This Is Acting

This Is Acting
Studio album by Sia
Released 29 January 2016 (2016-01-29)
Recorded 2014–15
Studio
  • Echo Studio, Los Angeles, California
  • Harmony Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California
  • Hot Closet Studios, Los Angeles, California
  • Kingslanding Studios, Hamptons, New York City
  • Magical Thinking Studios, Los Angeles, California
  • The Rib Cage, Los Angeles, California
  • Wizard Tone Studios, Adelaide, South Australia
Genre
Length 46:29
Label
Producer
Sia chronology
1000 Forms of Fear
(2014)		 This Is Acting
(2016)
Singles from This Is Acting
  1. "Alive"
    Released: 24 September 2015
  2. "Cheap Thrills"
    Released: 11 February 2016

This Is Acting is the seventh studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Sia. It was released on 29 January 2016 by Inertia, Monkey Puzzle and RCA. The album is mainly an electropop album with soul influences. The album is composed of songs written by Sia which were rejected by other artists, such as Beyoncé, Adele, Rihanna and Katy Perry. "Alive", the album's lead single, was released on 24 September 2015. The second single, "Cheap Thrills", was released on 11 February 2016. The remix of the track featured guest vocals from Sean Paul.

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the bold production and Sia’s vocals. However, it received criticism over the impersonal and indirect nature of the songs. The album debuted at number one in Australia, and also reached number four on the Billboard 200, selling 81,000 album-equivalent units in its first week—of which 68,000 were from pure album sales, becoming Sia's highest first week sales in the US.

Background and development

This Is Acting is Sia's follow-up to her sixth studio album 1000 Forms of Fear (2014). In December 2014, Sia told Spin that she had "two [more records] completed and ready to go".[1] She revealed details of This Is Acting for the first time in an interview published by NME in February 2015. In the article, she confirmed once again that work on the album was finished and that its content was "more pop" than her previous material.[2][3] She also revealed that the success of 1000 Forms of Fear, specifically its lead single "Chandelier",[4] encouraged her to continue releasing new material, and said of the album's title: "I'm calling it This Is Acting because they are songs I was writing for other people, so I didn't go in thinking 'this is something I would say'. It's more like play-acting. It's fun."[5][6] Shortly after Sia's announcement, Out published a list of her "10 Greatest Hits for Other Artists" in anticipation of the album.[7]

Release and promotion

During an online chat with fans in April 2015, Sia revealed that the album would "probably" be released in early 2016, but possibly before the end of 2015.[8] In September 2015, Sia confirmed the album's lead single "Alive" would be released later that month and was originally written for Adele; the British singer and songwriter co-wrote but "rejected" the song at the last minute.[9][10] The album's release date, 29 January 2016, was confirmed in early November 2015.[11]

"Bird Set Free" was released as the first promotional single along with the pre-order of the album on 4 November 2015.[12] The song was originally written for Pitch Perfect 2 but it was rejected in favor of "Flashlight". The song was then pitched to Rihanna. After being rejected, it was then recorded by Adele but did not make the cut for her third studio album, 25.[13] "One Million Bullets" was released as the second promotional single on 27 November 2015.[14][15] The song is the only one on the album that was not written for another artist.[13]

"Cheap Thrills" was announced as the album's third promotional release and was released on 16 December 2015. The song was one of two tracks rejected by Rihanna who, as Furler described, was a no-show at the recording sessions.[16] "Reaper" was released as the fourth promotional single on 7 January 2016. The song was written by herself and Kanye West for Rihanna, but Sia decided to keep it. "Unstoppable" was released as the fifth and final promotional single on 21 January 2016. Jessie Morris of Complex commented that the song sounds like a "page torn right out of Demi Lovato's Confident book", while editors of other media platforms like Idolator noticed this as well, which raised speculation that the track was intentionally written for Lovato.[17][18]

On 7 November 2015, Sia performed "Alive" and "Bird Set Free" on Saturday Night Live; the episode was hosted by Donald Trump.[19][20] She performed "Alive" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Voice on 1 December,[21][22] followed by "Alive" on The X Factor in the United Kingdom on 6 December.[23] Sia appeared on The Graham Norton Show on 11 December, where she sang "Alive" and it was revealed that she considered wearing a prosthetic mask instead of a wig.[24] Sia performed "Cheap Thrills" on 27 January 2016 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.[25] Sia also appeared on the The Late Late Show with James Corden playing "Carpool Karaoke" with Corden. "Cheap Thrills" was released as the album's second official single on 11 February 2016.[26]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[27]
The A.V. ClubB+[28]
Billboard[29]
The Guardian[30]
The Independent[31]
NME4/5[32]
Pitchfork Media6.8/10[33]
Rolling Stone[34]
Slant Magazine[35]
Spin6/10[36]

This Is Acting received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 30 reviews.[37] The A.V. Club gave the album a favorable review, stating that "There’s a clear theme here, and it’s emancipation—from fear, from doubt, and most of all, from feeling as though she wasn’t meant to be a star. Gone is the uncertainty that still clung to many of her earlier efforts at mainstream pop hits of her own; success has granted her the confidence to dive into the deep end of the mainstream music pool, and the results are potent."[38]

