When life hands you back all of the songs you wrote for other artists, make an entire album out of it — or so it goes for Sia.
Friday marked the release of Aussie singer Sia’s latest album This Is Acting. After the previous commercial success of 1000 Forms of Fear — which largely discussed her battles with drug addiction and bipolar disease — comes a record that zeroes in on liberation and victory.
Along with the messages of moving forward and progress, This Is Acting has a novel concept — it consists of songs originally made for other artists, but then rejected.
Sia is no stranger to experimentation — her last album pushed the boundaries with the controversial music video for “Elastic Heart.” While this album doesn’t push any limits, the Aussie songwriter attempts to revive rejected songs — almost like performing surgery in the studio.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Sia said she sees her songs “like they’re hits, but nobody wanted them.” In adopting these nearly-forgotten songs, she not only brings her own voice to the record, but embraces the persona of the artist she originally intended them to be for.
A majority of the tracks she wrote were intended for singer Rihanna. This is particularly evident in songs, like “Cheap Thrills,” that feature a poppy vibe and chant about fun Friday nights. The lead single “Alive” presents a similar case — originally intended for British songstress Adele, it’s reminiscent of the power and emotion typical Adele ballads carry with them.
Even with the dance pop “Move Your Body,” there is a vibe that makes the listener question if they are truly listening to Shakira, or if she was one of the artists that gave the thumbs down.
While most artists spend their careers trying to adopt a strong, recognizable persona, a 40-year-old Sia doesn’t mind taking a step back and playing around with other artists’ sounds. Like her album title suggests, she is “acting” out what she feels another artist would perform.
Despite attempting to mimic other artists’ sounds, Sia’s strong voice adapts to the different styles in the electro pop/soul album, giving life to the nearly-forgotten songs.
Only one song stands out among others, and is ironically the only one Sia wrote by herself for the album. “One Million Bullets” captures both Sia’s dream-like sound and colorful lyrics, adding her own personal flair to the sea of almost abandoned songs.
Overall, the experiment turned out to be a melodic success. This Is Acting highlights Sia’s talents as both a songwriter and a singer, adding to her already respectable repertoire. Her performance warrants more than a Grammy.
4/5
