Sia, known for songs like “Chandelier” and music videos featuring Shia Labeouf, recently released her latest album, This is Acting.
What is most interesting about this album, according to Rolling Stone magazine, is that it features Sia singing songs that she originally wrote for other artists, but they turned down. For example, tracks like “Bird Set Free” and “Alive” were both meant for Adele, while “Cheap Thrills” was directed more towards an artist like Rihanna.
The acting that the title mentions, therefore, refers to Sia falling into the roles of all the artists that turned the songs down in order to sing them how she envisioned.
As far as singing them with emotion, Sia does the job well. Specifically, “Space Between,” which details the literal and metaphorical space left in a bed between two people in a dying relationship, is the one that comes most to mind. A slow ballad with a chorus that somehow manages to be both grand and low key, “Space Between” showcases both the emotion and skill of Sia’s vocals. In fact, “Space Between” was one of the few songs on the album that Sia took back from the artist she gave it to because she liked it so much.
The connection that Sia has to the song shows through in her delivery, making it possibly the strongest on the whole album.
Another track that stood out to me was the more upbeat “Reaper,” which is really just a celebration of life, contrary to its title. The song has a general feel-good kind of vibe that will likely cause you to inadvertently bob your head with the beat. Originally meant for Rihanna’s ANTI album, and loosely produced by Kanye West, Sia ran into a few road bumps with this track, but I think it still comes out to be one of my favorites on the album.
Overall, I think Sia’s acting experiment for this album turned out pretty well. She proved that she can take a song meant for anyone and make it her own. There are definitely a few weak tracks on the album, , such as “Footprints” and “Move Your Body,” that bring it down a little, but it still remains solid on the whole.
