Snowman (Sia song)

"Snowman" was written by Sia and frequent collaborator Greg Kurstin. Written in the key of D♭ major, Sia's vocals span one octave and a semitone from F₃ to G♭_4.^[5] Production on the track was handled solely by Kurstin.^[6] The song is a midtempo, 60's-inspired,^[7] piano-driven, crisp, swaying ballad^[8] over which Sia's vocals, described as "calm but energetic" by mxdwn, tell a snowman not to cry as he will melt.^[9][10] The track runs for a length of 2 minutes and 45 seconds.^[11]

"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.^[2][12][13] Sia performed "Snowman" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show,^[14] and on the finale of the fifteenth season of American reality TV series The Voice.^[15]

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.^[3] 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.^[16] In addition to this, a sped-up version was included on the 2022 reissue of the album.^[17]

On 30 October 2020, a claymation music video for "Snowman", directed by Lior Molcho, premiered on YouTube.^[18] On 22 December 2022, a "Part II" of the video was released, also directed by Molcho.^[19]

Slant Magazine described the song as a "clever ode to fleeting romance".^[20] 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."^[21] 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."^[16]

The song has also been included in lists of the best Christmas songs of all-time published by The Athletic,^[22] Esquire,^[23] Cosmopolitan,^[24] and was described by Billboard in 2022 as a "modern seasonal classic".^[4]

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.^[25] Since its rise in popularity in 2020, the track has reached the top 10 various markets, including Germany,^[26] Switzerland,^[27] the Netherlands,^[28] and Sweden.^[29] It also reached the top 20 in Australia^[30] and Canada,^[31] among others, and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Global 200 in 2023.^[32] In 2021, it reached number 1 on the Finnish Singles Chart,^[33] becoming Sia's first chart-topping hit in the country.^[34] In the same year, it topped the Norwegian Singles Chart for two weeks and returned to number 1 in 2022 and 2023.^[35] "Snowman" entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the first time on the week ending 4 January 2025 at number 43, over seven years after its first entry on a Billboard chart.^[36]

As of December 2025, "Snowman" was one of the 10 most-streamed Christmas songs of all-time on streaming platform Spotify.^[37]

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[6]

• 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