Sia, walong taon nang sober sa droga

IBINAHAGI ni Sia ang isang major milestone sa kanyang recovery journey.

“Eight years sober today,” pagbubunyag ng 42-anyos na singer sa social media nitong Martes ng umaga. “I love you, keep going. You can do it.”

Ayon sa People, bukas sa publiko ang tungkol sa pakikipaglaban ni Sia sa substance abuse, na lalong lumala noong 2005 dahil sa kanyang pagsikat.

“When you’re in a different place every day, there’s this kind of madness that sets in. It’s easy to get away with getting high, because everybody’s drinking on the road,” lahad ni Sia (isinilang na Sia Furler) sa New York Times noong 2014. “None of my friends thought I was an alcoholic, and neither did I.”

“I got seriously addicted to Vicodin and oxycodone, and I was always a drinker but I didn’t know I was an alcoholic,” dagdag pa ng bituin — na nakipaghiwalay sa kanyang asawang si Erik Anders Lang noong 2016. “I was really unhappy being an artist and I was getting sicker and sicker.”

Kalaunan, nagdesisyon siyang ilunsad muli ang kanyang career bilang isang songwriter. Kasunod ng matagumpay na pagsulat niya ng kanta para kina Beyoncé, Katy Perry at Rihanna, muling kinilala si Sia bilang isang artist sa 2011 hit ni David Guetta, ang Titanium.

Naging nominado rin si Sia sa Grammy noong 2014 para sa kanyang comeback single, ang Chandelier, na may lirikong: “Help me, I’m holding on for dear life, won’t look down won’t open my eyes / Keep my glass full until morning light, ’cause I’m just holding on for tonight.”

Mula nang magbalik sa showbiz, nagawa na ni Sia na mag-top sa Billboard Hot 100, dahil sa kanyang kantang Cheap Thrills.