People.com Entertainment Music Sia Celebrates 8 Years of Sobriety: 'You Can Do It' The pop star has been open about her past problems with alcohol and prescription painkillers By Jeff Nelson Jeff Nelson Instagram Twitter Jeff Nelson is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. For nearly a decade, he has worked across the brand's entertainment verticals, reporting on breaking news and writing and editing across platforms, as well as securing A-list cover exclusives, including Barry Manilow's coming out and an at-home interview with Madonna. Jeff has appeared as an expert on Good Morning America, Extra, HLN and SiriusXM, as well as at RuPaul's DragCon as a moderator. He studied magazine journalism at Drake University, graduating with a B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication. People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 11, 2018 12:40 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Sia has shared a major milestone in her recovery journey. “Eight years sober today,” the singer, 42, revealed on social media early Tuesday morning. “I love you, keep going. You can do it.” The private pop star has been open about her battle with substance abuse, which was exacerbated by her rise to fame in 2005. “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,” Sia (born Sia Furler) told the New York Times in 2014. “None of my friends thought I was an alcoholic, and neither did I.” In 2010, after contemplating suicide, she began a 12-step program, she revealed in a 2013 sit-down with Billboard. “I got seriously addicted to Vicodin and oxycodone, and I was always a drinker but I didn’t know I was an alcoholic,” the star — who split from husband Erik Anders Lang in 2016 — said. “I was really unhappy being an artist and I was getting sicker and sicker.” Eventually, she decided to relaunch her career as a songwriter. Following a successful stint crafting hooks for Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Rihanna, Sia re-emerged as an artist on David Guetta’s 2011 hit “Titanium.” Every Single Time Sia Was Spotted Without Her Signature Wig And Sia’s demons would eventually inform her Grammy-nominated 2014 comeback single, “Chandelier,” which includes the lyrics: “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.” Since her meteoric return, Sia scored her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (“Cheap Thrills”), released a holiday album (2017’s Everyday Is Christmas) and recently formed the supergroup LSD with deejay-producer Diplo and singer Labrinth.