Today is a day for true lovers of covers.
Sia — the woman responsible for penning David Guetta‘s “Titanium,” Rihanna‘s “Diamonds,” Legendtina‘s “You Lost Me,” Britney‘s upcoming single “Perfume” and billions of other pop smashes — is on the cover of Billboard this week. Well, sort of.
Yep. That’s Sia up above, hiding underneath a paper bag. Why? ‘Cause Sia’s the ultimate non-pop star. She’s hugely successful and all over the radio, but doesn’t actually care about being seen. And while the Internet always seems to lament the fact that Sia isn’t more widely appreciated, she’s not actually trying to be popular — as evidenced by the completely brilliant photo.
The pop titan (titanium) opened up about her writing style, as well as her work — past, present and future:
“The songs that work best are broad lyrically and have one strong concept in the metaphor. You have to sing [the metaphor] a lot of times in a lot of different ways. People like victory, victim to victory, and party time. Songs that have a negative chorus and sad songs without an uplifting chorus are harder to place. I have to keep it a lot simpler,” she says, contrasting the pop work with songs she considers for herself.
Simplicity, though, doesn’t translate into being less revealing. Ten years ago, the stories behind her lyrics were “all mine but I wouldn’t admit to it then,” she says. “I was too fearful, scared that I would be judged or somehow unlovable if people saw who I truly was. After 14 years of songwriting, I feel less vulnerable about telling the truth about what’s really mine.”
With her upcoming studio album due out in Spring 2014 (with a contractual clause that frees her from having to do any promo or touring, sweet), Sia has full reign of her career, and even more exciting projects still to come — from “Elastic Heart” with The Weeknd on the Hunger Games soundtrack to her follow-up to 2010’s We Are Born to even more amazing tracks for our favorite pop legends. (Oh, just you wait and see…)
Check out the cover story in full over at Billboard.
UPDATE: And while you’re at it, make sure to read Sia’s “My Anti-Fame Manifesto.”
