Titanium (David Guetta Song)

"Titanium" is a song by French DJ and record producer David Guetta, featuring vocals by Australian singer and songwriter Sia. Taken from Guetta's fifth studio album, '' Nothing but the Beat'', the song was written by Sia, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack. Production was also handled by Guetta, Tuinfort and Afrojack. "Titanium" was initially released for digital download on 8 August 2011, as the first of four promotional singles from the album. It was later released as the album's fourth single in December 2011. The song originally featured the vocals of American recording artist Mary J. Blige, whose version of the song leaked online in July 2011.

"Titanium" is a pop song which draws from the genres of house and urban-dance. The song's lyrics are about inner strength. Critics were positive towards the song and noted it as one of the standout tracks from ''Nothing but the Beat''. Sia's vocals received comparisons to those of Fergie and the song was also musically compared to Coldplay's work. "Titanium" attained top 10 positions in several major music markets, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number one, becoming Guetta's fifth number-one single on the chart and Sia's first.

The song's accompanying music video premiered on 21 December 2011 but does not feature appearances by Guetta or Sia, instead it focuses on a young boy, played by actor Ryan Lee, with supernatural powers. The video has received over 1 billion views on YouTube as of 26 January 2019. On August 12, 2012, the music video was reused for a Spanish language version of the song.

Background

"Titanium" was written by Sia, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack. Production was also handled by Guetta, Tuinfort and Afrojack. After discovering Sia's music online, Guetta picked her to appear on his fifth studio album, '' Nothing but the Beat''. Guetta told an insider from Los Angeles, "I was totally amazed by Sia ... This has made me more curious to study her music more because I was really impressed. I have the biggest people on the album and she has a different profile, more like an indie kind of artist and it makes her song even more special, it makes it stand out I think."

The song originally featured vocals from American recording artist Mary J. Blige, whose version of the song leaked online in July 2011. In an interview with News.com.au, Guetta spoke about its leak, saying, "You shouldn't even know about that ... I'd rather not speak about it." Sia recorded a demo of the song, which was then sent to Blige and other artists. Eventually, Guetta decided to stay with her version. He explained, "The first time I heard what Sia did, because she was not in the studio with me, I fell in love with it ... I didn't even want to give it to anyone else; it was perfect the way it was. It's not only about how big you are in America, it's about the song and the voice." American pop singer Katy Perry was the first person to be offered the track but turned it down because she felt its message was too similar to that of her song " Firework". An insider told Take 40 Australia, "So that 'Titanium' song, Sia wrote it for Katy, but atydidn't want to do a song with Guetta ... " According to Sia's manager, Jonathan Daniel of Crush Management, Sia wrote the song for American R&B singer Alicia Keys. Guetta considered approaching other female singers to record on the song, however Perry advised him to keep Sia on the track. Guetta ultimately followed this suggestion. Sia later revealed that Guetta put her vocals on the song without her consent, nor was she made aware that her vocals would be released:

"And then Mary J. Blige sang it. And then he took her vocal off it, and put my vocal back on, my demo vocal, without asking and released it. And I never even knew it was gonna happen, and I was really upset. Because I had just retired, I was trying to be a pop songwriter, not an artist."

"Titanium" was released for digital download on 8 August 2011, as the first of four promotional singles from the album, as part of the iTunes Store's countdown to the album's release.

Composition

"Titanium" is a house and urban-dance song. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in common time with a tempo of 126 beats per minute. The verses are in the key of E♭ major, with a chord progression of E♭–B♭–Cm. The chorus and breakdown are set in the key of C minor, with a chord progression of A♭–B♭–Gm–Cm. Sia's vocal range span from the note of G₃ to the note of E♭₅.

According to Andrew Gregory of '' The Daily Telegraph'', the song's intro features "a hint of 80s flavour". Al Fox of BBC Music wrote that on the song, Sia has "ghostly mandolin-esque vocals". Cameron Adams of ''Herald Sun'' called them "square-peg", while Melinda Newman of HitFix compared her vocals to those by Fergie. Genevieve Koski of '' The A.V. Club'' wrote that on the song, Sia "manage to keep erhead above the waves of synths ... by amping up ervocals to match the outsized beats." David Jeffries of Allmusic compared the song to the music of Coldplay.

Critical reception

David Byrne and Tony Peregrin of '' Windy City Times'' described "Titanium" as "epic" and "energizing", writing, "it is Sia who steals the show" on ''Nothing but the Beat''. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy agreed, calling the song one of "the record's standouts". Tom Ewing of '' The Guardian'' wrote, "Sia, on 'Titanium', handles the album's best hook well." Rich Lopez of '' Dallas Voice'' wrote that the "collaborative lyrics elevate this song to a higher level than any previous track" from the album, and called it "clever writing" from Sia. David Griffiths off 4Music called it "The most intriguing hook-up" on the album, writing that Titanium' sees Guetta giving the Australian songstress some long overdue commercial appeal, while Sia's vocals bring a quirky twist." Kerri Mason of ''Billboard'' magazine described the song as "Guetta's quirkiest and most epic track to date (in itself an unusual combination)." Jamie Horne of '' The Border Mail'' called it a "strong" track. Joe Copplestone of '' PopMatters'' noted that songs on the album such as "Titanium" and " Night of Your Life", "recall the power" of Guetta's previous collaborations with Kelly Rowland on " When Love Takes Over" (2009) and "Commander" (2010). "Titanium" was nominated for Dance Work of the Year at the 2012 APRA Music Awards, but lost to " From the Music" by The Potbelleez.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012, "Titanium" was pulled from radio stations in the United States due to the use of gun-related lyrics in the song. "Titanium" is part of a group of songs that have been taken off the air, including Kesha's " Die Young", and " Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People.

Chart performance

On the French Singles Chart, "Titanium" debuted at number nine on 13 August 2011. After weeks of ascending and descending the chart, the song peaked at number three on 7 January 2012, giving Guetta his thirteenth top 10 hit in France. In Australia, the song debuted at number 31 on the