The chandelier keeps shining on for 40-year-old multi-platinum pop-star, Sia, whose album, “This is Acting”, was recently released on Friday, Jan. 29.
Sia’s music has been seen and heard over thousands of radio and TV programs since her solo debut in 2014. After her song, Chandelier, hit radio stations across the country, America’s Got Talent runner up, Emily West, sang her own rendition of the song, providing excellent exposure for both Sia and her music to viewers across the nation.
This Is Acting has critics raving. Rolling Stone magazine calls Sia, “a solo star in her own right.” During the start of her career as an electronic-pop artist, Sia had written would-be smash hits for popular artists such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Adele, and many more. This Is Acting embodies many of these songs, as most of the songs on the album were originally intended for major singers in the music industry, but were rejected.
Many of these artists “left her in the dust” when it came to including her in their albums. Her hit single, Alive was originally a song that she hoped would land on Adele’s album, 25.
According to Rolling Stone, “Footprints”, another song off the album, was a song that originated during a Beyoncé writing session, but was later turned down by the artist. Persevering, Sia was able to overcome these obstacles and even learned from them, as they helped to shape This Is Acting into what it is today.
CeCe Jacobs, URI junior, said she really loves what Sia is doing with her new album.
“I personally feel she’s doing something different this time,” Jacobs said. “I like when artists can change it up like that.”
Entertainment Weekly is calling Sia, “a multi-platinum pop star who prefers to be heard and not seen.” They add that in 2016, it seems almost impossible for an artist as big as her to not be seen, but she continues to maintain her anonymous stage persona.
Her album cover has even sparked conversation between her and her followers. Sia posted a tweet asking her followers to create their own #SiaCheapTrills musicals and share them with her, and in return she will retweet some of them.
She also asked her followers to use the “Face Swap Live†app to swap their faces over her album cover with the hashtag #IAmThisActing. Many followers have been posting their faces over the album saying things such as, “I make a good Sia! Now all I need is Voice Swap Live and I’ll be set!”
URI Senior Meredith Peabody described Sia as “unique.” She said that compared to her older music, she is adding something new to the table.
In Entertainment Weekly’s album review of This is Acting, they gave the album a B+ overall. Since this is Sia’s seventh album, it is clear that she has not lost any steam, but instead has pushed herself and created something new and fresh.
Although this album was created, despite a few turn-downs, Sia did add one song that she wrote specifically for herself. One Million Bullets portrays Sia offering herself as her lover’s protector against all odds. Even going far enough to say that she would take a bullet for them, this song is truly portraying acting at it’s finest.
Sia will be playing at this year’s Coachella, Boston Calling, SMUKFEST, and Flow Festival. To learn more about her tour dates check out http://siamusic.net/tour. Check out her album, This Is Acting on iTunes and Spotify.