In Sia's newest music video, a fresh young dancer comes "alive."
After releasing the audio for her latest track "Alive"—also penned by Adele—off her upcoming studio album, This Is Acting, the wigged singer has finally unveiled its accompanying music video.
In a surprising twist, the clip for the pulsing single is missing a key element of Sia's eccentric career—Maddie Ziegler. It appears the Grammy nominee has swapped out her signature 13-year-old mini-me dancer for an even younger performing prodigy.
Her name is Mahiro Takana and she opens the video dressed in a tied karate uniform and black and white bobbed wig, reminiscent of Sia's but with a slight color alteration. She may look adorable, but it immediately becomes clear this kid is one tough cookie. Throughout the video, she performs a series of Kankudai-inspired movements, a craft she has practiced so successfully that she was certified as a 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Karate ambassador. Yes, we feel very unaccomplished right now.
But, this is not the first time she has unveiled the martial arts choreography on an international stage.
The 9-year-old's first claim to fame came last year when a video of her performing the moves went viral on YouTube, garnering nearly 5 million views. Thankfully, one of those views was Sia herself, and she pursued the little lady for an appearance in her new video.
This is a lucky moment in Takana's life. Sia's other iconic dancer, Ziegler, rose to immense fame following her performance in one of Sia's music videos, "Chandelier," in 2014. Fast forward one year later and Ziegler has been named by Time magazine as one of the "30 most influential teens of 2015" and has garnered a nomination for a 2016 People's Choice Award.
One thing is for sure—not only is Mahiro one talented kid, she can totally kick our butts.