Australian singer Sia currently has the No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, selling a total of 52,000 copies of "1000 Forms of Fear" just in the week ending July 13, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
One thing to note about "1000 Forms of Fear" is that Sia chooses to perform the incredible tracks turned away from the audience.
After the release of her new album on July 8, Sia has appeared on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" as well as "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" During both appearances, Sia performed with her face turned away from the cameras while a guest in a wig frolicks on stage, mouthing the words to her hits.
For her "Late Night" performance, the singer sang her hit "Chandelier" lying face-down on a bunk bed while "Girls" star Lena Dunham, who wore a platinum-blond wig, was seen mouthing the lyrics and dancing on stage, according to the LA Times.
Sia was reportedly "very specific" about the preparation for her performance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers."
"For Seth Meyers, she was doing research about where we could find a mattress thin enough to cut out a hole for her face," explained Val Pensa, who handles marketing at RCA Records.
After "1000 Forms of Fear" topped Billboard's album chart on Wednesday, Sia tweeted, "Whoa. I can't believe this experiment worked."
Sia's new album isn't just an incredible contribution to the music industry, but also the 38-year-old's way of continuing her "anti-fame manifesto," which she explained to Billboard last year.
"Imagine the stereotypical. . . mother-in-law character. . . criticizing you for an hour straight once a day, every day, day after day," the artist had written.
Sia has kept out of the spotlight since her 2010 album "We Are Born" and focused on penning hits for others, including Rihanna's "Diamonds" and Beyonce's "Pretty Hurts."
The singer-songwriter, who currently resides in Los Angeles, decided to make a new album after being "pushed into it," according to her manager, Jonathan Daniel.
"She's such a great artist that I just thought it'd be something she'd regret if she didn't do it. And with the success of her writing, she could think of it as Sia's revenge," stated Daniel.
