Friday 4 October 2013

[Music Review] Sia – "Elastic Heart"



Whereas I felt something was missing from Christina Aguilera's contribution to the Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, Sia's effort- Elastic Heart- is pretty much flawless right off the bat.

Sporting an unusual melody built atop a quirky sample, the Diplo-produced track lets Sia's vocal versatility shine through as the Diva plays with texture and tone to create an interesting lead vocal and a layering of gorgeous supporting harmonies.  

Elastic Heart also features a guest spot from The Weeknd- who I wouldn't have recognised lest I read it- who sounds to have stepped up his vocal to compete with Sia's energetic brilliance. I could probably have done without him on the track, but I suppose he adds a male perspective to the song's lyrics, as well as a fuller sound to the harmonies. His addition certainly doesn't detract from the enjoyability of the song..

Seriously, when is Sia going to stop messing about with the soundtracks and penning hits for other artists. Give us another full length LP already! I'm getting desperate here!! Oh, it's coming in March of 2014 you say..well that's ok then...carry on...nothing to see here...

Rating: A


53 comments:

  1. Am I the only one that can tell she is putting tension in the most simplistic notes on *purpose* to provide that extra GRIT to go with the song? I mean seriously people you cant honestly believe that most of those strained grunts were by accident do you?

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  2. I liked the delivery but, as much as I love Christina this is definetly showing that her voice is over. Those notes are easy even for me, and I don't really have a good range, but she's straining too much on them. A pitty since Christina is the artist I've felt more emotionally connected with after Simple Plan. I miss this era http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxeHfB-udlI

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  3. I don't think an easy to sing song is exactly saying her voice is over. Maybe she feels like she doesn't have to sing to the moon in every song. I mean I feel like a song with over the top shouting and melismas would just be inappropriate for a soundtrack for a movie like this. I mean Beautiful had very very minimal melisma/belting until the end, but it still remains one of her most powerful ballads.

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  4. Ryan Tedder producing the song explains a lot, the production, the vocal styling, the sound of the whole song sounds so much like a OneRepublic song, if you had a male vocalist, I wouldn't know the difference. And the line "burn me with fire" sounds so so so familiar to me, just the notes of it, I wanna say Ryan Tedder has another song with a line sung just like it but maybe I'm just hallucinating.


    It's not a bad song, it's not my favorite soundtrack offering from a diva. But it's a smart move from her, especially since the Lotus plant has been dead in the plant since less than half a year of being released.

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  5. You sound nice! Your voice is very smooth all the way through (until maybe that "big" note?) and I thought it was a great cover. (:

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  6. Whether a good song or bad, there is no human emotion Sia cannot capture with her all-knowing emotive voice. And I'm so obsessed with that sample that's going through the song. Idk I also could've done without him on the song, he has a weird voice that I can't say is bad, but I can't say I always like it, no matter how many critics call him a musical genius.

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  7. Thanks! I gotta admit, the 'big' note at the end's issue was a combination of using an iPad to record (not exactly studio quality) and I suppose emulating the growling Aguilera thing. I know...I know...it's bad vocal form, but I thought I sounded way too choir boy otherwise. LOL But thanks!

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  8. I think the most terrifying and/or pathetic thing is that Christina is straining Ab4. Fucking...Ab4. Not Ab5 - 4th octave belts including that B4. That's...horrible. Her singing sounds rough, unpolished, and incredibly poorly managed through the registers. I am a low baritone, and I can pretty solidly belt Bb4 if I mix, so - seriously? It's not even a bad song, but Christina needs to stop. Her voice is gone.

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  9. I'm sorry but I don't like her vocal performance this time. The straining is so pronounced, even in 4th octave mid belts, that I just can't enjoy the song at all. I'm crying over her vocal chords, they are completly destroyed in every single way. Her voice is not beauty anymore, there is a roughness I can't stand. Maybe this was what she wanted from the beggining, raw and rasp vocals; but it's not what I used to love about her voice. Certainly, this isn't something I want to hear in soft-rock or adult contemporany ballad. She can't use this new "voice" to sing rock, or screm rock I should say, but it is not working for the kind of music she used to. I wonder if the damage is beyond repair at this point. Such a pity that her beautiful, sweet and bright voice is gone (even her falsetto in "the wind blows" sounds weaker). I think it might be time to give up on Xtina. She's not going to deliver good vocals anymore. From now on every single song is going sound strained, raspy, rough, and with a lack of musicianship that I just cannot stand. I'm broken, my idol is gone!

