There’s an inherent limit to how genuine the music on Acting feels. While most of the songs are structured using Sia’s signature formula — vulnerable, self-aware verses that build to empowering, cathartic choruses — she doesn't delve as deep lyrically as she's done in the past on, for instance, “Elastic Heart.” Save for “House on Fire,” the dark demons of addiction don’t appear the way they do on earlier hits, like “Chandelier.” (Furler has spoken about being addicted to drugs and alcohol in the past.) Or maybe, the words just don’t pierce quite as sharply knowing that when she says, “I was breaking down / And I saw only two footprints in the sand / Thought you'd abandoned me and let go of my hand,” on the romantic “Two Footprints,” the "I" was Beyoncé.

Sia is known for being reclusive and mysterious, but in a way, she’s one of the most upfront, easy-to-read stars in the business today. With her emergence from the song-crafting woodwork into the spotlight, she made us think about who can be a pop star. Is it a shy, 40-year-old songwriter who shuns celebrity, magazine covers, and the shiny veneer of a poppy persona in favor of a gargantuan wig that you couldn’t possibly mistake for anybody else's? (A branding gimmick in its own.) With This Is Acting, Sia happily dismantles any romantic illusion that she’s a precious artist or a singular pop ingénue. No, here, Sia is a frank businesswoman having fun. She's making a statement about putting on a show by declaring that she is acting — and dropping that pretense allows her to play and experiment in a carefree way that is almost more real. Or maybe, she’s just a really good actress.