Jessica Goodman from '' Entertainment Weekly '' found the chorus " massive and catchy . " Once the critics had picked up on the song 's connection with the Orlando nightclub shooting , Spencer Kornhaber of '' The Atlantic '' wrote : Making pop about a specific tragedy is necessarily a tricky job . So it 's no crime that some of the other mainstream original songs memorializing Orlando have been as rote as issue-oriented singles are often stereotyped as being . ... But " The Greatest " is very potent , a work of art , not charity . ... There 's no break here from the rest of Sia 's catalogue about pain and release in everyday life : You hear a sad voice wailing about bucking up , very stark emotional peaks and valleys , and a danceable backing of explosive drums , toy-box melodies , and reggae grooves . Sia and Greg Kurstin may have written the song even before the massacre . But in the context of Orlando , the possible platitude of the chorus becomes gutting : " I 'm free to be the greatest / I 'm alive . " She 's pepping the listener up , but she 's also defining the value of life , marking the human potential that 's been lost . The Orlando shooting commemoration was also praised by Bruno Russell from '' The Edge '' , who called the song 's concept " inspirational " as " the message is clear : that we can make a difference and be ' The Greatest , ' but we have to act now . " Russell awarded a 5-star review for the song , praising her performance as having " somewhat of a narrative feel , especially from the childish nature of the instrumental backing , which emphasises the vulnerability there to be exposed and challenged ( though , at the same time , there is also a power within this from the more powerful chorus ) . " Russell also praised Lamar 's rap in the single release of the track
Orlando nightclub shooting
Orlando nightclub shooting
The Greatest (Sia song)