ERIKA GRAPES has David Guetta ft. Sia TITANIUM, covered
Erika Grapes Titanium is available on Bandcamp, SoundCloud
by Walter Price
Self-confidence isn’t a given. It can be an elusive beast at times and for some, this very human trait can bare one’s vulnerabilities in the most inhuman ways. So, to admit it’s a struggle and find comfort and strength via a song, well, that sort of encouragement can feel like a personal triumph, maybe even culminate into empowerment. Case in hand, Italian indie-pop star-on-the-rise Erika Grapes had found some much-needed solace in the 2011 David Guetta ft Sia megahit “Titanium“.
In an open book statement posted on Grapes’ SoundCloud page, the Milanese singer shares, “My path on this planet hasn’t been an easy one. Major and minor traumas have shaped my dissociative and dysmorphic disorders, which I have embraced and are also featured on the single cover for Titanium that you can see above: heavy filters and a fragmented identity.
“But You know what? I firmly believe that my fragility, my complexity is also my strength, the Titanium I am made of, a heart that is able to fall and rise back up again and again and still recognize the transcendental value of things.
“When the producer Andrea Del Miglio (with whom I have already worked on Red Right Hand and Into Dust) sent me his piano-ballad idea of Sia’s Titanium, I loved it immediately and I could relate to its lyrics so much to burst into tears a couple of times during the rehearsal. I hope that this new song will be able to deliver a piece of that emotion to you.”
And it’s Del Miglio’s stripped-back piano composition along with Grapes’ natural somber-ladened vocals that propel this cover song into an emotional atmosphere all its own. More powerful than the original? I think for some, the answer is an unequivocal, yes. Especially for fans of the raw psychological depths that artists such as Sigrid, Billie Eilish, and/or Fiona Apple can take their unfeigned ballads.
Maybe you too can find some encouragement in this updated version of “Titanium” by streaming the original single and Erika Grapes’ stunning cover, here at the GTC.
ERIKA GRAPES Titanium
+ David Guetta – Titanium ft. Sia
Artist photo/artwork via Bandcamp // Grapes’ quote via SoundCloud/David Guetta quote via Artist Direct
Performed by Erika Grape
Produced by Andrea Del Miglio – Written by Sia Furler
facebook // Andrea Del Miglio // instagram
“That song is interesting because it’s different from anything else on the album. All of the guests on the album are from pop and R&B, and ‘Titanium’ is a little bit like a UFO flying over it all because Sia is a more of an indie artist. I think she’s the only white girl on the record [Laughs]. I fell in love with the song. At first, she wrote that song and demoed it. She wanted to give it to another artist, but I felt her voice is so incredible and the song is so emotional that I really wanted her to stay on it. The song also uses some acoustic elements which is very different from what I usually do. I think it makes it very interesting.” – David Guetta