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Snowman (Sia song)

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"Snowman"
Slowed Down & Snowed In remix artwork
Single by Sia
from the album Everyday Is Christmas
Released9 November 2017
GenreChristmas
Length2:45
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Greg Kurstin
Sia singles chronology
"Santa's Coming for Us"
(2017) 		"Snowman"
(2017) 		"Helium"
(2018)
Music video
"Snowman" on YouTube
"Snowman - Part II" on YouTube

"Snowman" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Sia. It was released on 9 November 2017, as the second single from Sia's eighth studio album, Everyday Is Christmas.[1] A music video made via claymation was released on 30 October 2020. A part two of the music video was released on 22 December 2022.

"Snowman" earned positive reviews from critics, some of whom deemed it the highlight single from Everyday Is Christmas. The song experienced a popularity surge in November 2020 on TikTok,[2] and has since been branded as a modern-day Christmas classic.[3]

Composition

[edit]
The song's co-writer Greg Kurstin in 2017

"Snowman" was written by Sia and frequent collaborator Greg Kurstin. Written in the key of D♭ major, Sia's vocals span from F3 to G♭4.[4] Production on the track was handled solely by Kurstin.[5] The song is a midtempo, 60's-inspired,[6] piano-driven, crisp, swaying ballad[7] over which Sia's vocals, described as "calm but energetic" by mxdwn, tell a snowman not to cry as he will melt.[8][9] The track runs for a length of 2 minutes and 45 seconds.[10]

Release and promotion

[edit]

"Snowman" was announced on Sia's social media accounts on 7 November 2017, and was released for digital download and streaming on 9 November 2017 as the second single from Everyday Is Christmas.[1][11][12] Sia performed "Snowman" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show,[13] and on the finale of the fifteenth season of American reality TV series The Voice.[14]

In December 2020, a challenge based around the song on video-sharing app TikTok saw a massive rise in popularity, becoming a trend. The challenge sees TikTok users attempt to sing a portion of the song, lasting forty seconds, in one breath.[2] Sia subsequently released a "Snowed In & Slowed Down Remix" of the track, which was later featured on the Snowman Deluxe Edition of Everyday is Christmas on 5 November 2021.[15] In addition to this, a sped-up version was included on the 2022 reissue of the album.[16]

Reception

[edit]

Slant Magazine described the song as a "clever ode to fleeting romance".[17] Slate named it the best song on Everyday Is Christmas, noting it "[takes] something we associate with winter and [applies] it to a universal theme."[18] NME commented that the TikTok remix version of the song "opts for a breezier tempo than the original, with Sia changing the song’s key midway through for extra effect."[15]

The song has also been included in lists of the best Christmas songs of all-time published by The Athletic,[19] Esquire,[20] Cosmopolitan,[21] and was described by Billboard in 2022 as a "modern seasonal classic".[3]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Upon its initial release in 2017, "Snowman" debuted and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Holiday Digital Songs Sales chart dated 2 December 2017.[22] Since its rise in popularity in 2020, the track has reached the top 10 various markets, including Germany,[23] Switzerland,[24] the Netherlands,[25] and Sweden.[26] It also reached the top 20 in Australia[27] and Canada,[28] among others, and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Global 200 in 2023.[29] In 2021, it reached number 1 on the Finnish Singles Chart,[30] becoming Sia's first chart-topping hit in the country.[31] In the same year, it topped the Norwegian Singles Chart for two weeks and returned to number 1 in 2022 and 2023.[32]

As of December 2022, "Snowman" was one of the 10 most-streamed Christmas songs of all-time on streaming platform Spotify.[33]

Music videos

[edit]

On 30 October 2020, a claymation music video for "Snowman", directed by Lior Molcho, premiered on YouTube.[34] On 22 December 2022, a "Part II" of the video was released, also directed by Molcho.[35]

Credits and personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[5]

  • Sia Furler – songwriter, vocals
  • Greg Kurstin – songwriter, producer, bass, drums, keyboards, piano, engineer
  • Alex Pasco – engineer
  • Julian Burg – engineer
  • Şerban Ghenea – mixer
  • John Hanes – mixing engineer
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering engineer

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for "Snowman"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[74] Platinum 90,000‡
France (SNEP)[75] Diamond 333,333‡
Italy (FIMI)[76] Platinum 100,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[77] Platinum 30,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[78] 4× Platinum 200,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[79] Platinum 10,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[80] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[81] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[82] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release history for "Snowman"
Region Date Format Version Label(s) Ref.
Various 9 November 2017
Original
[83]
9 December 2020 Video streaming Snowed In & Slowed Down TikTok Remix [84][15]
29 October 2021
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 [85]

References

[edit]
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  3. ^ a b Dailey, Hannah (22 November 2022). "Best New Christmas Songs for 2022: Lizzo, Camila Cabello & More". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
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