Some People Have Real Problems

Some People Have Real Problems
Studio album by Sia
Released	8 January 2008
Recorded	2007
Genre	Indie pop
Length	59:15
Label	Hear Music Monkey Puzzle
Producer	Jimmy Hogarth
Sia chronology
Lady Croissant (2007) Some People Have Real Problems (2008) We Are Born (2010)
Alternative cover
Singles from Some People Have Real Problems
"Day Too Soon" Released: 6 November 2007[1] "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" Released: 27 March 2008[2] "Soon We'll Be Found" Released: 13 October 2008 "Buttons" Released: 25 November 2008[3]

Some People Have Real Problems is the fourth studio album by Australian singer Sia. Released in 2008, the album featured singles including "Day Too Soon", "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" and "Soon We'll Be Found". In live performances of the latter song, Sia used sign language to accompany her singing. The album displays a more upbeat pop-style than Sia's previous downbeat albums, whilst show-casing Sia's vocals on a number of big ballads. Non-single track, "Buttons", received attention due to its video in which Sia's face is distorted by pegs, string, net, balloons, and many other things.^[4] The album debuted at number 26 on the US Billboard 200 chart which became Sia's first album to chart on the Billboard 200 in her career.

Background

Sia talks about the inspiration for the album's name: "During recording people would come in and complain about traffic, and I'd say, 'Some people have real problems.' Like, they're waiting for a lung or they don't have a mum," she says. "I thought it would be a funny name for an album. And then I thought if I were to get rich and successful I would remember to not turn into an asshole. But I am one, so it didn't work."^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Art Nouveau Magazine	Positive[8]
Billboard	Positive[9]
The Boston Globe	Positive[10]
The Boston Phoenix	[11]
Entertainment Weekly	(A-)[12]
The Guardian	[13]
Pitchfork Media	4.8/10[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Slant Magazine	[16]

Some People Have Real Problems received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 64, based on 20 reviews.^[6] Reviewers such as Rolling Stone and The Guardian were highly critical of the album, each awarding the album only 2 out of 5 stars. Other reviewers, however, such as Allmusic and Slant (both of who awarded the album 4.5 out of 5 stars) and Entertainment Weekly (who gave the album an "A-") were highly positive towards the album.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Little Black Sandals"	Sia Furler, Dan Carey	4:14
2.	"Lentil"	Sia, Samuel Dixon	4:27
3.	"Day Too Soon"	Sia, Dixon	4:24
4.	"You Have Been Loved"	Sia, Clifford Jones, Peter-John Vettese	4:23
5.	"The Girl You Lost to Cocaine"	Sia, Rob Allum, Phil Marten, Eddie Myer	2:40
6.	"Academia"	Sia, Carey	3:16
7.	"I Go to Sleep"	Ray Davies	3:47
8.	"Playground"	Sia, Dixon, Felix Bloxsom	3:29
9.	"Death by Chocolate"	Sia, Greg Kurstin	5:03
10.	"Soon We'll Be Found"	Sia, Rick Nowels	4:21
11.	"Electric Bird"	Sia, Henry Binns	4:26
12.	"Beautiful Calm Driving"	Sia, Dixon	5:02
13.	"Lullaby" (including hidden track "Buttons")	Sia, Dixon	9:55

Spotify bonus tracks
Track listing
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Buttons"	3:20
15.	"Cares at the Door"	3:49

Near the time of release, those who purchased the CD could download 4 bonus tracks: "Buttons", "Blame It on the Radio", "Cares at the Door" (B-side for UK release of "Day Too Soon"), and "Bring It to Me".

"Buttons"

"Buttons" is a hidden track after "Lullaby" on the international edition of the album, but it is a normal track on the Australian edition, in which it was the first single. "Buttons" was written by Freescha and Furler.

