Singer/songwriter Sia is on the verge of releasing her new album ‘Reasonable Woman’ on 3 May which includes the new single ‘Dance Alone’. The disco-tinged track is a collaboration with Kylie Minogue and is the follow up to ‘Gimme Love’.
Sia has had quite the career as an artist but in the early Noughteens she switched gear and turned her hand to writing for other artists. Here’s ten tracks you might not know were written by Sia for other artists.
Sexercise – Kylie Minogue
Speaking of her latest collaboration with Kylie, ‘Dance Alone’ isn’t the first time the Aussie pair have teamed up. In fact, Kylie asked Sia to executive produce her 2014 album ‘Kiss Me Once’. Not content to just help Kylie choose tracks, Sia co-wrote the gorgeous title track and the sexy buzz single ‘Sexercise’.
Galaxy – Dannii Minogue
When you’ve worked with one Minogue, why not collect the set and that’s exactly what Sia did in 2017 when Dannii recorded her previously unreleased track ‘Galaxy’. The spacey, uplifting banger suits Dannii’s voice perfectly, showing off her higher range in the soaring chorus.
You Lost Me – Christina Aguilera
Taking it back to a time when Sia was working on her solo career and hadn’t yet decided to write for other artists, Christina Aguilera asked her to help write some killer ballads for what would become her ‘Bionic’ album. Boy did Sia deliver with ‘You Lost Me’, written about Christina’s recent divorce. It starts gently before building to a crescendo with Christina’s voice shown in a softer way at first, before her full belt comes through. How the public slept on this song is beyond me, one of Christina’s finest!
Perfume – Britney Spears
Some years later, Sia would work with Xtina’s Mickey Mouse Club’s alumni, Britney Spears, for her eighth studio album ‘Britney Jean’. The second single, ‘Perfume’, from the album was co-written by Sia with Britney and Chris Braide, the latter having already worked with Will Young, Lana Del Ray and many more at that point. ‘Perfume’ is about jealousy and relationship troubles with the woman scorned lyric ‘I hope she smells my perfume’.
Invincible – Kelly Clarkson
In 2015, Kelly Clarkson released the Sia-penned empowerment anthem ‘Invincible’ as the second single from her album ‘Piece by Piece’. It started life as a demonstration of how Sia writes with producer Greg Kurstin in an interview with NPR. Kelly had previously performed a cover of Sia’s 2004 single ‘Breathe Me’ on her Stronger Tour and upon hearing this, Sia revealed that she had been trying to write a song for Kelly. The rest is history!
Pretty Hurts – Beyonce
In 2013, Beyonce dropped her self-titled surprise album and the fifth and final single from it was ‘Pretty Hurts’. Lyrically written by Sia and completed with US producer Ammo (Jessie J/Britney) the track was originally sent to Katy Perry, but she missed the email and so it was sent to Rihanna and eventually Beyonce heard it and snapped it up. The social commentary of the song covering issues around beauty standards accompanied by a video about beauty pagaents, saw the trac win Best Video with a Social Message at the MTV Awards in 2014.
Diamonds – Rihanna
Don’t feel sorry for Rihanna. She may have missed the boat on ‘Pretty Hurts’, but Sia helped to pen a track for her which is arguably the most successful of all the tracks on this list, becoming Riri’s 12th US and 7th UK No.1. The backing track was written and produced by Benny Blanco and Stargate, with Sia composing the lyrics and laying down the guide vocal. Rihanna was so enamored with Sia’s demo vocal that she emulated her on the finished track to the extend where upon being played Rihanna’s version, Sia had to double check it wasn’t her own demo she was listening to.
What The Future Holds – Steps
At the end of 2020, Steps announced their sixth album ‘What the Future Holds’ with the title track released as the lead single. The press release couldn’t scream loudly enough that the track was written by Sia (with writer/producer extraordinaire Greg Kurstin). In a track-by-track guide to the album, Claire told EF that they’d actually heard this song around the time they were promoting ‘Tears on the Dancefloor’ and the band all said ‘We have to record it’. When they found out that Sia had written it they were even more excited!
Loved Me Back To Life – Celine Dion
Another title track written by Sia, that lead the album campaign was 2013’s ‘Loved Me Back To Life’ from Celine Dion. Her 11th English-language album and possibly her most contemporary, as this lead track shows. It’s a mid-tempo love song that allows Celine to play with a more laidback style in the verses before going all out in the chorus.
Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) – Ne-Yo
In July 2012, ‘Let Me Love You’ became the second single from Ne-Yo’s album ‘R.E.D.’ but the track’s origins began before that when a British production duo sent the track to Stargate and after they’d added some production elements, Sia wrote the topline melody and lyrics. Ne-Yo heard the track and was inspired by the uplifting message in the chorus. He reworked some of the lyrics and recorded the track which became a UK No.1 single.
Sia’s new album ‘Reasonable Woman’ is released on 3rd May and features the singles ‘Gimme Love’ and new track with Kylie Minogue ‘Dance Alone’. Watch the brand new video for the latter below:
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