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  10. You are not getting Leith's point here. The fact that "her voice is over" has nothing to do with the lack of vocal acrobatics in this song. The problems is that she doesn't sound good in easy notes (4th octave belting / mid-range), and her tone is not pretty anymore (even though this is subjective). She strains in the easiest notes, and that is a sign of vocal damage. She does not seem to be getting any better either.

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  11. I'm surprised people don't like the song or the vocals. Oh well, can't please everybody. But I don't actually think she's straining at all, and I think she sounds very good on the track. She's made is quite noticeable/evident over the past year or so, especially if you watch "The Voice", that she wants a raspier quality to her voice. So she does edge her voice to the point it rasp out like that. She even gave an example of it during coaching sessions on "The Voice."


    It's just when people have stated she lowers her larynx to give her that bigger, dramatic sound, she's pretty much doing something similar for the rasp effect (that most times is called straining). She's sung a good C5 no strain at the Time Gala for "At Last", and a bright and raspy (powerful in my personal opinion) E5 on The Voice late last year. So she has the ability to sing above Ab4 ("proper") if she pleases. But it's not as if she's "straining" because she can't hit the notes, she just wants them to be sang that way. It's intentional.




    It's pretty much been evident for her whole career she doesn't want to sound perfect, or that everyday singer that sings by the book. She wants edge, ruggedness, soul, rasp, etc.




    But anyway, thanks Diva for doing the review (I did suggest for her to do so). Glad you enjoyed it somewhat.

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  12. LOVE this song. This is one of my faves from the soundtrack, and that was released as a single. Sia is so like near flawless to me vocally. And the Weeknd DID THIS! His vocals were everything. I'm definitely going to pick up this soundtrack, it sounds like it's musically everything. I even heard the Coldplay tracks, sounds great as well. Her and Christina have been my favorites from the soundtrack so far.

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  13. I WANT A FULL LP FROM SIA TOO THO DIVA! I been tryna tell SIA! Stop playin girl, You got that VOICE on you. It doesn't need to be put on the sideline to boost other artist's career. Your voice is a star in itself.

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  14. Rasp is not something you should "do" is something you either have or don't. Raspiness is a quality of the voice itself. If you try to frabricate that kind of sound, you are going to sound bad. That's the biggest problem with Christina. She tries to change her own voice by artificial means (whether is the weight, the color or the texture), and the result is not pleasent to most ears. She has to embrace her own natural voice if she wants to keep singing for many years. Because, at the end of the day, all these means she does to change the sound of her voice are going to end up destroying it completly.

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  15. ^This. She hit clear C#5s just last week on The Voice. She is straining/putting tention on those 4th octave notes for effect.

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  16. TO EACH THEIR OWN. : - D

    I, absolutely, LOVE Christina Aguilera's vocals on this song.

    Her 'Timbre' (tonal weight, quality & colouring) is slowly, but surely, leading its way into the territory of a "Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano/Contralto" - one of which she will indefinitely become by the time she reaches her mid- 40's - in the vain of her primary idols: 'Ann Wilson, Etta James, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin & Dinah Washington'.


    Albeit her technique has become extremely questionable, and somewhat dreadful, the past five + years, I cannot deny or excuse the admiration I feel when listening to her. I have always classified Christina as a 'Traditional- R&B/Soul/Rock/Jazz/Blues' vocalist - the raspy, gritty and coarse edge that her vocals are displaying as of late are becoming her niche.

    [In the words of Janis Joplin: "I've always preferred to tear my vocals, when singing, in order to get to the root of a song rather than swim lightly over it".]

