Music Review: David Guetta & Sia "Titanium"

David Guetta & Sia

Titanium

Album: Nothing But the Beat

Year: 2011

         Sia has learned to shield herself from her boyfriend’s anger in the  stout “Titanium.”

              Waiting synths open the single, setting a skilled tone. His lips gnarl at her cool responses to his accusations, strangling her with her own words. He points his finger into her chest, cornering her. She slips on the wall and holds onto it, her body free of scratches and bruises. (“You shout it out/But I can't hear a word you say/I'm talking loud not saying much/I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet/You shoot me down, but I get up.”)

           In the chorus, he no longer can overpower her with his words. She has gained enough strength to defend herself, armed with emotional support from her family and friends. (“I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose/Fire away, fire away/Ricochet, you take your aim/Fire away, fire away/You shoot me down but I won't fall/I am titanium/You shoot me down but I won't fall/I am titanium.”)

        He blistery phrases do not swell within her. However, it is him who will end up with the unsightly sores. His social circle has long stopped turning and now it’s only him. The walls flinch, shaken by the volume but she does not. None of his words pierce her skin.(“Cut me down/But it's you who has further to fall/Ghost town, haunted love/Raise your voice, sticks and stones may break my bones/I'm talking loud not saying much.”)

          The chorus is sung again, with two extra “I am titanium’s” added.

           In the bridge, she says nothing as he unleashes another round of resentment and blame. He points out it is she who escaping the relationship without any compromises or sacrifices. She lets the tears flow. A blank expression from her will trigger him. (“Stone-hard, machine guns/Firing at the ones who run/Stone-hard, those bulletproof glass.”)

         Part of the chorus ends the single. (“You shoot me down but I won't fall/I am titanium/You shoot me down but I won't fall/I am titanium/You shoot me down but I won't fall/
I am titanium/You shoot me down but I won't fall/I am titanium/I am titanium.”)

      Sia’s stony vocals are loaded, using her words sparingly. It’s the only weapon she has to protect herself. She is able to withstand the pain, cold to any loving phrases he may dispense once he has cooled. It is the final fight of the relationship. She will shut the door behind her and never come back.

           Guetta’s savage arrangement pounds into the notes, dulled by the relationship’s jagged breathing. Sia’s eerie composore to the violence going around her escalates it even further.

        The truclent “Titanium” tuns the safety off.