Cheap Thrills (song)

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"Cheap Thrills"
A male figure wearing a black-white wig while smiling into the camera. The title is portrayed above his head.
Single by Sia featuring Sean Paul
from the album This Is Acting
Released17 December 2015 (original)
11 February 2016 (remix)
Genre
Length
  • 3:44
Label
  • Inertia
  • Monkey Puzzle
  • RCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Greg Kurstin
Sia singles chronology
"Bang My Head"
(2015)
"Cheap Thrills"
(2015)
"The Greatest"
(2016)
Sean Paul singles chronology
"Make My Love Go"
(2016)
"Cheap Thrills"
(2016)
"Lay You Down Easy"
(2016)
Music Videos
"Cheap Thrills" (Lyric Video) on YouTube
"Cheap Thrills" (Performance Edit) on YouTube

"Cheap Thrills" is a song by Australian singer and songwriter Sia from her seventh studio album, This Is Acting (2016). It was written by Sia Furler and Greg Kurstin, while solely produced by Kurstin. It was originally released on 17 December 2015, and an official remix version of "Cheap Thrills" featuring Jamaican singer Sean Paul was made available for digital download on 11 February 2016 as the album's second single.[1][2] This version was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song is a "bouncy", "reggae-tinged" synthpop and dancehall song that incorporates "a constant tropical beat and electropop-style synth layers". Paul added his own lyrics to the remix of the song.

In the United States, "Cheap Thrills" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 becoming Sia's first number one single in the chart, and Paul's first since "Temperature" in 2006;[3] it also topped the national Mainstream Top 40 and Radio Songs charts. It reached the top position in many countries, including Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain; as well as the top-10 in Australia, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number two on its UK Singles Chart. At the APRA Music Awards of 2018, "Cheap Thrills" won Most Played Australian Work Overseas for its songwriters, Sia and Kurstin.[4] It won the award again at the APRA Music Awards of 2019[5] and again at the APRA Music Awards of 2020.[6]

Background and composition[]

"Cheap Thrills" was written by Sia and Greg Kurstin, and produced by Kurstin. It was originally intended to be performed by Rihanna for her album Anti (2016), but was rejected.[2][7] It is a "bouncy", "reggae-tinged" synthpop and dancehall song.[8][9][10] The song features "a constant tropical beat and electropop-style synth layers".[11][12]

"Cheap Thrills" is written in the key of F minor and set in a common time, 4/4 time. The vocal range in the song spans an octave, from B3 to B4.[13]

Critical reception[]

Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone called it a "bouncy party anthem",[14] whilst The Guardian described it as "a perfectly serviceable party tune".[15] Nick Levine of NME praised the track's production "and there's no denying this is another superior slab of on-trend ear candy from one of pop's finest songwriters."[16] A CBS affiliate's critic wrote that the song was the No. 3 song that "saved 2016", calling it a "formidable hit".[17]

Year-end lists[]

Publication Rank Ref.
Billboard's 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016
11
[18]

Chart performance[]

In Australia, it was eventually certified Quadruple Platinum for shipments of over 280,000 copies, and reached No. 6. In New Zealand, the song reached No. 3, and was certified Double Platinum for sales of over 30,000 copies. The song was awarded Quadruple Platinum in Sweden, Five time Platinum in Spain, and Double Diamond in Poland. In the UK, it peaked at No. 2 for four weeks, and has since been certified quadruple platinum for shipments of over 2.4 million units.[19]

The song became the best selling and highest certified single in Italy for a female artist, reaching 10x platinum status, with sales of over 500,000 copies.[20] On 25 September 2017, the song received a Diamond certification in Italy, making Sia the first female singer to ever achieve such status.[21]

In the United States, the song debuted at No. 81 and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the issue dated 6 August 2016.[22] The song became Sia's first number-one single in the country, and Sean Paul's fourth; he returned to the top 10 after ten years. It stayed on top for four straight weeks until it was dethroned by "Closer" by the Chainsmokers featuring Halsey. With "Cheap Thrills," Sia became the first woman over 40 to top the Hot 100 since Madonna topped the Hot 100 with "Music" in 2000.[22] It sold 1.7 million copies in the US in 2016, becoming the tenth best-selling song of the year in the country.[23] It sold 1.9 million copies in the US by May 2017.[24]

Live performances[]

Sia has performed "Cheap Thrills" on various television shows and concerts, with a group of dancers usually led by either Maddie Ziegler or Stephanie Mincone dancing to the same choreography as in the music video, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in January 2016,[25] American Idol in March,[26] Coachella in April,[27] and YouTube's Brandcast event in New York City[28] as well as the season finale of The Voice, both in May.[29]

Music videos[]

