I Respect Sia's Decision to Not Show Her Face

At CBS' recent We Can Survive charity concert in LA, singer-songwriter Sia Furler refused to show her face in meet and greet photos with fans, and some people are up in arms about it. But really, Sia hiding her face from the camera is nothing new. Though her star has been on the rise for the past several years now (her breakthrough hit, "Chandelier," was inescapable this summer), she's openly admitted in interviews that she doesn't really like being famous. A year ago, she appeared on the cover of Billboard magazine with a paper bag over her head. During promotional performances for her latest album, 1000 Forms of Fear, she sings with her back turned to the audience. Not showing her face is just kind of Sia's way of giving fame the middle finger.

Admittedly, at first, it struck me as a gimmick, but the more I saw Sia do it, the more I understood why. Hiding her face in pictures says to people, "Please don't focus on what I look like or my personal life — just focus on my music." Similarly, turning her back during performances forces audiences to pay attention to two really important things: her voice and her lyrics. When you look at it that way, it's actually very powerful. I get it (I think). Many people on Twitter don't "get" these new meet and greet photos, though:

Obviously, I can't speak from experience, but my understanding is that fame can make people feel like they're not in charge of their lives anymore. It can make them feel like they don't have any privacy, like they're helpless. If shielding her face from the camera gives Sia an increased sense of control in her life, then I say more power to her. She's not hurting anyone. No, not even her fans. You can't tell me that the fans in those photos didn't get to see Sia's face at all. Now, they might not have a picture of it to cherish forever and ever, but they have their memories, and that's just going to have to be enough.

The fact of the matter is, Sia isn't willing to surrender her life to fame. She's not an open book, and she doesn't really care for the spotlight. We need to learn to accept and respect that. Guess what? She's still a fantastic artist.