Titanium - Context

 

Titanium - Context



Starter

  • What genre/style of music video is Titanium? Provide evidence for your answer.
  • Identify a micro-element and explain its impact and effect (a denotation and its connotation). 





David Guetta and Sia - Titanium














Task 1 - Lyrics

Analyse the lyrics of Titanium and consider their underlying meaning, annotating them as you go. At the end write a summary of the song, and what you think Guetta and Sia were commenting on.

How might the song be a form of social commentary?

Titanium
David Guetta
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
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, I am titanium, I am titanium, I am titanium
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
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, I am titanium
Stone-hard, machine gun
Firing at the ones who run
Stone-hard, thus bulletproof glass
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




Task 2 - Story

Read this article and note down the main points made. 





Task 3 - Context

Read the information below about some context and create a visually engaging mind map that also incorporates what you learned completing Task 1 & 2.

  • "Titanium" was written by Sia, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack.
  • David Guetta = French DJ & Record Producer
  • Sia = Australian Singer and Songwriter
    • Sia recorded a demo of the song, which was sent to Katy Perry, Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige and others.
  • Titanium was released in 2011
    • Initially released for digital download on 8th August = the 1st of 4 promotional singles from the album;
    • Later released on Guetta's 5th studio album Nothing but the Beat in December
    • The song originally featured the vocals of Mary J. Blige, whose version of the song leaked online in July 2011
      • Guetta spoke about its leak, saying, "You shouldn't even know about that ... I'd rather not speak about it."
  • Hybrid Music Genre
    • A Pop song which draws from the genres of house and urban-dance
  • Attained TOP 10 positions in several major music markets globally
    • UK = peaked at No. 1
      • becoming Guetta's 5th No.1 single on the chart and Sia's 1st
  • The music video for "Titanium" was directed by David Wilson. It was filmed in December 2011 in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac and at Dorval-Jean-XXIII High School, in the province of Quebec, Canada. 
  • A 14-second preview of the video was uploaded to Guetta's official YouTube account on 16 December 2011
    • The preview showed a young boy (played by actor Ryan Lee) in the smoky woods running away from a SWAT team of men. The video then closes with the caption, "The Music Video Coming Soon".
  • The song's accompanying music video premiered on 20 December 2011 but does not feature appearances by Guetta or Sia (subverting mainstream conventions), instead it focuses on a young boy, played by actor Ryan Lee, with supernatural powers (becoming a narrative style music video)
    • 1,579,297,812 views as of 14:43 on 18th May 2021

  • Sia revealed that Guetta put her vocals on the song without asking for permission:

    "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."

  • David Byrne and Tony Peregrin of Windy City Times (Chicago Paper) described "Titanium" as "epic" and "energizing", writing, "it is Sia who steals the show" on Nothing but the Beat.
  • 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.

DAVID GUETTA on SIA

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 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."



SYNERGY

  1. 'Titanium' was used in the 5th season of Gossip Girl 'I Am Number Nine', which aired on 7th Nov 2011
  2. Soundtrack on 2014 film Wild Tales
  3. Just Dance 2017
  4. Performed by Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow in the Pitch Perfect bathroom a-cappella scene
  5. Covered in 2019 by cast of musical comedy TV series Perfect Harmony
  6. Dutch artist Glennis Grace performed the song with Afrojack at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam

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