SIA - ALIVE

ALIVE

SIA

COMPOSER: SIA FURLER; ADELE ADKINS & TOBIAS JESSO JR.

COUNTRY: AUSTRALIA

ALBUM: THIS IS ACTING

LABEL: RCA RECORDS

GENRE: TRIP-HOP

YEAR: 2015

 

           Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (/ˈsiːə/SEE-ə; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer, songwriter, voice actress and director. She started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s in Adelaide. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she released her debut studio album, titled OnlySee, in Australia. She moved to London, England, and provided vocals for the British duo Zero 7. Sia released her second studio album, Healing Is Difficult, in 2000, and her third studio album, Colour the Small One, in 2004.

          Sia relocated to New York City in 2005 and toured in the United States. Her fourth and fifth studio albums, Some People Have Real Problems and We Are Born, were released in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Each was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association and attracted wider notice than her earlier albums. Uncomfortable with her growing fame, Sia took a hiatus from performing, during which she focused on songwriting for other artists, producing successful collaborations "Titanium" (with David Guetta), "Diamonds" (with Rihanna) and "Wild Ones" (with FloRida).

           In 2014, Sia broke through as a solo recording artist when her sixth studio album, 1000 Forms of Fear, debuted at No 1 in the U.S. Billboard 200 and generated the top-ten single "Chandelier" and a trilogy of music videos co-directed by Sia and starring child dancer Maddie Ziegler. Since then, Sia has usually worn a wig that obscures her face to protect her privacy. Her seventh studio album, This Is Acting (2016), spawned her first Billboard Hot 100 number one single, "Cheap Thrills". The same year, Sia gave her Nostalgic for the Present Tour, which incorporated dancing by Ziegler and others and other performance art elements. Her eighth studio album, Everyday Is Christmas, was released in 2017 and reissued in 2018 with three bonus tracks. In 2018, she collaborated with Labrinth and Diplo in the group LSD, and they released their self-titled debut album in April 2019.

          Sia wrote and directed a feature film, titled Music, set to be released in early 2021 alongside an album, Music – Songs from and Inspired by the Motion Picture. Among the accolades received by Sia are nearly a dozen ARIA Awards, 9 Grammy Award nominations and an MTV Video Music Award.

         "Alive" is the lead single from Australian singer and songwriter Sia's seventh studio album This Is Acting (2016). It was co-written by Sia, Adele, and Tobias Jesso Jr. The song was produced by Jesse Shatkin. "Alive" was released on 25 September 2015. The song was originally intended for Adele's third studio album, 25, along with "Bird Set Free". However, since Adele decided not to use the songs, she let Sia use them for her seventh studio album. Musically, it is a midtempo pop and synth-pop song.

          On 22 September 2015, Sia posted a tweet on Twitter which hinted that the single would be released on 25 September. The next day she released a 15-second preview of the music video on her Vevo account. The song achieved moderate commercial success, reaching the top 40 in over 15 countries, including Spain, Belgium and France. In the UK, the song 30 on the UK Singles Chart. The song reached number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100, failing to reach the upper half of the chart. The music video for the song was released on 5 November 2015. It has received over 200 million views.

            The song received generally positive reviews, with critics praising Sia's powerful, electrifying vocals. Sia has performed the song multiple times on camera, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Saturday Night Live, and The X Factor.

I was born in a thunderstorm

I grew up overnight

I played alone

I played on my own

I survived

Hey

I wanted everything I never had

Like the love that comes with life

I wore envy and I hated it

But I survived

I had a one way ticket to a place where all the demons go

Where the wind don't change

And nothing in the ground can ever grow

No hope, just lies

And you're taught to cry into your pillow

But I survived

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive

I found solace in the strangest place

Way in the back of my mind

I saw my life in a stranger's face

And it was mine

I had a one way ticket to a place where all the demons go

Where the wind don't change

And nothing in the ground can ever grow

No hope, just lies

And you're taught to cry into your pillow

But I survived

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

You took it out, but I'm still breathing

I had made every single mistake

That you could ever probably make

I took and I took and I took what you gave

But you never noticed that I was in pain

I knew what I wanted; I went in and got it

Did all the things that you said that I wouldn't

I told you that I would never be forgotten

And all in spite of you

And I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm still breathing

I'm alive (You took it out, but I'm still breathing)

(You took it out, but I'm still breathing)

I'm alive (You took it out, but I'm still breathing)

(You took it out, but I'm still breathing)

I'm alive (You took it out, but I'm still breathing)

(You took it out, but I'm still breathing)

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive

I'm alive