Sia: 'I'm not a super-talented songwriter'

While backed by the thunderous drums, Sia delivers inspirational message as she sings, "I'm not discarding you like broken glass/ There are no winners when the die is cast/ There's only tears when it's the final task/ So don't give up, it's just young lovers' romance". It's more like play-acting. The singer-songwriter is the mind behind many pop hits, and her album has ended up as a curated collection of those songs rejected by other artists. The sixth song off the album "Cheap Thrills" was also meant for RiRi, Sia told Rolling Stone in December. The album includes the collaborative track with Kanye, "Reaper", and the single, "Alive", which was originally written for Adele, with Adele, according to Complex. Eventually, though, she grew exhausted of the demands of modern pop stardom and switched gears to write songs for others.

Despite this, Sia's wild, versatile vocals prove that she doesn't need anyone else to do on her behalf what she can so masterfully undertake herself, and there is no doubt that her own recording of the songs will enthrall and exhilarate the fans that have been eagerly awaiting more Sia material since her chart-topping "Chandelier" and "Elastic Heart" in 2014.

Songs like "Move Your Body" combine crashing beats with buzzing synths to create a loud and pummeling dance hit which Sia's voice as always has the capacity to cut through.

The Australian singer-songwriter celebrated Friday's debut of her latest album, This Is Acting, with a live performance on Good Morning America, all tied up in bows. Sia reminds us that it's her, though, by letting her voice crack at the peak of the chorus - a attractive imperfection Adele wouldn't allow.

It's hard to believe that tunes such as Birds Set Free and Alive (both of which were written specifically for Adele and Rihanna) failed any kind of litmus test, as both exude the kind of modern pop chutzpah that any singer/performer (established or emerging) would gratefully accept.

The biggest wildcard on Acting is "Sweet Design", which samples Sisqo's "Thong Song" (yes, really) and sounds like a long-lost Destiny's Child hit about a booty with divine origins: "Word travels fast when you've got an ass like mine".

Too often "This is Acting" is steeped in unimaginative cliche, and leans too heavily on familiar pop tropes in a way that her previous solo albums did not.