You know, Matadonna wasn’t the only Queen with a really cool, funky and different performance last night: There was also an elusive chanteuse by the name of Sia.
We’ve watched as Sia’s continued to find new ways to bring 1000 Forms Of Fear to life, from recreating the should-have-won Video Of The Year “Chandelier” on The Ellen Show to her sad mime shtick on Saturday Night Live to boxing up the emotions of her “Elastic Heart” — also on Ellen. (She loves Ellen!)
Last night, she took elements of some of her past performances — the unexpected guest star, the Maddie mini-Sia dance showdown, the strange “Chandelier home — and combined them all to deliver a routine on an even bigger scale.
But who would be tasked with twirling at The Grammys? Not Shia LaBeouf, who read a poem while introducing Sia. And not Lena Dunham, who delivered undoubtedly the most bizarre staging of the campaign. Nope. No one could have predicted it’d be Kristen Wiig — she of Bridesmaids, of Saturday Night Live, of the Target Lady, of Penelope, of Dooneese on The Lawrence Welk Show greatness — to wig out alongside tiny talent Maddie.
Together, the unlikely trio brought the “Chandelier” video to life in yet another way. The two played off of each other brilliantly as they twirled in and out of the room(s) kicking and screaming and pulling at their faces — all while Sia got her Blair Witch on and sang creepily at the wall.
It was beyond surreal (and so, so fascinating) to see Kristen skillfully delivering the song’s unusual, child-like choreography with the grace of a trained pro. She nailed it. But then, who better to perform the task? She’s a natural for funny faces, after all!
Like Madonna, Sia continues to find captivating ways to visual express herself. Don’t get me wrong — I do appreciate a good singer and all. Adele‘s the best! But after an endless period of just-stand-at-the-mic-and-sing balladry, it was nice to watch a pop star — an incredibly anti-pop star pop star — go the extra mile and deliver actual performance art. (ARTPOP, if you will. Has anyone ever coined that term before?)
Conventional? Hardly. Something to remember? Most certainly.