Sia's 'This Is Acting' deluxe edition songs, graded
Sia’s currently hitting the road on her Nostalgic for the Present tour, but she just released a deluxe edition of 2016’s This Is Acting featuring seven additional tracks—including her new single, “The Greatest.” Below, for the new issue of EW, we graded the new tunes on a scale of one to five Sia wigs.
“The Greatest” feat. Kendrick Lamar
5/5 wigs
Platitudes about overcoming adversity? Dramatic metaphors about climbing mountains? Yup, it’s a Sia banger, all right—but on this breezy collaboration with the Compton MC, released as a single last month, she makes the clichés feel genuinely inspiring.
“The Greatest” (without Kendrick Lamar)
5/5 wigs
The rapper usually elevates everything he touches with his jaw-dropping guest verses, but it speaks to Sia’s songwriting that this version of the song is no less impactful without Lamar’s bars.
“Cheap Thrills” feat. Sean Paul
4.5/5 wigs
Nobody does a sad-girl party anthem like Sia, who takes a frivolous tale of a night out and adds a dose of melancholy that even Sean Paul can’t shake on this remix, released in February.
“Confetti”
4/5 wigs
Sia takes the high road as she ditches a philandering lover who doesn’t bother to hide the lipstick on his collar—and the resulting power ballad is as cathartic as any revenge fantasy.
“Midnight Decisions”
3.5/5 wigs
Sia’s anxiety is palpable on this piano-driven cut about reconnecting with an ex she knows she should avoid. It just might be the most depressing booty call in pop music.
“Move Your Body” (Alan Walker Remix)
3/5 wigs
One of This Is Acting’s weaker tracks gets a thudding EDM makeover—way more effective at getting you to do what the title commands.
“Jesus Wept”
3/5 wigs
With haunting strings and a run time of nearly six minutes, this Sia outlier sounds like a castaway from a film soundtrack. That’s Hollywood’s loss—her IMAX-size voice here deserves to fill theaters.
