As an artist who seems to draw comparison and critique regularly, I think our obsession with placing Sia Furler in some kind of musician’s round hole has to do with the fact that she’s an incomparable square peg.

It wasn’t until the end of our conversation when Sia farewells me saying, “Bye, sweetie. It was so nice talking to you,” that I realise this artist’s kind of – œcrazy’ comes from some place very genuine and refreshing.

I’m used to the slow, crooning voice of Sia that appears on many of her records, so when she picks up the line with a loud “Hello!?” and tells me I sound – œmischievous’, I’m a little surprised by her vivaciousness. Sia is full of energy, but she’s been busy. She’s sitting in her – œinterview chair’ in her New York apartment and if she’s not sitting in that, she’s usually in bed, asleep. Presumably because of her workload? “I’m 33! I’m getting on,” she laughs.

Apparently, she’s got to start thinking of her – œbod’ and this is the main reason she doesn’t live in Australia. Although, she did completely give away the great southern continent for a little while.

“Usually every Christmas, I try [to get back to Australia]. I did miss a couple of years at one point, – œcause I went out with an Australian boy for a while. And he was an awesome person and when we broke up I gave it to him in the divorce. I gave him Australia.”

And this Christmas? “But now, of course, a lot of water has gone under the bridge and it’s all groovy, and we’ve both moved on. So now we’re both allowed back in Australia,” she says.

And lifting the Australia-boyfriend ban seems like perfect timing. The Adelaide-born singer will join an all-Australian line up at Sydney’s Homebake in December and Meredith Music Festival in Victoria, along with a string of shows in other major cities. She’s also bringing another high-profile artist in toe, but more about that later.

“I love it. I miss it, and I love it. If I didn’t have to travel so much for my work so much, I would probably still live [in Australia],” says Sia. “It would just be impossible for me physically. New York is good for me because it’s five hours from LA and six hours from Europe. And that’s where the majority of my work is, is here in America, in LA and in Europe.”

And it sounds like she’s having fun there. Possibly a cute trick to avert attention from the album we all assume she’s working on, a record her label says we can’t talk about. When asked what she’s doing before she gets here for the festivals – “Going to the movies!” she replies. “I think we’re going to see The September Issue or Julie And Julia.” I tell Sia I haven’t seen either, but that I hear The September Issue is good. “Yeah, I mean, I love that cut-throat bitch shit,” she says, laughing maniacally.

And who would she be taking to the cinema?

“Oh, Mr Boots?”
I ask her to repeat their name.
“Are you asking about Mr Boop?”
“Is that…”
“My love interest?”
“Yeah.”

Giggling about the interchange, and maybe blushing on the other end of the line, “I call her Mr Boop, but her name’s JD Samson,” says Sia. Continuing her unobtrusive casualness, Sia begins to tell me about JD and Le Tigre, in case I’m unfamiliar. “She was in a band called Le Tigre, but now is in a band called Men. You may have recognised her, if you’ve ever gone to see Le Tigre, she’s the one who looks like a 17-year-old boy with a moustache.”

I tell Sia I actually heard a rumour JD might be playing at a warehouse around the corner from my house on New Year’s Eve. “Oh! Wouldn’t that be good,” says Sia. “That’s a distinct possibility. I know she’s had a couple of offers.”

Just to reiterate, I ask her if all is going well with JD. Sia has had some relationship troubles in the past. The death of a former partner is widely said to have inspired much of the content in some of the singer’s previous albums.

“Pardon, boopy? I couldn’t hear you.” I ask if JD and her are good. “Oh, yeah, really going well.” And as if anticipating everyone’s curiosity around the relationship, adds a little something about how one might perceive the arrangement. “I mean, if we’re gonna do the stereotype gender roles, she’s the boy and I’m the girl.”

Ever popular with artists who want to remix her work, Sia dropped the hidden secret about how the whole thing works, or doesn’t. “I don’t actually listen to any of the remixes. What I do is pretend to listen to them and then I approve them, because I don’t know anything about dance music.

“I think I met one person at the airport once, who said, – œOh, I remixed your song, I did this one.’ And I’m like, – œOh, so nice to meet you!’ And I think I met one other person at a festival. There were a few friends who I’ve had do remixes, that I love and respect and like. But all the other stuff, all the dancier stuff, I wouldn’t have a fucking clue, to be honest. No idea. They just send it to me and I pretend to listen to it and I say, – œIt’s awesome. Approve.’”

And apart from lovers and films and sleeping, Sia’s also been collaborating and working with some interesting artists. “Having [Christina Aguilera] sing two feet away from you, sitting on a couch while you hash out lyrics and stuff – it’s a pretty intense experience. I’m just co-writing some songs with her, we’re not duetting or anything.”

Sia’s also collaborated with Australia’s Katie Noonan; “one of my favourite voices in the whole world,” she says. As well as with Lior and alternative virtuoso Beck who, she has said in the past, helps her out all the time.

“But if I could go to heaven, go to the other side, I would want to collaborate with Elvis,” she says earnestly. And although she’s never met Beth Ditto, Sia once told a good friend she thought Gossip’s frontwoman sounded “like an awesome person.”

“The Buttons video was my friend Chris’ idea. He was staying at my place in LA. And he said, – œDo you think Beth Ditto will let me tape her face up like this?’ And I was like, – œYep, I reckon she probably would…and if she doesn’t, or if that doesn’t work out. Then I will let you and let’s do it together for just like a little viral track, like a b-side or something.’”

And Beth wasn’t so awesome about it? “It turned out there was some sort of schedule issue. So I lucked out, you know? So [Chris] brought the stockings and I brought the condom and the hairy moustache. And we sort of threw it together in a day.” And Buttons did go viral, with the help of blogger Perez Hilton, Sia and Chris’clip was, and still is, a YouTube hit.

Someone once told Sia not to read anything, “because if I believed the good I would believe the bad, and there would be bad. And that there’s so many opinions, it’s just really a big head fuck.” So when I ask about comparisons to other artists, she says doesn’t really know what they are – except one.

“My boyfriend at the time called me and said, – œI’m really sorry about what they wrote about you in Time Out.’ I walked past five or six newsagencies and I didn’t go in. And finally the seventh one, it was like there was a Time Out just staring at me. It was like a beacon, it felt like it had flashing lights all over it. And eventually I just went in there and snapped it open at the reviews page and it said that I lacked the left-field credibility of Martina Topley Bird and lacked the songwriting skills of Dido. Lacked the songwriting skills of Dido,” says Sia, laughing.

“So now I don’t know what people are comparing me to. The only time I ever hear about it is when an interviewer brings up something somebody else has said. And in that case, I’m usually flattered. Because usually the person they’re comparing me to has a million dollars, and if you’re comparing me to that person, then that means there’s a possibility I might one day have a million dollars,” Sia laughs hard, again.

Some People Have Real Problems is out now on Monkey Puzzle through Inertia. Sia will be touring Australia later this year.

Perth – Tues 24 Nov, Astor Theatre
Sydney – Sat 28 Nov, Enmore Theatre
Brisbane – Thurs 3 Dec, Hi Fi Bar
Sydney – Sat 5 Dec, Homebake
Melbourne – Thurs 10 Dec, Palace
Victoria – Fri 11 Dec-Sat 12 Dec, Meredith
Adelaide – Sun 13 Dec, The Gov