Personnel

• Sia Furler – vocals
• Beck – backing vocals (tracks 6 and 9)^[17]
• Dan Carey – guitar (track 6)
• Tony Cousins – mastering
• Larry Goldings – keys (tracks 1–4, 7, 10, 12 and 13)
• Jimmy Hogarth – guitar (tracks 1, 4, 6, 11 and 13), keys (track 1), percussion (track 6)
• Jim Hunt – brass (tracks 5 and 11)
• Greg Kurstin – keys (track 9)
• Pantera Marvelous (Furler's pet dog) – backing vocals (track 9)
• Giovanni Ribisi – backing vocals (track 9)^[18]
• Jason Lee – backing vocals (track 9)
• Martin Slattery – clarinet and flutes (track 6), percussion (track 3)
• Eddie Stevens – keys (tracks 2, 3, 5–11 and 13)
• Joey Waronker – drums (tracks 2–11 and 13), percussion (tracks 5, 7 and 8)
• Felix Bloxsom – drums (tracks 1 and 12), percussion (track 1)
• Jeremy Wheatley – mixing
• Khoa Truong – guitar tracking and arranging
• Samuel Dixon – bass on all tracks

Sales and chart performance

Following its release, the album debuted at number 26 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week.^[19] The album was also chosen as iTunes' Top Pop Album of 2008.

The album was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association in 2011.^[20]

Album Chart (2008–09) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[21] 41 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 83 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 52 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 58 UK Albums (OCC)[25] 106 US Billboard 200[26] 26 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[27] 5 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales Australia (ARIA)[20] Gold 35,000^^ ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Singles The first single "Day Too Soon" was released on 12 November 2007 in the UK and was followed by "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" on 21 April 2008 and later followed by "Soon We'll Be Found", which was released on 13 October 2008. "Buttons" was released as the fourth and final single in November 2008. Year Single Chart Peak position 2007 "Day Too Soon" UK Singles Chart — 2008 "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine" US Hot Dance Club Play 8 Global Dance Tracks 24 Dutch Top 40 11 Spanish Singles Chart 12 "Soon We'll Be Found" UK Singles Chart[28] 94 2009 "Buttons" Australian ARIA Singles Chart 67 "Soon We'll Be Found" 89 2010 "I Go to Sleep" 32

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Catalog
United States	8 January 2008	Monkey Puzzle / Hear Music	HMCD–30629
United Kingdom	14 January 2008	Monkey Puzzle	MPRCDC1

References

1. "iTunes – Music – Day Too Soon". iTunes Store (US). Archived from the original on 10 January 2015.
2. "The Girl You Lost to Cocaine". 7digital (BE). Archived from the original on 10 January 2015.
3. "iTunes – Music – Buttons (Remixes)". iTunes Store (US). Archived from the original on 21 February 2015.
4. "Sia interview - Features - Music". Time Out Sydney. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
5. "Sia Talks Missed Winehouse Collaboration, Working With Beck". Archived from the original on 2013-02-03.
6. "Critic Reviews for Some People Have Real Problems". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
7. Mason, Stewart. "Some People Have Real Problems – Sia". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
8. Reneau, Cale (2008). "Some People Have Real Problems: Album Review". Art Nouveau Magazine. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009.
9. Wood, Mikael. "Some People Have Real Problems". Billboard. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008.
10. Laban, Linda (15 January 2008). "She's not feeling sorry for herself". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010.
11. Micallef, Ken (28 January 2008). "CD Reviews". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
12. Savage, Lesley (4 January 2008). "Review: Some People Have Real Problems". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
13. Macpherson, Alex (4 January 2008). "Sia, Some People Have Real Problems | Pop". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 January 2008.
14. Colville, Liz (27 February 2008). "Sia: Some People Have Real Problems". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009.
15. Sheffield, Rob (7 January 2008). "Some People Have REAL Problems". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
16. Cinquemani, Sal (13 January 2008). "Music Review: Sia: Some People Have Real Problems". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009.
17. "**> some people have REAL problems <**". Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
18. "**> Some People Have Real Problems <**". Retrieved 2008-10-11.
19. Hasty, Katie. "Keys Holds Off Radiohead, 'Juno' At No. 1". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
20. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
21. "Australiancharts.com – Sia – Some People Have Real Problems". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
22. "Ultratop.be – Sia – Some People Have Real Problems" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
23. "Ultratop.be – Sia – Some People Have Real Problems" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
24. "Lescharts.com – Sia – Some People Have Real Problems". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
25. "Chart Log UK". Zobbel Archive. Archived 22 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
26. "Sia – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Sia. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
27. "Sia – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Sia. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
28. "The Official UK Singles Charts". OCC. 2007-10-21. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30. Retrieved 2008-10-23.