Don't give up, I won't give up

September 7, 2016 1:34 PM

Sia (singer, songwriter) and Maddie Ziegler (dancer) continue their collaboration with The Greatest, an homage to the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

Previously: Chandelier, Elastic Heart, and Cheap Thrills.

posted by psoas (24 comments total)

they are like the perfect symbiotic organism, those two
posted by prize bull octorok at 1:37 PM on September 7, 2016

It's pretty cool to see someone escape reality tv and get famous for being good at the thing that they're good at instead of from the fame of having been on tv. It makes sense for competition shows, but for something like Dance Moms that was about shouty rich lady drama, it's really nice. Good work, Maddie.
posted by phunniemee at 1:41 PM on September 7, 2016 [12 favorites]

That was super horrifying art, in a good way. Maddie is just very good.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 1:48 PM on September 7, 2016

they were just now the closing act at Apple's iPhone 7 event
posted by sineater at 1:54 PM on September 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

They performed live at the Apple Event today - - very impressive.
posted by fairmettle at 1:55 PM on September 7, 2016

I'm glad they're continuing their collaboration. Their videos together make me think of Samuel Beckett for some reason, like if he had decided to direct music videos. Very harrowing and powerful stuff, this video exceptionally so.
posted by airish at 2:12 PM on September 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

Choreographed by Ryan Heffington, who also did Chandelier.

And I guess I am now the official person who will bring this up in every relevant thread.
posted by roger ackroyd at 2:21 PM on September 7, 2016 [11 favorites]

It's very interesting watching the collaboration between the artists involved. And while I'm not much of a dancer/dance critic/etc, is it just me or does it seem like Maddie's dancing is morphing into something more confident?
posted by drewbage1847 at 2:36 PM on September 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

I think Maddie Ziegler is definitely growing into a more confident performer, which is as it should be. She's still very young yet and has her best years ahead of her as a dancer.

This new video is more harrowing even than Elastic Heart, and Elastic Heart was a hell of a gut punch. The willingness to let moments sit in almost-silence, relying only on Maddie's performance (or Maddie and Shia LeBeouf's performances in Elastic Heart), is I think part of what makes these pieces so powerful and almost confrontational in a way. There's also no self-conscious or gazey attempts to make Maddie or the other performers pretty or palatable. People pull faces and move in harsh ways, and they're sometimes genuinely hard to watch.
posted by yasaman at 3:09 PM on September 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

Well I guess I just learned that it's not Sia dancing in the videos. Either way, great voice and great dancing, they work amazingly together.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:25 PM on September 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Holy shit, she's 14? That is an amazing amount of talent.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:26 PM on September 7, 2016

I think she's 13. Internet says she turns 14 later this month.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 3:36 PM on September 7, 2016

They performed live at the Apple Event today - - very impressive.

Yeah, sorry Tim, I know One Republic is your favorite band and you are the boss, but Sia's act was waaaay better than when you had OR play.
posted by sideshow at 6:02 PM on September 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

That first image - of Maddie making the rainbow marks on her face - coupled with the latter image of the kids dancing in the club with the bullet holes in the wall really makes this a harrowing, moving video. Well done to all involved.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:32 PM on September 7, 2016 [2 favorites]

Yeah, this is brave and beautiful and devastating. And not only is Maddie amazing but the younger dancers were pretty impressive, too.
posted by zutalors! at 7:49 PM on September 7, 2016

Yeah, wow. It is devastating. So amazingly well done.

(Can we talk about the production on the track? Because the juxtaposition of the tight, clubby electronic beat with what sounds like a toy xylophone in the bridge--e.g. @1:38--really hit me in the gut with the symbolism. And it sounds great.)
posted by LooseFilter at 9:17 PM on September 7, 2016

this is probably the wrong place to say this but I'd love to hear Taylor Swift cover this song.
posted by zutalors! at 9:24 PM on September 7, 2016 [3 favorites]

I think it's been too long since we've had triangle-formation synchronized dancing in music videos with any regularity, so I approve of this video simply on THAT level.
posted by hippybear at 12:34 AM on September 8, 2016

Also, a certain amount of the dance body movements and facial expressions really reminded me of Kate Bush. That also meets with my approval.
posted by hippybear at 12:43 AM on September 8, 2016 [4 favorites]

In the past I've found the dancing and facial expressions in Sia's and Ziegler's collaborations to be just a bit on the goofy side, too much so to take the videos wholly seriously. Though I still appreciated the talent.

But even though it was telegraphed where this was going from the beginning, past about the 3:30 mark this got really hard to watch. Those jerky movements and exaggerated expressions stop being goofy when you realize they evoke both the image of young people going crazy in a club and those same young people being shot full of bullets.
posted by Anonymous at 1:24 AM on September 8, 2016

Neck hairs standing up, tears falling down. Jesus.
posted by rtha at 7:54 AM on September 8, 2016

Damn. This was powerful. I continue to be incredibly impressed by Maddie Ziegler.
posted by MissySedai at 8:08 AM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

I watched this once and I don't think I'll ever be able to watch it again. This was one of the most emotional videos I've ever seen. Well done. Maddie (and Sia) are treasures.
posted by AFABulous at 11:19 AM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

I watched it for the first time with no context. I just knew it was a new Sia song with a new video and I'm a fan so I was going to watch.

To say it had an emotional effect on me is... an understatement.

I rewatched it after knowing the context and,... I just couldn't breath for a while there.

Beautiful and harrowing
posted by Faintdreams at 1:53 PM on September 10, 2016