Jon Pareles from The New York Times gave the album a mixed review, writing "In 'Alive,' as she repeats 'I'm still breathing!' in the chorus, she makes her voice break a different way each time she sings it. But Sia's success as a hitmaker has also turned into a pitfall. Even as she and her producers flaunt their layered vocals and whiz-bang sound effects, there are already so many of Sia's midtempo victim-to-victory anthems around that they offer diminishing returns, particularly when listened to as an album."[39]

Commercial performance

This Is Acting debuted atop the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia, and received a gold certification for sales of over 35,000 copies. It debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 81,000 album-equivalent units (68,000 in pure album sales), which became Sia's highest sales week in the country.[40] As of March 2016, This Is Acting has sold 145,000 copies in the United States. It has received a gold certification in the United Kingdom for sales of over 100,000 copies.

Track listing

This Is Acting – Standard edition[41]
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Bird Set Free"  
Kurstin 4:12
2. "Alive"  
Jesse Shatkin 4:23
3. "One Million Bullets"  
  • Furler
  • Shatkin
Shatkin 4:10
4. "Move Your Body"  
  • Furler
  • Kurstin
Kurstin 4:07
5. "Unstoppable"  
Shatkin 3:37
6. "Cheap Thrills"  
  • Furler
  • Kurstin
Kurstin 3:30
7. "Reaper"  
  • West
  • Goldstein
  • 88-Keys
  • Shatkin
  • Dom $olo
  • Jake Sinclair
 3:39
8. "House on Fire"  
  • Shatkin
  • Antonoff
  • Sinclair[a]
 4:01
9. "Footprints"  
 3:13
10. "Sweet Design"  
Kurstin 2:25
11. "Broken Glass"  
  • Furler
  • Jasper Leak
  • Shatkin
Shatkin 4:24
12. "Space Between"  
  • Furler
  • Braide
  • Cameron Deyell
  • Braide[b]
 4:48
Total length:
 46:29
Notes
Sample credits

"Sweet Design" samples elements of "Thong Song" (1999) performed by Sisqó, written by Mark "Sisqó" Andrews, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson, Desmond Child and Robi Rosa

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Argentine Monthly Albums (CAPIF)[45] 4
Australian Albums (ARIA)[46] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[47] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[48] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[49] 4
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[50] 3
Croatian Albums (Toplista)[51] 35
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[52] 14
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[53]
[54]		 12
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[55] 9
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[56] 8
French Albums (SNEP)[57] 2
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[58] 14
Greek Albums (IFPI)[59] 14
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[60] 35
Irish Albums (IRMA)[61] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[62] 13
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[63] 30
Mexican Albums (AMPROFON)[64] 45
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[65] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[66] 1
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[67] 7
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[68] 13
Russian Albums (Russian Music Charts)[69] 1
Scottish Albums (OCC)[70] 2
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[71] 4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[72] 10
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[73] 3
Swiss Albums (Romandie)[74] 1
Taiwanese Albums (Five Music)[75] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[76] 3
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[77] 2
US Billboard 200[78] 4
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[79] 3

