Titanium — David Guetta feat. Sia
Offered to Katy Perry, recorded by Mary J. Blige, released with Sia’s demo vocal: the winding story of David Guetta’s “Titanium”, a UK No. 1 in 2012.
- Written by David Guetta, Sia, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack for Guetta’s 2011 album Nothing but the Beat.
- Sia’s demo vocal made the final cut, after the track had passed through Katy Perry and Mary J. Blige.
- No. 1 in the UK in February 2012, No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
“Titanium” almost had a different singer. David Guetta’s 2011 song passed by Katy Perry and Mary J. Blige before he released it with the voice that had been on it from the start: Sia’s demo. It became a UK No. 1, a US top-ten hit and a staple of films, TV and cover versions.
Four writers and a demo
The song was written by Guetta, Sia, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack, and produced by Guetta, Tuinfort and Afrojack for Nothing but the Beat, Guetta’s fifth studio album. Sia sang the demo, and her demo vocal is the one on the record.
Katy Perry, Mary J. Blige, then Sia
Katy Perry was reportedly the first artist offered the track. She declined, reportedly because its message was too close to her own “Firework”. Mary J. Blige then recorded it, and her version leaked in July 2011. In the end Guetta chose Sia’s version. Sia said she had not been told in advance and was upset by the decision.
Release and chart run
Released digitally in August 2011, “Titanium” debuted at No. 16 in the UK and No. 9 in France, and reached No. 5 in Australia that September. Virgin and EMI then issued it as the album’s fourth single on 9 December 2011, and it climbed again. On 11 February 2012 it reached No. 1 in the UK: Guetta’s fifth UK No. 1 and Sia’s first. In France it peaked at No. 3. In the US it entered the Hot 100 at No. 66 and peaked at No. 7 in July 2012, after its radio release; it also reached No. 3 on the Dance Club Songs chart. In the UK it has since been certified 6× Platinum.
Billboard’s Kerri Mason called it “Guetta’s quirkiest and most epic track to date”. In December 2012, after the Sandy Hook school shooting, it was taken off US radio playlists because of its gun imagery.
A video without the stars
David Wilson directed the video, shot in December 2011 in Quebec, at Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac and Dorval-Jean-XXIII High School. Neither Guetta nor Sia appears. A boy, played by Ryan Lee, discovers telekinetic powers, is pursued by a SWAT team and escapes into the woods. Billboard compared its tone to the film Super 8.
A second life
The song kept turning up: the a cappella scene in Pitch Perfect, Doctor Who, Gossip Girl and the 2023 film M3GAN. Madilyn Bailey’s cover reached No. 13 in France in 2015, and Afrojack performed it with Glennis Grace at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. On a dance floor, the slow build and the chorus drop still work as a peak-time singalong.
From the same album, read the story of “Turn Me On” with Nicki Minaj; for Guetta’s earlier club years, go back to “Delirious”; and for the producer behind Rihanna’s “We Found Love”, released the same year, see Calvin Harris.
FAQ
Who sings Titanium by David Guetta?
Sia. Her demo vocal was kept for the release, which is credited to David Guetta featuring Sia.
Who wrote Titanium?
David Guetta, Sia, Giorgio Tuinfort and Afrojack. Guetta, Tuinfort and Afrojack produced it.
Was Titanium written for Katy Perry?
Katy Perry was reportedly the first artist offered the track and declined. Mary J. Blige also recorded a version, which leaked in July 2011.
What album is Titanium on?
Nothing but the Beat, David Guetta’s fifth studio album, released in 2011.