A lyric video featuring Sean Paul performing a new verse was released on 10 February 2016. In the video, a faceless couple wearing wigs (two dancers Minn Vo and Stefanie Klausmann), which have become part of Sia's signature look, win a dance contest on a retro 1960s black-and-white TV show reminiscent of American Bandstand or The Buddy Deane Show, using visual effects to recreate the look of early 1960s television cameras.[7][30] The video, directed by Lior Molcho, has been viewed more than 1.6 billion times.[31]

Sia and Daniel Askill directed a performance video featuring Maddie Ziegler dancing with two male dancers (Wyatt Rocker and Nick Lanzisera) to Ryan Heffington's choreography, which was released on 21 March 2016. A trio of dancers wear nude-coloured, with black and blonde hairstyles and gloves in the half-and-half style used in most of Sia's videos for This Is Acting. They dance on a plain stage, with Sia at a rear corner in the background singing into a microphone while wearing a similar bobbed two-toned wig, a large hairbow and a white dress. Billboard wrote that "the video features the same type of intense, captivating choreography as some of [Sia's] other work. This time, Ziegler is backed by two other dancers, and the trio seems to blend as one".[32] Teen Vogue said that Ziegler "delivers another powerful performance".[33]

Track listing[]

Digital download

  1. "Cheap Thrills" (featuring Sean Paul) – 3:44
  2. "Cheap Thrills" – 3:30

Digital download - Remixes EP

  1. "Cheap Thrills" (Hex Cougar Remix) – 3:49
  2. "Cheap Thrills" (featuring Sean Paul) (Le Youth Remix) – 3:39
  3. "Cheap Thrills" (RAC Remix) – 4:09
  4. "Cheap Thrills" (Nomero Remix) – 4:11
  5. "Cheap Thrills" (Sted-E & Hybrid Heights Remix) – 5:35
  6. "Cheap Thrills" (Cyril Hahn Remix) – 4:45
  7. "Cheap Thrills" (John J-C Carr Remix) – 5:16
  8. "Cheap Thrills" (Remix) (featuring Nicky Jam) – 3:32

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[147] 4× Platinum 280,000double-dagger
Austria (IFPI Austria)[148] Platinum 30,000double-dagger
Belgium (BEA)[149] 4× Platinum 80,000double-dagger
Canada (Music Canada)[150] Diamond 800,000double-dagger
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[151] 3× Platinum 270,000double-dagger
Germany (BVMI)[152] Diamond 1,000,000double-dagger
Italy (FIMI)[153] Diamond 500,000double-dagger
Mexico (AMPROFON)[154] Diamond+3× Platinum 480,000double-dagger
New Zealand (RMNZ)[155] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Poland (ZPAV)[156] 2× Diamond 200,000double-dagger
Portugal (AFP)[157] 2× Platinum 20,000double-dagger
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[158] 5× Platinum 200,000double-dagger
Sweden (GLF)[159] 4× Platinum 160,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[160] 4× Platinum 2,400,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[161] 4× Platinum 1,859,108[24]
Summaries
Worldwide 11,100,000[162]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cheap Thrills (feat. Sean Paul) – Single". iTunes. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  2. ^ a b Weiner, Natalie. "Listen to Sia's New Single, Rihanna-Reject 'Cheap Thrills'". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  3. ^ Trust, Gary. "Sia's 'Cheap Thrills' Takes No. 1 on Hot 100 From Drake". Billboard. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Full List of Winners". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Archived from the original on 5 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Sarah Aarons wins Four APRA Awards The Complete Winners List". noise11. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. ^ Cooper, Nathanael (25 May 2020). "Tones and I, Hilltop Hoods dominate 2020 APRA Music Awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Sia Gives 'Cheap Thrills' Sean Paul Verse, Video". Vulture.com. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. ^ Reed, Ryan (21 March 2016). "Watch Sia Re-Team With 'Elastic Heart' Dancer for 'Cheap Thrills' Vid". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  9. ^ "Sia 'This Is Acting' review". AllMusic. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  10. ^ Nelson, Jeff (21 March 2016). "Maddie Ziegler Returns in Performance Video for Sia's New Single 'Cheap Thrills'". People. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  11. ^ Sengupta, Arka (23 March 2016). "Music Video Review: 'Cheap Thrills' by Sia". International Business Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  12. ^ "much.com". much.com.
  13. ^ Kurstin, Greg (31 March 2017). "Sia "Cheap Thrills" Sheet Music – Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Hear Sia's Bouncy Party Anthem 'Cheap Thrills'". Rolling Stone.
  15. ^ Kitty Empire. "Sia: This Is Acting review – mass-appeal pop with a manic edge". The Guardian.
  16. ^ "Rihanna May Have Rejected It, But Sia's 'Cheap Thrills' Is A Bundle Of Fun: Track Review". NME.
  17. ^ Ungerman, Alex. "The Songs that Saved 2016", CBS8.com, 11 December 2016
  18. ^ Wilson, Carl (28 January 2016). "Sia Struggles to Find Her Identity on 'This Is Acting'". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  19. ^ "