Song · Sia
“Breathe Me” by Sia
From the album Colour the Small One (2004)
“Breathe Me” by Sia appears on 20 radio countdowns from 14 stations between 2004 and 2025. It was first released in 2004 on the album Colour the Small One. Its best result is #3 on the WBER Listener Countdown 2005. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #135 alternative song of 2005.
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Video from YouTube (SiaVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Breathe Me" arrived in 2004 on Colour the Small One, the Australian singer's third album, and it's Sia at her most exposed: Martin Slattery's fragile piano, a slow gathering of Samuel Dixon's bass and Felix Bloxsom's drums and marimba, and a voice that sounds like it could crack at any moment. She wrote it with Dan Carey, Jimmy Hogarth produced it and played guitar, and Tchad Blake mixed. Rolling Stone called it delicate and haunting, and the praise has only grown since.
Alternative radio took to it, but its second life came on screen, when it played over the last episode of Six Feet Under in 2005, and again in the TV film Cyberbully in 2011, and US sales of the single passed 1.2 million by 2014. Daniel Askill directed the video, built from more than 2,500 Polaroid stills snapped across three days at a London hotel with a theme.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 87 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004 | 100 |
| 2005 | 68 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2005 | 100 |
| 2005 | 82 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 2005 | 107 |
| 2005 | 84 | Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA | Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2005 | 105 |
| 2005 | 3 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2005 | 230 |
| 2005 | 294 | ModernRock.com Online | ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005 | 400 |
| 2006 | 51 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2006 | 101 |
| 2006 | 27 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2006 | 100 |
| 2006 | 54 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2006 | 103 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 95 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade | 913 |
| 2009 | 105 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2013 | 259 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) | 885 |
| 2018 | 576 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2018 | 573 | WTMD | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 | 896 |
| 2022 | 530 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2022 | 1082 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 | 603 |
| 2023 | 945 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2024 | 427 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 202 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 110 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
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