    Like her inspirations, these singers were not ones to adopt a 'healthy singing technique', per say, and I think that this what Christina has always wanted to achieve; a raw style of singing that is full of passionate imperfection - the benchmark of a true soul singer.

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  17. Hi, raspiness is a technique as any other. You could say it's a vocal special effect. Maybe you always sing with it, and therefore get labeled as a raspy singer, but it's a technique. CVT calls it distortion, any singer can learn how to do it correctly. :)

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  18. Hello my fellow 'Baritone'. LOL. : - D

    You said that you are a "Low- Baritone" - a 'Low- Lyric, Verdi or Dramatic'?

    I am a 'Kavalier- Baritone'.


    In terms of 'Tessitura' - I feel most comfortable singing/belting, in full- chest voice, from 'C2 - A4'. However, my full- chest range extends from 'C2 - D5 but post- A4, my 'Bb4's, C5's, C#5's & D5's' are executed in mixed voice with the latter two being more forced and the former two sounding the strongest.

    I'm not quite of sure of my 'head Voice/Falsetto' yet but I do know that I once went up to an 'F#5' in falsetto.


    What about you Bro.?

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  19. Ricky Yong Chin Yuan5 October 2013 at 12:07

    Love. the. song.

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  20. Ricky Yong Chin Yuan5 October 2013 at 12:14

    She reached a clear beautiful E6 without even trying on The Voice too. During the blind auditions when someone sang The Way.

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  21. That's exactly what I meant ^^

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  22. No... Nothing dramatic becuase she doesn't have the volume or coloring for it, but she is already in the low lyric mezzo territory considering she belts around E4-B4 ATM.... Not to mention, her falsetto break is still F#4 so she still is a mezzo soprano. As for the Contralto part, simply no...

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  23. No, you're thinking of vocal grit...you know extral laryngeal pressure to make your voice have a guttural sound.... There is quite a difference between a raspy voice and a gritty voice. And Christina doesn't have a naturally raspy voice...at all! JS...

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  24. Anyone who has followed Christina's career knows she's not straining. In a previous season of The Voice, she even said she had to work a long time just to be able get a little bit of a rasp. It's so obvious she's trying to emulate her idol Etta James.

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  25. Ricky Yong Chin Yuan5 October 2013 at 14:21

    No point trying, hun.

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  26. I thought it was a D6, but she definitely did. It was so effortless. She didn't put much into it to do so.

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  27. Why aren't there more people like you in the world?, lol. Seriously though. You get it, most people don't. I love Christina's voice, it touches and pierces my heart and soul.

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  28. For me the song is wonderful. I still believe that someone really can loose its voice. I asked my Vocal Teacher about this.

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  29. no ones voice can be compared to christina's voice there are many powerfull well - pitched voice celine dion . jessie j , lara fabian but no one can touch christina

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  30. haha. I do the same exact thing, don't worry.

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  31. I honestly thought she may have been doing the extra "straining" for possible effect, it just may not have been the best choice. We all know she does the growls and everything even though it's bad form. I definitely don't think she's on the right track, but to me it doesn't seem like she's completely at her end.

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  32. She's straining and rasping and voice sorta sounds squished but... I don't know, I like it.

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  33. Totally. Agree completely. Her voice is not *that* far gone.

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  34. It the song, Miss Aguilera sounds some notes on the same level without "straining". Than you found that rasping and "straining" thing in the same high notes. For me that proves that it is a intentional choice by Aguilera.


    Did James Brown used the wrong technique too?

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  35. Sia never ceases to amaze me. Such beautiful vocals.

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  36. Let a third person join this little chit-chat haha. Firstly...is Verdi the equivalent of Spinto? And secondly: A c2??? Really?? that's amazing! D5 in mixed voice is even cooler!

    I am not quite sure as I never got to talk to a professional but I think I might be a Lyric tenor with an unusual dark sound, (does your talking voice influence ones classification?).

