page_title: Billionaire (song)
section_title: Background and development
hierarchical_section_title: Billionaire (song) / Background and development
caption_attribution_description: Warehouse Live
context_page_description: "Billionaire" is a song by American recording artist Travie McCoy from his debut studio album, Lazarus, featuring vocals by American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was first released on March 9, 2010, in various countries via digital download as the album's lead single by Fueled by Ramen. McCoy co-wrote the song with its producers Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine of The Smeezingtons. The song was created from a melody hummed by Mars and Lawrence. The lyrics were written during an eleven-day trip Mars and Levine made to London to work on a record, supported by Mars' label.
  "Billionaire" is a reggae and pop-rap song. Critical reception towards the song was mixed, as music critics praised the song's style comparing it to the music of Sublime, Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson, but criticized its songwriting. Lyrically, the song has a money-driven hook with amusing and political elements in the verses. Such elements include helping those in need, having a show like Oprah and being on the cover of Forbes magazine once McCoy becomes a billionaire.
context_section_description: During the summer of 2009, The Smeezingtons, consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, were booked for a week of writing sessions for Lupe Fiasco, B.o.B and Travie McCoy. The first song the team worked on and recorded with McCoy was "One at a Time", released as a charity single for MTV's Staying Alive Foundation. Mars and Lawrence usually hummed melodies, while Aaron Bay-Schuck, former Atlantic Records A&R rep, encouraged them to develop the best of those, such as "Nothin' on You" and "Billionaire". In the beginning, they had only "scratch chorus demos of "Nothin' On You" and "Billionaire", with a guitar on the backing track and Mars singing on top of it. It was the first song McCoy began to work on after abandoning the original material for the album.
  Mars came up with the lyrical concept for "Billionaire" during a trip to London, to work on a record. He and Ari Levine were each given £240 ($350) by Mars' record label to live on for eleven days. Mars found the amount of money to be insufficient, and explained, "We were like, 'Is this the biggest mistake we've ever made? We thought we were broke in California; what are we going to do here?' So we've got no money, and I'm walking the streets and came up with, 'I wanna be a billionaire, so frickin' bad'". Mars also claimed that his own finances inspired him to write the track, "I wouldn’t have to worry about, you know, I can’t afford to get breakfast, so I’ll wait until lunchtime to eat".
  When Mars first showed McCoy the hook, the latter decided to decline the collaboration, saying to him: "Dude, we're in a recession right now. I'm gonna get crucified". Nevertheless, when McCoy later returned home to Miami, he realized the track "had potential". From then on, the rapper began writing his verses with "goofy humor and flashes of political conscience" that "counterbalanced the hook's materialism". McCoy claimed he "made it more relatable". McCoy intended to avoid "superficial" lyrics in the song in the wake of an economic recession, and added, "There's something to sing about here; if I was in the position to have a ridiculous amount of money, would I be selfish or selfless?' I just took that concept and ran with it". According to Mars, he and McCoy "came up" with the song after listening to the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love". Mars was not supposed to feature on the hook of "Billionaire", however, his "charisma" when he sang it prompted the label and McCoy to keep his vocal after the final version was recorded.
  On January 28, 2014, Demetrius Orlandus Proctor filed a lawsuit, claiming to hold the copyright for "Billionaire". Proctor alleged he has owned the copyright to the track's music and lyrics since March 31, 2011, though the song was released a year before. As evidence, he submitted a United States Copyright Office registration certificate for Frisky Vol. 1 to 30 (Tapes), issued in 2000. In the suit, Proctor accused McCoy and Mars of "willful and intentional" infringement of copyright, and sought the destruction of all copies of the recording. Proctor claimed he has exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the song.
caption: Mars and Lawrence (pictured, right and left) developed the melody of the song in 2009.
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