"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" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Sia | ||||
from the album Everyday Is Christmas | ||||
Released | 9 November 2017 | |||
Genre | Christmas | |||
Length | 2:45 | |||
Label |
| |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Greg Kurstin | |||
Sia singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Snowman" on YouTube "Snowman - Part II" on YouTube |
"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"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
editSlant 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
editUpon 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] "Snowman" entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the first time on the week ending in January 4, 2025 at number 43, over seven years after its first entry on a Billboard chart.[33]
As of December 2022, "Snowman" was one of the 10 most-streamed Christmas songs of all-time on streaming platform Spotify.[34]
Music videos
editOn 30 October 2020, a claymation music video for "Snowman", directed by Lior Molcho, premiered on YouTube.[35] On 22 December 2022, a "Part II" of the video was released, also directed by Molcho.[36]
Credits and personnel
editCredits 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
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[82] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
France (SNEP)[83] | Diamond | 333,333‡ |
Italy (FIMI)[84] | Platinum | 100,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[85] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV)[86] | 4× Platinum | 200,000‡ |
Portugal (AFP)[87] | Platinum | 10,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[88] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[89] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[90] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
editRegion | Date | Format | Version | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Various | 9 November 2017 | Original |
|
[91] | |
9 December 2020 | Video streaming | Snowed In & Slowed Down TikTok Remix | [92][15] | ||
29 October 2021 |
|
[93] |
References
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- ^ 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.
- ^ Furler, Sia; Kurstin, Greg. "Snowman - Digital Sheet Music". MusicNotes. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
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