , engineering * Sia – executive production * Andrew Swanson – drum programming , engineering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

* Greg Kurstin production discography * List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2014 * List of number-one albums of 2014 (Australia)


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2014 albums Albums produced by Diplo Albums produced by Greg Kurstin ARIA Award–winning albums RCA Records albums Sia (musician) albums