    My lows were kinda already there because i am guilty of sometimes talking in vocal fry.. (can go down to an F#2)

    My passaggio is somewhere around an A4 though, talking and singing voice make up quite a contrast. I can belt up to an F#5, whereas the F and the F#5 sound quite shrill (working on it).

    My falsetto carries me up to a solid Bb5 and my head can go up to a D6, but only when it works, sometimes my head voice carries my quite far but sometimes it's just like no..

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  37. how about a vocal profile about sia ? ;D

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  38. Interesting, I'm a low very tenor with grand sound output. My lower register goes down regularly to A#1/G1 and I can carry mixed belts up to G#5/A5 on a very good day but regularly, I stop at G5. I can carry head voice up to C#6 but I plan on learning how to sing mix belt up to C6 one day.


    Also about your passagio, where's your first one? My second passagio is also at A4 but my first passagio is at A#3 where my lower modal breaks into falsetto. Can I guess C4?

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  39. She's a lyric mezzosoprano and she will always be a lyric mezzosoprano, even if she chooses to force her voice to sound different. Many studies proof that voice type is essentially genetic, whether one chooses to embrace what nature gave you or not. She has tried to change her natural voice and sound like her blues and soul idols since she was little, by lowering her larynx and singing from the top of her lungs. But she cannot change her own anatomy.

    I think her voice shines when she sings with her natural tone (in songs like Lovin' Me 4 Me, Save Me from Myself, I Am, All I Need) or when she belts within her comforable range (Lift Me Up, Oh Mother, Keep On Singing My Song, You Lost Me). When she oversings or tries to add fake effects to her voice, she doesn't sound natural or good in my opinion.

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  40. Ricky Yong Chin Yuan6 October 2013 at 04:59

    Sorry my bad. Anyway. Its justa note off. She hit it out of the blues. Like. whoa.

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  41. The voice she PUTS ON is done artistically, she is not trying to be Mariah Carey. People assume she just can't reach notes with no strain, If you follow her and listen to every song she has put out there, You would know she can hit those high notes with no strain she just chooses to strain for artistic choice.

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  42. I disagree, if the song and moments call for it i say color the song... I don't like when people want to put singers in a box because it's you're preference...

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  43. you are wrong, christina' s natural voice is not that powerful and big , she imitates her idol ette james , and celine dion , jessie j , lara fabian - they have natural powerful voices

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  44. She will never be a contralto of any type I agree w/u, her voice will never get the realness of a contralto, and it's just not in her voice at all...

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  45. (Sounds dramatic to me haha) Wow, now that's really impressive, and you reach those lows without vocal fry? About the mixed voice; How long did it take you to get those notes?

    My first passaggio is somewhere around a C#4/D4, just now I realised by comparing lyrics with Spintos on youtube that I am a Spinto actually, especially in the upper chest register...

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  46. I am also spinto, resulting in the sheer slicing ability my timbre is able to produce rather than just raw volume. But no, I mix all my lower modal notes with vocal fry. But I still can go down to B1 without the aid of vocal fry. For mixing, it took months of practice and learning how to phrase. But I'm most comfortable in the upper third octave to middle fourth octave when it comes to belting. My F#4 can cause sky quakes. But my true money maker note is D5. When I hit squillo there, my voice really gsains some volume. It just gets piercing. Ironically, I talk very high for a male but still have a very low tenor voice. Lol.

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  47. Yes, this sir is something we agree on.

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  48. "there is no human emotion Sia cannot capture with her all-knowing emotive voice" ! This!

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  49. Love this song so my much especially with all the electronic vocal layering that comes into the climax. I always hear something new and Weekend did a great job with the soft vocals which didn't fight against Sia. Sia is amazing and she always delivers with her lyrics. This is one of my favorite songs of the year its really different and left field. AMAZING!!

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  50. Very expressive and versatile voice, but I have to confess that there's a quality to it that I just don't like. Her styling too, it's something I can't quite put my finger on, but it irks me.

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  51. The lyrics are good, but the arrangement is a little bit too much. It's too distracting to serve well the message that the song tries to convey. A more subtle approach would have been better. Sia's voice is really captivating though.

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