Maddie Ziegler Stars In Sia's ‘Big Girls Cry’ Music Video, 'Dance Moms' Performer's Third Project With Singer In One Year

Maddie Ziegler has done it again. After the releases of the highly popular “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart” music videos, Australian pop singer Sia gave her latest project its premiere on YouTube Thursday. Unsurprisingly, the music video “Big Girl Cry” stars her protege, Maddie of “Dance Moms” reality-television fame.

“Big Girls Cry” is Maddie’s third project with the pop star in the past year. In the latest avant-garde piece, Maddie, 12, sports her usual shoulder-length, platinum-blond wig and a tan bodysuit, first made famous by her performance in “Chandelier” last year. Despite being known for her dancing skills, Maddie’s acting technique takes a front seat in the new video, with the Lifetime reality-TV star using facial expressions and rapid hand movements to tell the video’s story.

While Maddie is the only star of the new video -- unlike “Elastic Heart,” which also starred actor Shia LaBeouf -- a pair of manicured hands do make a cameo. In the video, the hands can be seen grabbing at Maddie’s face, mouth, ears and throat. At one point, they appear to lift her off the ground in an attempt to strangle her. After Maddie is released, she proceeds to bite her own hands, apologizing to herself by mouthing, “Sorry.” The video concludes with Maddie sporting a look of shock and awe on her face as she glances at her surroundings: a sea of black.

The “Big Girls Cry” music video was directed by Daniel Askill and Sia. The piece was choreographed by Ryan Heffington. Heffington, who has worked with Sia on several previous occasions, won the best choreography honor at the 2014 MTV Music Awards show for “Chandelier.”

While “Big Girls Cry” had just 67,590 views at the time of this article’s publication, the project is sure to go viral. “Elastic Heart” has accumulated more than 214 million views since it premiered on Sia’s Vevo page in January. Meanwhile, Maddie’s first collaboration with Sia, “Chandelier,” is currently at 641 million views on YouTube and counting.