“It's a hard life/ But I'm still here/ After all these years/ I am/ Stronger/ Than I thought I was/ Fearless…”
Go On acknowledges Sia’s hard-fought longevity; this Adelaide-born artist is one of only a handful of women over 40 to have topped the Billboard charts.
During opener Little Wing, Sia’s stretchy singing floats atop occasional, sporadic bass rumble, which hits suddenly like driving over a bumpy grate.
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We can’t think of a more fitting title for a song feat. Chaka Khan than Immortal Queen, but aside from a coupla lightning-fast vocal leaps the diva is sadly under-utilised on this trap beat-driven track.
Our Kylie’s vocals snatch centre stage throughout sad-banger Dance Alone, however. Later, for Fame Won’t Love You (“…like a mother, like a brother should”), Paris Hilton surely drew inspo from Kylie’s whisper-sung Slow.
I Had A Heart – a stately, theatrical vehicle for Sia’s elastic vocal range – features vibratory bass plus a quirky breakdown that evokes French court life. Gimme Love is the closest thing we’ve heard to Halo in ages (side note: Sia wrote Beyoncé’s Pretty Hurts).
As if unshackled, Sia unleashes full vocal power onto the standout piano ballad I Forgive You; her sustained notes really are untouchable.
Sia then concludes her first solo album in eight years on a hesitantly optimistic note: “Somehow I see myself getting well … you are the rock to my balloon.” She remains Queen of resilience and (self-described) “victim to victory” anthems.
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