Australian singer and songwriter Sia Furler's latest release has debuted at No. 1 on the United States' albums chart.

Her most recent effort, 1000 Forms of Fear, is her first chart-topper on the Billboard 200, a weekly ranking of top-selling albums.

The Australian performer's latest hit single Chandelier has been her first solo top 20 hit in the United States and achieved triple-platinum sales in Australia, peaking at No. 2 on the charts.

Sia's promotion of her latest work has been somewhat odd, but obviously successful.

Despite a low-key launch, the album sold 52,000 copies in its first week after being released on July 8.

She performed Chandelier on US television program Ellen with her back to the camera and has opted not to take part in traditional photo shoots usually favoured by recording artists.

That appearance was the first promotional work Sia did for the album after she signed a recording deal with RCA Records stipulating she was not required to tour the record or give press interviews to promote it.

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Last year, when the Adelaide-raised performer was on the cover of Billboard magazine, she wore a bag over her head.

The accompanying text on the cover read: "This artist is responsible for over 12 million track sales ... and doesn't want to be famous".

The singer's last album We Are Born was released in 2010 and debuted at No. 2 in the Australian charts.

Sia performed the vocals for global chart hits including Wild Ones and Titanium and has a long career of writing hits for artists including Madonna, Rihanna, Beyonce and Ne-Yo.

During a three-year break from the spotlight, she continued to write songs for music industry heavyweights before teaming up with producer Greg Kurstin to work on 1000 Forms of Fear.

Aussie artists who hit No. 1 in US Since 2000: Sia, Gotye, Iggy Azalea, Savage Garden

Sia, Gotye, Iggy Azalea, Savage Garden 1980s-90s: Savage Garden, INXS, Men At Work, Olivia Newton-John, Air Supply, Rick Springfield

Savage Garden, INXS, Men At Work, Olivia Newton-John, Air Supply, Rick Springfield 1970s: Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, Helen Reddy

Sia's first solo success in the US came when television series Six Feet Under chose her song Breathe Me to feature in the series finale in 2005.

The track received airplay and the album Colour The Small One reached No. 14 on the Heatseeker album chart - a chart of new and developing musical recording artists.

Sia was recently named Songwriter of the Year at the Australasian Performing Right Association Awards for the second year in a row.