Sia has released her first new single since her career-defining 2014 album, a song initially written with Adele in mind.
The enigmatic Australian singer-songwriter said in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music’s Beats 1 that although the song Alive was written with the British singer-songwriter in mind, on completion it was offered to Rihanna.
Sia said she felt “seller’s remorse”, because she was too attached to the song. “Then [Rihanna] gave it back to me and I was relieved.”
Sia is responsible for some of this past decade’s biggest pop hits, having written songs for Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Maroon 5 and Kylie Minogue. She also wrote Rihanna’s No 1 hit from 2012, Diamonds.
The pop artist said Adele, who will release a new album in November, recorded a demo version of the song. “I thought ‘Do I like it, or do I like a million dollars?’ She cut it and it was so amazing. I’m a huge fan of her voice.”
Along with the Canadian musician Tobias Jesso Jr, Adele has a co-writing credit on Alive, but the final recording was eventually sung by Sia.
The first single from her forthcoming album This Is Acting, it is a classic Sia powerhouse pop song, with a belted out chorus and a stormy, mid-tempo verse.
The track was produced by Jesse Shatkin, who also co-wrote and co-produced Sia’s hit Chandelier – the breakthrough single of her sixth studio album 1000 Forms of Fear, which she released in July last year.
Chandelier has since gone three times platinum, and its much-parodied video has been viewed 900 million times.
