“Titanium” by David Guetta ft. Sia, Monday, April 12, 2021

 

The story behind this song is what makes it fascinating for me. In 2011, French DJ David Guetta was recording his follow-up to his breakthrough record. In 2009, his collaboration with Akon in the song "Sexy Chick," the radio-friendly edit of the song "Sexy Bitch," had taken radio by storm. This was the early days of EDM finding its way from long-form tracks in the discotheque to topping the Billboard Hot 100 with shorter radio-format songs featuring pop singers. Guetta's follow-up record was filled with pop stars of the day, but it was this track by a virtually unknown songwriter Sia Furler that not only cemented the careers of Guetta and the elusive pop powerhouse vocalist but EDM and DJ features in pop music. The story that follows reminds me not to give up on my dreams.

YOU SHOOT ME DOWN, BUT I WON'T FALL. If you watch musical talent shows (i.e. The Voice, American Idol, [a country's] Got Talent), you realize that 1) a winner of those shows hasn't made it to the radio since Adam Lambert and 2) if someone is going to make it to the radio, they have to be young, good looking and have extraverted star power. Every season of those shows you'll see a mom whose kids have grown up and are looking for a second act or a dad who sang honky-tonk bars on the side and sadly most of those singers don't make it past a few episodes. When an older star wins, ie. Taylor Hicks, little happens for that star's career. Sia was not on a musical talent show, but she didn't break through in her musical career until she was 35, a dinosaur in her pop-star years. Furthermore, "Titanium" didn't immediately transport the singer to stardom. It was more of a "whose this?" until her 2014 solo breakthrough, "Chandelier," when the singer was 38. 

I'M BULLETPROOF, NOTHING TO LOSE. So who is Sia? Born in Australia and cousin of the former lead singer Peter Furler of Christian Rock band the Newsboys (gratuitous factoid for you), Sia's musical career began in Australia. The singer of a defunct '90s Australian acid jazz band, Sia moved to the U.K. and then to the U.S. to pursue music.  She charted mostly, but few knew her. Eventually she gave up pursuing her personal career and shifted to writing for other pop singers. But when she penned "Titanium" for David Guetta, she recorded her own take on what the vocals should sound like. Guetta had offered the guest spot to Mary J. Blige and Katy Perry. But it was Perry that convinced Guetta to keep the original track with Sia singing. And Guetta did, without even telling Sia that he used her track on his album. The song was everywhere in 2011, especially because shows like Glee and movies like Pitch Perfect made singing powerhouse vocals especially cool. While Sia's vocals are powerful, she is an introvert at heart. She hides her face on stage and uses actors to impersonate her in her music videos. "Titanium" is a power ballad that everyone, even introverts can draw courage from, and I hope it helps you crush your Mondays.

https://genius.com/David-guetta-titanium-lyrics