How does "The Greatest" by Sia Furler appeal to its target audience

Sia's music video for "The Greatest" is a typical Sia video in that it features a dance routine which conveys a story that can be ambiguous. The song climbed to number 5 on the UK's Singles Chart; Sia's ninth top ten single on charts. It rose to number one in Switzerland and 18 in the US. It was certified as Gold in Australia and Canada as well.

The song is different to Sia's older songs however it maintains Sia's powerful messages she weaves into each song. The music video features 49 young dancers including Sia's music video regular Maddie Ziegler. 

Sia's fans have an expectation from Sia as each of her music videos have grabbed the media's attention for different reasons. Sia's "Elastic Heart" received mixed opinions but when asked Maddie Ziegler stated that it was open to interpretation and that, in her mind, it is about self conflict. 

The video features Maddie Ziegler running around a house with jail-like bars around it and frees children. The freedom is short-lived as one of the last shot includes all the children falling at once. There is then a shot of a wall with bullet holes. This is to refer to the Orlando Shootings. The powerful statement of the children falling at once reflects how many people died. 49 dancers were used- the same number of deaths in the Orlando Shooting. There is then a shot of Ziegler with the Pride flag on her cheeks. The sensitivity of the issue is typical of Sia's songs and makes a huge statement. This appeals to Sia's fans as Sia is known for her strong vocals in conjunction to real and meaningful lyrics with relevance to real life. The target audience in this case have an expectation of a powerful video and that is what Sia delivered and therefore appeals to the audience.

Also, Sia's music video are purely performance based; featuring other dancers rather than Sia herself which is seen as humble by her fans. This music video is no exception as it features a powerful, contemporary dance routine with a powerful tribute to the Orlando Shooting Victims. This performance is a running theme for Sia as in her tours she sings whilst there is a dance routine for each of her songs. This therefore appeals to the target audience as there is an expectation from the fans for Sia to maintain a separate dance to convey the meaning of her songs.

The music video carries a heavy message and Sia's audience are all supportive of the cause. The main message of the music video is to support the LGBTQ+ community, showing the tragedy of the Orlando shootings in 2016. The message resonates with the target audience as Sia's audience are a younger generation who are in touch with the recent events that affect them. In the past years the LGBT community has become much more present and accepted within society especially in the younger generation. The younger generation is much more open-minded and more fluid and accept LGBT people so Sia can appeal to her audience by conveying strong messages.