This Is Acting

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This Is Acting
File:Thisisacting albumcover.png
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)1000 Forms of Fear2014		 This Is Acting
(2016)
Singles from This Is Acting
  1. "Alive"
    Released: 24 September 2015
  2. "Cheap Thrills"
    Released: 11 February 2016

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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, Demi Lovato, 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. To further promote the album, Sia will embark on the accompanying Nostalgic for the Present Tour in September 2016.

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]

On May 16, 2016, Sia announced her first tour in five years, Nostalgic for the Present Tour, and the tour dates for the North American leg. Miguel and AlunaGeorge were announced as the opening acts for the first leg.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars[27]
The A.V. Club B+[28]
Billboard 3/5 stars[29]
The Guardian 3/5 stars[30]
The Independent 4/5 stars[31]
NME 4/5[32]
Pitchfork Media 6.8/10[33]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[34]
Slant Magazine 3/5 stars[35]
Spin 6/10[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 May 2016, This Is Acting has sold 160,000 copies in the United States.[citation needed] 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. Title Writer(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
  • ^a signifies an additional producer
  • ^b signifies a vocal producer
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
Poland (ZPAV)[81] Gold 10,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[82] Gold 100,000

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

References

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  16. ↑ Sia Talks Working With Beyonce, Adele & 'Dominant' Katy Perry
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  82. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 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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