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[80] Gold 35,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[81] Gold 100,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Brodsky, Rachel (7 December 2014). "Sia Is SPIN's 2014 Artist of the Year". Spin (SpinMedia). ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Stutz, Colin (17 February 2015). "Sia's Next Album Is Finished, Likely Called 'This Is Acting'". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Vain, Madison (17 February 2015). "Sia reveals new album, 'This Is Acting'". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.). ISSN 1049-0434. OCLC 21114137. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Murphy, Lauren (18 February 2015). "Acting' Sia reveals details of new album 'This Is Acting'". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  5. ↑ White, Caitlin (17 February 2015). "Sia's Already Recorded a New Album Titled This Is Acting". Stereogum. SpinMedia. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Vincent, Peter (18 February 2015). "Sia Furler announces new album after Chandelier success". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). ISSN 0312-6315. OCLC 226369741. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Brathwaite, Les Fabian (18 February 2015). "This Is Songwriting: Sia's 10 Greatest Hits for Other Artists". Out (Here Media). ISSN 1062-7928. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Kritselis, Alex (12 April 2015). "Sia's New Album 'This Is Acting' Could Be Coming Soon". Bustle. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  9. ↑ Chau, Thomas (7 September 2015). "Sia Reveals That She Originally Wrote Her Next Single for Adele". Popcrush. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Sia za MMC: "Vsi mislijo, da bodo s slavo postali kul, ljubljeni in posebni"" (in Slovenian). Radiotelevizija Slovenija. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Platon, Adelle (2 November 2015). "Sia Reveals 'This Is Acting' Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  12. ↑ ""This Is Acting" by Sia". iTunes. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Sia on Reclaiming Adele, Rihanna's Unwanted Hits". Rolling Stone. 3 December 2015.
  14. ↑ Monroe, Jazz (November 27, 2015). "Sia Shares New Track "One Million Bullets"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  15. ↑ Grebey, James (27 November 2015). "Listen to Sia’s New Song, ‘One Million Bullets’". Spin. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  16. ↑ Sia Talks Working With Beyonce, Adele & 'Dominant' Katy Perry
  17. ↑ Morris, Jessie (January 21, 2016). "Listen to Sia's "Unstoppable"". Complex. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  18. ↑ Gracie, Bianca (January 21, 2016). "Sia Is "Unstoppable" On Her Latest ‘This Is Acting’ Track: Listen". Idolator. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  19. ↑ Claymore, Gabriela Tully (October 13, 2015). "Sia Playing SNL with Host Donald Trump". Stereogum. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  20. ↑ Russell, Erica (November 7, 2015). "Donald Trump Hosts 'SNL', Sia Performs". PopCrush. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  21. ↑ Bailey, Alyssa (1 December 2015). "WATCH SIA AND MADDIE ZIEGLER'S CHILLING LIVE PERFORMANCE OF "ALIVE"". Heart Communications, Inc. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  22. ↑ Norwin, Alyssa (1 December 2015). "Sia Totally Rocks ‘The Voice’ Stage with Soaring Performance of ‘Alive’ — Watch". PMC (Hollywood Life). Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  23. ↑ "The X Factor - Live 6 Results". ITV plc. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  24. ↑ Thomas, Kate (11 December 2015). "Camera-shy Sia contemplated wearing prosthetic mask for performance on The Graham Norton Show | DailyMail on Facebook". Mail Online. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  25. ↑ NBC.com. "Sia Guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - NBC.com". NBC.com. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  26. ↑ Weiner, Natalie. "Listen to Sia's New Single, Rihanna-Reject 'Cheap Thrills'". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  27. ↑ "Sia 'This Is Acting' review". AllMusic. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  28. ↑ McCown, Alex (29 January 2016). "Sia’s charisma holds together an assembly line of modern pop hits". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  29. ↑ Wilson, Carl (28 January 2016). "Sia Struggles to Find Her Identity on ‘This Is Acting’:". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  30. ↑ "Sia: This Is Acting review – pop hitmaker pushes her winning formula to its limits". The Guardian. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  31. ↑ Montgomery, Hugh. "Sia, This is Acting review: a thrillingly intimate album that's so much more than just off-cuts". The Independent. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  32. ↑ Levine, Nick. "Sia - 'This Is Acting' Review". NME. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  33. ↑ Cook, Cameron (28 January 2016). "Sia: This Is Acting". Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  34. ↑ Dolan, Joy (15 January 2016). "Sia 'This Is Acting' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  35. ↑ CINQUEMANI, SAL (25 January 2016). "Sia: This Is Acting | Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  36. ↑ Barlow, Eve (26 January 2016). "Review: Sia Escapes Herself a Little Too Well on ‘This Is Acting’". Spin. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "This Is Acting Reviews". CBS Interactive. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  38. ↑ "Sia’s charisma holds together an assembly line of modern pop hits". www.avclub.com. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  39. ↑ Pareles, Jon (2016-01-27). "Review: In ‘This Is Acting,’ Sia Adheres to Her Victim-to-Victory Formula". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  40. ↑ "Rihanna's 'Anti' Rules at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  41. ↑ ""This Is Acting" by Sia". iTunes. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  42. ↑ ""This Is Acting" by Sia". Spotify. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  43. ↑ ""This Is Acting" by Sia". Target - Music - This Is Acting by Sia. target.com. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  44. ↑ "ディスコグラフィ - Sony Music". Sony Music Entertainment (Japan). Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  45. ↑ "CAPIF Rankings Mensual" (Select "Enero 2016") (in Spanish). CAPIF. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  46. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  47. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Sia – This Is Acting" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  48. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sia – This Is Acting" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  49. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sia – This Is Acting" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  50. ↑ "Sia – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Sia. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  51. ↑ "Top of the Shops – službena tjedna lista prodanih albuma u Hrvatskoj". Hdu-toplista.com. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  52. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201606 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  53. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  54. ↑ http://hitlisten.nu/
  55. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sia – This Is Acting" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  56. ↑ "Sia: This Is Acting" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  57. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  58. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  59. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart – Week: 7/2016". IFPI Greece. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
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  61. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 5, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
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  63. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2016-03-21" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
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  65. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  66. ↑ http://lista.vg.no/liste/topp-40-album/2/dato/2016/uke/10/
  67. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  68. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  69. ↑ "Новый альбом "Ночных снайперов" вошел в чарты российского iTunes" (in Russian). Russian Music Charts. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
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  71. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  72. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  73. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sia – This Is Acting". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
  74. ↑ "lescharts.ch". Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  75. ↑ "Weekly Top 20 – Five Music Chart 2016/01/29 - 2016/02/04" (in Chinese). Five Music. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  76. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  77. ↑ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  78. ↑ "Sia – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Sia. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  79. ↑ "Sia – Chart history" Billboard Digital Albums for Sia. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  80. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (19 March 2016). "ARIA Albums: Matt Corby 'Telluric' Is 100th No 1 Australian Album". Noise11. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  81. ↑ "British album certifications – Sia – This Is Acting". British Phonographic Industry. Enter This Is Acting in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
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