"Cheap Thrills" is a song by Australian singer and songwriter

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

from her seventh studio album, ''

This Is Acting ''This Is Acting'' is the seventh studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Sia. It was released on 29 January 2016 by Inertia, Monkey Puzzle and RCA Records. The album is mostly composed of songs written by Sia for other pop artists that ...

'' (2016). It was written by Sia and

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...

, and produced by Kurstin. It was originally released on 17 December 2015, and an official remix version of "Cheap Thrills" featuring Jamaican singer

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

was made available for digital download on 11 February 2016 as the album's second single. This version was nominated for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this category ...

. 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 Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

" in 2006; it also topped the national

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. At the

APRA Music Awards of 2018 The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2018 (generally known as APRA Awards) are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2018 was the 3 ...

, "Cheap Thrills" won Most Played Australian Work Overseas for its songwriters, Sia and Kurstin. It won the award again at the

APRA Music Awards of 2019 The APRA Music Awards of 2019 are the 37th annual awards given in the series of awards together known as APRA Awards, given in 2019. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the yea ...

and again at the

APRA Music Awards of 2020 The APRA Music Awards of 2020 are the 38th annual series, known as APRA Awards, in 2020. The awards are given in a series of categories in three divisions and in separate ceremonies throughout the year: the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards ...

. Cheap thrills became the second best-selling single of 2016 worldwide.

Background and composition

"Cheap Thrills" was written by Sia and

, and produced by Kurstin. It was originally intended to be performed by

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

for her album ''

Anti Anti may refer to: *Anti-, a prefix meaning "against" *Änti, or Antaeus, a half-giant in Greek and Berber mythology *A false reading of ''Nemty'', the name of the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in Egyptian mythology * Áńt’į, or ...

'' (2016), but was rejected. It is a "bouncy", "

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

-tinged"

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

song. The song features "a constant tropical beat and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

-style synth layers". "Cheap Thrills" is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

and set in a

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

, 4/4 time. The vocal range in the song spans an octave, from B₃ to B₄. For certain radio stations, instead of the lyric "turn the radio on", Sia sings the name or call sign of the radio station.

Critical reception

Brittany Spanos of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' called it a "bouncy party anthem", whilst ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described it as "a perfectly serviceable party tune". Nick Levine of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' 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." A CBS affiliate's critic wrote that the song was the No. 3 song that "saved 2016", calling it a "formidable hit".

Year-end lists

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. The song became the best selling and highest certified single in Italy for a female artist, reaching 10× platinum status, with sales of over 500,000 copies. On 25 September 2017, the song received a Diamond certification in Italy, making Sia the first female singer to ever achieve such status. 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. 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 The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with thei ...

featuring Halsey. With "Cheap Thrills," Sia became the first woman over 40 to top the Hot 100 since

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

topped the Hot 100 with "

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

" in 2000. It sold 1.7 million copies in the US in 2016, becoming the tenth best-selling song of the year in the country. It sold 1.9 million copies in the US by May 2017. In 2022, It was certified 8x Platinum for sales of over 8.000.000 copies. Cheap thrills was the second best selling single of 2016 after Can't Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake. On Spotify, Cheap Thrills became Sia's most streamed song on the platform with more than 2 billion streams (1.5 billion for the solo version and 500 million for the feat version).

Live performances

Sia has performed "Cheap Thrills" on various television shows and concerts, with a group of dancers usually led by either

Maddie Ziegler Madison Nicole Ziegler (; born September 30, 2002) is an American actress and dancer. She was initially known for appearing in Lifetime's reality show '' Dance Moms'' from 2011 (at age 8) until 2016. From 2014, she gained wider recognition fo ...

or Stephanie Mincone dancing to the same choreography as in the music video, including ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' in January 2016, ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' in March,

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

in April, and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

's Brandcast event in New York City as well as the season finale of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', both in May.Molinari, Jessica
"Sia Performs 'Cheap Thrills' on ''The Voice'' Season 10 Finale, But It's Maddie Ziegler Who Steals the Show"
Bustle.com, 24 May 2016

Music videos

A lyric video featuring

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 ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'' or ''

The Buddy Deane Show ''The Buddy Deane Show'' was a teen dance television show, created by Zvi Shoubin, hosted by Winston "Buddy" Deane (1924–2003), and aired on WJZ-TV (Channel 13), the ABC affiliate station in Baltimore from 1957 until 1964. It was similar to Phi ...

'', using visual effects to recreate the look of early 1960s television cameras. The video, directed by Lior Molcho, has been viewed more than 1.6 billion times. Sia and

Daniel Askill Daniel Askill (born 1977) is an Australian filmmaker and artist who uses film, photographs, video installation and sculpture in his work. He has directed short films, music videos, commercials and fashion films. He is currently based between Sydn ...

directed a performance video featuring

dancing with two male dancers (Wyatt Rocker and Nick Lanzisera) to

Ryan Heffington Ryan Heffington (born June 7, 1973) is an American dancer and choreographer based in Los Angeles. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards for choreographing the music videos for Arcade Fire's " We Exist" (2013) and Sia's " Chandelier" (2014), winn ...

'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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote that "the video features the same type of intense, captivating choreography as some of ia'sother work. This time, Ziegler is backed by two other dancers, and the trio seems to blend as one". ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since ...

'' said that Ziegler "delivers another powerful performance".Briones, Isis
"Sia's Music Video of New Single 'Cheap Thrills' With Maddie Ziegler Will Blow You Away"
''Teen Vogue'', 21 March 2016 The music video was nominated for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2016.ARIA Award previous winners.

Track listing

Digital download #"Cheap Thrills" (featuring

) – 3:44 #"Cheap Thrills" – 3:30 Digital download - Remixes EP #"Cheap Thrills" (Hex Cougar Remix) – 3:49 #"Cheap Thrills" (featuring Sean Paul) (

Le Youth Wes James, better known by his stage name Le Youth, is an American electronic musician, DJ, and producer. He is known for combining R&B with 90's house music and he had a monthly radio show called Le Youth's Friday Night House Party on Capital Xt ...

Remix) – 3:39 #"Cheap Thrills" ( RAC Remix) – 4:09 #"Cheap Thrills" (Nomero Remix) – 4:11 #"Cheap Thrills" (Sted-E & Hybrid Heights Remix) – 5:35 #"Cheap Thrills" (Cyril Hahn Remix) – 4:45 #"Cheap Thrills" (John J-C Carr Remix) – 5:16 #"Cheap Thrills" (Remix) (featuring

Nicky Jam Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer and actor. He is best known for hits such as " X", " Travesuras", "En la Cama", "Te Busco", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante"; ...

) – 3:32

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

cheap thrills lyrics - sia ft. sean paul

External links