Performer: Despite the ubiquity of her hit "Chandelier" in 2014 (which peaked at #8), "Cheap Thrills" is Sia's first #1 hit on the Hot 100.
Writers: Sia, and Greg Kurstin; Produced by Greg Kurstin
Title: Two words. With the exception of Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!," titles at #1 on the Hot 100 in 2016 have not exceeded two words.
BPM: 90; no real patterns for BPM yet in 2016 hits.
Length: 3:31
Structure: Verse / Chorus / Verse / Chorus / Breakdown Chorus / Chorus / Tag
Points of Interest:
1) Highly processed vocals in the arrangement: Justin Bieber's hits in 2016 utilized vocals that had been processed almost beyond recognition as vocals, providing a very memorable, almost dolphin-like, synth lead sound. "Cheap Thrills" uses all sorts of processed vocals for background pads, as well as for call-and-response texture. Highly processed vocals in the arrangement (not in the lead vocal) seems to be a trend in 2016.
2) Call-and-Response: There's the obvious group of voices shouting the title early in the chorus, but we also hear a processed Sia vocal echoing the later lines of the chorus.
3) Title/Hook: Sia never sings the title. The title only appears at the beginning of the chorus. And yet, the title is still very memorable.
4) Sing-a-long: After the first chorus, there is only one new line in the rest of the song, not counting the change of "Friday" to "Saturday" in the verse. One of the four lines in each verse is a repeat. Two of the six lines in the chorus is a repeat; three of the six is a repeat if you ignore the change in phrase after "As long as I..." The lines themselves are repetitive ("Come on, come on...," "...hit the dance floor, hit the dance floor...," "...I ain't got cash, I ain't got cash..."). Combined with all the repetitive call-and-response mentioned above, this song is an effortless sing-a-long.