Cheap Thrills

## Cheap ThrillsSingle by Sia

* S1
* S2
* A1
* A2

Single artwork

Single artwork

Album artwork

Deluxe album artwork

"*Forget about the price tag*"
—Jessie J
"**Cheap Thrills**" is the sixth track from Sia's seventh studio album, *This Is Acting*. Released on 17 December 2015, the song serves as the album's fourth single. Along with another song called "Reaper", it was originally meant for Rihanna. The song currently has three versions: a solo version, one with Sean Paul, and one with Nicky Jam.

After 23 weeks on the *Billboard* Hot 100, "Cheap Thrills" became number one in the US.

## Background

Rihanna's manager approached Sia to write a soulful song for the Barbadian singer akin to their previous collaboration, "Diamonds". Sia went to Greg Kurstin and both came up with "Cheap Thrills", which was sent to Rihanna, but was passed on. Sia told *Rolling Stone* that she put the song in her album because it felt "very summer and fun":

## Composition

"Cheap Thrills" is written in common time with a tempo of 90 beats per minute. The song's chord progression, F♯m–D–A–E, may be read either as i-VI-III-VII in F♯ minor or, more likely, as vi-IV-I-V in A major; it is a variant of the I–V–vi–IV progression. Sia's vocal range in the song spans an octave, from B3 to B4.

## Critical reception

Brittany Spanos of *Rolling Stone* called it a "bouncy party anthem", whilst *The Guardian* described it as "a perfectly serviceable party tune". 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." A CBS affiliate's critic wrote that "Cheap Thrills" was the No. 3 song that "saved 2016", calling it a "formidable hit".

## Chart performance

The song reached No. 1 in over twenty countries including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United States. In Australia, it was eventually certified Quadruple Platinum for shipments of over 280,000 copies, and reached No. 6. In New Zealand, it reached No. 3, and was certified Double Platinum for sales of over 30,000 copies. The song reached the top three in European countries, and was awarded with various certifications, including 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 was certified double platinum for shipments of over 1.2 million copies.

The song became the best selling and highest certified single of all time in Italy, reaching 9x platinum status, with sales of over 450,000 copies. On 25 September 2017, the song received a Diamond certification in Italy, making Sia the first female singer to achieve such mark.

In South and Central America, the song reached the top 10 in Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela, top 5 in Guatemala, and No. 1 in Argentina.

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; his return to the top 10 after ten years. With "Cheap Thrills," Sia became the first woman over 40 to top the Hot 100 since Madonna did with "Music" in 2000.[17] It sold 1.7 million copies in the US in 2016, becoming the tenth best-selling song of the year in the country.[18] It has sold 1.9 million copies in the US as of May 2017.

## 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, including *The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon* in January 2016, *American Idol* in March, Coachella in April, and YouTube's Brandcast event in New York City, as well as the season finale of *The Voice*, both in May.

## Music video

  A lyric video featuring Sean Paul performing new verses was released on 10 February 2016. In the video, a faceless couple (dancers Minn Vo and Stefanie Klausman) wearing the wigs that have become part of Sia's signature look, win a dance contest on a black-and-white television show reminiscent of *American Bandstand* or *The Buddy Deane Show*. The video, directed by Lior Molcho, has been viewed more than 1.5 billion times.

Sia and Daniel Askill directed a performance video featuring Maddie Ziegler dancing with two male dancers to Ryan Heffington's choreography, which was released on 21 March 2016. The three dancers wear beige, with black and blonde wigs or hairstyles and gloves in the half-and-half style used in most of Sia's videos for *This Is Acting*. They dance on a bare stage, with Sia at a rear corner in the background singing into a microphone while wearing a similar bobbed two-toned wig, a large bow 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". *Teen Vogue* said that Ziegler "delivers another powerful performance". This video has been viewed more than 400 million times.

## Track listing

### Digital download

 **Total length:** | **7:14**

## Trivia

* Sean Paul, who is featured on a version of "Cheap Thrills", would feature Sia on his song "Dynamite" in 2021.

