Welcome to Music Friday when we highlight chart-topping songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Aussie sensation Sia teams up with Jamaican rapper Sean Paul to deliver one of the world's hottest dance tunes, "Cheap Thrills." Currently #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, the song features Paul's reggae-spiced refrain, "You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold."
The song follows Sia as she preps for an exciting weekend with her partner at the dance club. She states that she doesn't need dollars bills to have fun tonight, because feeling the music and dancing the night away is worth so much more.
Sia and Paul alternate lines as they sing, "But I don't need no money / (You worth more dan diamonds, more dan gold) / As long as I can feel the beat."
Penned by Sia and Greg Kurstin, "Cheap Thrills" has been described by critics as a "bouncy party anthem" and "another superior slab of on-trend ear candy."
"Cheap Thrills" has become a viral sensation on YouTube. The lyric video, which mimics the 1960s vibe of American Bandstand and features faceless dancers wearing signature Sia wigs, has been viewed more than 362 million times. A second video highlighting Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler has accumulated 120 million views. The 13-year-old dancer also appeared in Sia's videos for "Chandelier," "Elastic Heart" and "Big Girls Cry."
Sia fans may remember that she wrote "Diamonds" for Rihanna in 2012. That song became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with more than 7.5 million copies sold worldwide.
Interestingly, "Cheap Thrills" was also intended for Rihanna, but the artist passed on it. As reported in Rolling Stone, Rihanna's manager was looking for another "Diamonds," a song with soul and feeling. After Sia and Kurstin wrote "Cheap Thrills," Sia sensed that the song may not be a perfect match for Rihanna.
"I realized just as soon as I was cutting it that it sounded a little bit too Brit-pop for her," she told Rolling Stone. "We did actually send it to her, but they passed on it, and then I just couldn't stop listening to it in the car."
Sia decided to add the song to her seventh studio album, This Is Acting. The rest is hit-making history. The song was released in February and is still migrating its way up the Billboard charts.
Please check out the excellent "Cheap Thrills" video at the end of this post. The lyrics are included if you'd like to sing along with Sia and Sean Paul...
"Cheap Thrills"
Written by Greg Kurstin and Sia Furler. Performed by Sia, featuring Sean Paul.
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
Til I hit the dance floor (Bada bang)
Hit the dance floor (Bada bang)
I got all I need (Sia)
No I ain't got cash
No I ain't got cash
But I got you baby
(Just you and 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)
But 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
Til I hit the dance floor (Bada bang)
Hit the dance floor (Bada bang)
I got all I need (Sia)
No I ain't got cash
No I ain't got cash
But I got you baby
(Just you and 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)
But 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 and you girl, you and me
Drop it to di floor an mek mi see your energy because
Mi nah play na hide an seek
Wah fi see di ting you have weg mek me feel weak girl
Cause anytime you wine and kotch it
Di selector pull it up an pull it pon repeat girl
I'm nah touch a dollar in my pocket
Cause nuttin in this world ain't more dan what you worth
But 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)
But 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
(I love cheap thrills)
Credits: Screen captures via YouTube.com.
