Song of the week: Sia is 'Alive'

Sia has always toyed with her status as a faceless hitmaker.

Starting as a no-name songwriter behind other stars' smash hits (think Beyoncé, Rihanna and Katy Perry), she rose to fame with her own bombastic pop hits such as Chandelier — and has worked to stay anonymous ever since, obscuring her identity behind oversize wigs at every public appearance and penning an "Anti-Fame Manifesto" for Billboard. Even in her acclaimed music videos, we don't see Sia's face, as she uses the pint-side dance phenom Maddie Ziegler as her stand-in.

Her new record, This Is Acting, continues her exploration of fame and identity, presenting her own takes on songs she wrote for other artists. Alive, a coming-of-age anthem originally meant for Adele, is an ideal introduction to the album's concept.

The song's intended performer is unmistakable; every stray syllable seems phrased with the British singer's accent in mind, and its massive chorus that breaks like a storm cloud into a stomping, major-key refrain is classic Adele.

As a listening exercise, Alive is a fascinating testament to Sia's songwriting prowess. And Sia's gut-busting performance reminds us that she often can out-sing all her pop music counterparts — whose hit songs she also happens to write.