## Lyrics

* Solo
* ft. Sean Paul
* ft. Nicky Jam

Come on, come on, turn the radio on

It's Friday night and I won't be long

Gotta do my hair, I put my makeup on

It's Friday night and I won't be long

Til I hit the dancefloor

Hit the dancefloor

I got all I need

No I ain't got cash

No I ain't got cash

But I got you baby

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

But I don't need no money

As long as I can feel the beat

I don't need no money

As long as I keep dancing

Come on, come on, turn the radio on

It's Saturday and I won't be long

Gotta paint my nails, put my high heels on

It's Saturday and I won't be long

Till I hit the dancefloor

Hit the dancefloor

I got all I need

No I ain't got cash

No I ain't got cash

But I got you baby

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

But I don't need no money

As long as I can feel the beat

I don't need no money

As long as I keep dancing

(I love cheap thrills)

(I love cheap thrills)

I don't need no money

As long as I can feel the beat

I don't need no money

As long as I keep dancing

Oh, oh

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

I don't need no money

As long as I can feel the beat

I don't need no money

As long as I keep dancing

La, la, la, la, la, la

(I love cheap thrills)

La, la, la, la, la, la

(I love cheap thrills)

La, la, la, la, la, la

(I love cheap thrills)

La, la, la, la, la

(I love cheap thrills)

Up with it girl

Rock with it girl

Show dem it girl (bada bang bang)

Bounce with it girl

Dance with it girl

Get with it girl (bada bang bang)

Come on, come on, turn the radio on

It's Friday night and I won't be long

Gotta do my hair, I put my make up on

It's Friday night and I won't be long

Till I hit the dance floor (bada bang)

Hit the dance floor (bada bang)

I got all I need

No I ain't got cash, I ain't got cash

But I got you baby (just you)

(An me) Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills) Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I can feel the

(Beat...) Mek di beat jus tek control

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I keep

(Dancing...) Free up yourself, get outa control

Come on, come on, turn the radio on

It's Saturday and I won't be long

Gotta paint my nails, put my high heels on

It's Saturday and I won't be long

Till I hit the dance floor (Bada bang)

Hit the dance floor (Bada bang)

I got all I need

No I ain't got cash, I ain't got cash

But I got you baby (just you)

(An me) Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills) Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I can feel the

(Beat...) Mek di beat jus tek control

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I keep

(Dancing...) Free up yourself, get outa control

Me an you girl, you an me

Drop it to di floor an mek mi see your energy because

Mi nah play nuh hide an seek

Wah fi see di ting you have weg mek me feel weak girl (free)

Cause anytime you wine an kotch it

Di selector pull it up an put it pon repeat girl

I'm nah touch a dollar 'na pocket

Cause notin' in this world ain't more dan what you worth (I love cheap thrills)

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I can feel the

(Beat...) Mek di beat jus tek control

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I keep

(Dancing...) Free up yourself, get outa control (oh, oh)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills) Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I can feel the

(Beat...) Mek di beat jus tek control

I don't need no

(Money...) You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold

As long as I keep

(Dancing...) Free up yourself, get outa control

La, la, la, la, la, la (I love cheap thrills)

La, la, la, la, la, la (I love cheap thrills)

La, la, la, la, la, la (I love cheap thrills)

La, la, la, la, la, la (I love cheap thrills)

Come on

Come on (turn the radio on)

Porque tengo ganas de bailar

No tengo un peso en el bosillo

Pero no me importa

A mí no me hace falta andar

Con tu cuerpo y la música me envuelvo

Siento que quemo por dentro

Dirán que soy loco pero qué va

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills...)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills...)

I don't need no money

As long as I can feel the beat

I don't need no money

As long as I keep dancing

Come on, come on, turn the radio on

It's Saturday and I won't be long

Gotta paint my nails, put my high heels on

It's Saturday and I won't be long

Till I hit the dance floor

Hit the dance floor!

I got all I need!

No I ain't got cash

No I ain't got cash

But I got you baby

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

I don't need no money

As long as I can feel the beat

I don't need no money

As long as I keep dancing

I don't need no money (money)

Lo que quiero eres tú

Una noche de rumba

La pista retumba, ésa es la actitud

Yo sé lo que quieres (quieres)

Tú lo que quieres es bailar

Mami, vámonos, que la noche no va a parar

De una lluvia de mujeres, colombiana, dominicana y boricua

¿Cuál eres tú?

Te voy a dar con sinceridad

O con tu sensualidad

So girl what you're gonna do?

De una lluvia de mujeres, colombiana, dominicana y boricua

¿Cuál eres tú?

Te voy a dar con sinceridad

O con tu sensualidad

So girl what you're gonna do?

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight

(I love cheap thrills)

But I don't need no money

As long as I can feel the beat

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na

(I love cheap thrills)

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na

(I love cheap thrills)

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na

(I love cheap thrills)

## References

1. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7446766/sia-cheap-thrills-sean-paul-no-1-hot-100
2. ↑ Spanos, Brittany (3 December 2015). "Sia on Reclaiming Adele, Rihanna's Unwanted Hits". *Rolling Stone*. Retrieved 2016-01-25.