Sia has never been shy about her desire not to be famous. The 39-year-old Austrailian singer has even gone as far as having her back turned during performances and appearing on Billboard.com with a paper bag over her face. Regardless if you agree or disagree with her opinions on being famous, there is one thing that cannot be denied, her talent.
Recently however, there has been massive controversy surrounding her newest single “Elastic Heart,” with claims going as far as pedophilia. Released just two days ago on the singer’s YouTube page, the video stars actor, Shia LaBeouf (who also had his episode against fame) and 12-year-old Dance Moms prodigy, Maddie Ziegler (the star in Sia’s hit single, “Chandelier”).
Much like Sia’s other music videos, “Elastic Heart” primarily revolves around interpretive dance. Ziegler appears in this video with the same short, blonde “Sia Wig” and nude colored leotard that she displayed in the video for “Chandelier.” LaBeouf is also featured wearing nothing but nude shorts, the first spark of controversy drawn from the video. The two are locked in a cage, at a war with each other, which at first glance without any prior knowledge or awareness of lyrics can seem, well, a bit weird 
giving the large age difference between the two (LaBeouf is 28). Some viewers praised the video as a work of art with true emotional impact, while others not so much. Needless to say, the singer took to Twitter to apologize to viewers who felt there was any sort of perverted or negative undertones in the video and further explains what the true meaning behind it really was; two warring “Sia” self states.
The singer also announced in her twitter replies that she plans to release a making of the video sometime next week to give viewers an inside view of the creative process. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, Ziegler opened up about starring in Sia’s intense new video. For those of you who have seen the video, Ziegler’s interpretive dance was a bit more animal like then LaBeouf’s. “She wanted me to imagine I’m a wolf, and we’d been living in the cage for a while. That’s why I’m always hissing in the video and chasing and crawling. He’s just normal,” said Ziegler. “In the beginning of the video I am the strong one, trying to beat him down, and then toward the end when he lifts me and throws me around and stuff, that’s when he starts to battle me back. But, by the end we’ve become friends.”
The preteen goes on to say that LaBeouf first took her and her mother out to eat to save the awkward “Hey let’s dance together” on the first day. She explained that she was at first intimidated by the intensity of the video, but she understood, even pointing out that Shia was so into character that at the end of the video it was so emotional that a tear fell from his eye if you look close enough.
This leaves many questions regarding what two Sia self-states are being represented in this video. Are they both trapped and trying to escape? Can one leave, but the other is too afraid? Does she feel like there’s a side of her that needs the other or is it something she is just carrying inside her? I guess you can interpret it for yourself. Here’s a look at Sia’s video for “Elastic Heart.” I do warn you though, it is captivating and you may want to see it a few times.
Erica M. Szkola