Billionaire (song)
Encyclopedia
"Billionaire" is the debut single by American recording artist Travie McCoy
, featuring guest vocals from Bruno Mars
. It is the lead single from McCoy's debut studio album
Lazarus
. The song was produced by The Smeezingtons
, which consists of Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine. Lyrically, McCoy imagines what would happen if he became a billionaire
, referencing all the good he would do to others with the money along with his desire to be on the cover of Forbes
magazine, "smiling next to Oprah
and The Queen". As of July 2011, the song has sold 3,000,000 digital downloads
, making it Mars' third 3-million-seller.
in which he was given £250 ($350) by his record label to spend for 11 days. He 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 freakin' bad.'" With the song, McCoy intended to avoid "superficial" lyrics 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."
During the summer of 2009, The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine) were booked for a week of studio sessions writing for Lupe Fiasco
, B.o.B
and Travie McCoy. At the end of the week the group had created a scratch demo version of "Billionaire". The B.o.B song "Nothin' on You
" was also conceived at this time. McCoy later joined The Smeezingtons in the studio to complete the full song. The radio edit of the song replaces the word Fucking with freaking and is 3:06 long instead of 3:30. The radio edit is available for download on iTunes.
The song uses an almost exact musical copy of the tune from Santeria by the band Sublime.
, his Nappy Boy labelmates T-Pain
& R&B group One Chance
, and Atlanta-based rapper Gucci Mane
. The remix was produced by Young Fyre
. There is also a Jawaiian remix done by a band called Big Every Time (known has B.E.T. for short) from Hawaii a DJ Mike D remix. UK rapper Professor Green
also covered the song on BBC Radio 1. In 2011, Only Won
released a "Geeked out" remix video titled, "I Wanna Be An Engineer" which was a parody that reached viral status and caught the attention of CNN
, Discovery Channel
, and FIRST Robotics Competition
.
, California
and was first broadcast on MtvU
on May 6, 2010. It begins with Mars playing a guitar whilst sitting on a wall at Venice Beach and singing the opening chorus. The scene switches to McCoy rapping while driving a Mini Cooper with Mars in the passenger seat. Throughout the video, McCoy is shown helping four people, as well as one large group at the end. The first thing he does is give a guy a new skateboard
after he broke his own in half; the second is buying an unknown, aspiring artist's CD; the third is getting out of the Mini Cooper and giving the keys to a teenager trying to hitchhike to New York
and the fourth is giving a graffiti
artist some more spray paint after his ran out. The video then switches to Venice Beach, where the group in question run dry on beer
in their cooler
, but McCoy and Mars come in and hand out more beers to restore life to the party. Fall Out Boy
's Pete Wentz can also be seen in the video riding on the back of a scooter
with McCoy.
during the second season premiere episode Audition
. Sung by Chord Overstreet
, Cory Monteith
, Harry Shum, Jr.
, Kevin McHale and Mark Salling, the song debuted and peaked at #28 on the Hot 100.
featuring Travie McCoy
. The name features the dollar sign and S.A.
(which generally designates corporations) - in this case, ironically used to indicate the strong money appeal of the song and its storyline. The song is a version of Travie's "Billionaire". Leitte's version consist of the same lines by Travie while she sings in Portuguese new verses instead of Bruno Mars
'.
In the version written by Leitte, the lyrics makes references to Jô Soares
' talk show
, the reality show Big Brother Brasil, the social network Twitter
and the TV host Hebe Camargo
.
, the city street known to contain numerous sophisticated stores and be the point of buying artists and millionaires. Features McCoy's footage from the original Billionaire music video.
Travie McCoy
Travie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010....
, featuring guest vocals from Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
. It is the lead single from McCoy's debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Lazarus
Lazarus (Travie McCoy album)
Lazarus is the debut album by Gym Class Heroes lead singer Travie McCoy, released on June 8, 2010. McCoy announced his plans to pursue a solo career in early 2010, although he insisted that Gym Class Heroes had not broken up...
. The song was produced by The Smeezingtons
The Smeezingtons
The Smeezingtons is the name of a songwriting and production team consisting of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine.They have produced and written songs for artists and groups such as the Sugababes, Travie McCoy, B.o.B, Brandy Norwood, K'naan, Lil Wayne, Flo Rida, Chad Hugo, Lil Eddie, Bad...
, which consists of Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine. Lyrically, McCoy imagines what would happen if he became a billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
, referencing all the good he would do to others with the money along with his desire to be on the cover of Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine, "smiling next to Oprah
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
and The Queen". As of July 2011, the song has sold 3,000,000 digital downloads
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
, making it Mars' third 3-million-seller.
Background
Bruno Mars came up with the lyrical concept for "Billionaire" during a trip to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in which he was given £250 ($350) by his record label to spend for 11 days. He 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
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; 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 freakin' bad.'" With the song, McCoy intended to avoid "superficial" lyrics 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."
During the summer of 2009, The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine) were booked for a week of studio sessions writing for Lupe Fiasco
Lupe Fiasco
Wasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, Lupe is the CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food...
, B.o.B
B.o.B
Bobby Ray Simmons, Jr. , better known by his stage name B.o.B, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is currently signed under the labels of Grand Hustle Records, Rebel Rock Entertainment, and Atlantic Records. His debut single "Nothin' on You" reached number one in both...
and Travie McCoy. At the end of the week the group had created a scratch demo version of "Billionaire". The B.o.B song "Nothin' on You
Nothin' on You
"Nothin' on You" is the debut single by American rapper B.o.B. The song features vocals from Bruno Mars. The song is included in B.o.B's debut studio album B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray. An official remix version of this song, which was featured by Big Boi, debuted on March 21, 2010...
" was also conceived at this time. McCoy later joined The Smeezingtons in the studio to complete the full song. The radio edit of the song replaces the word Fucking with freaking and is 3:06 long instead of 3:30. The radio edit is available for download on iTunes.
The song uses an almost exact musical copy of the tune from Santeria by the band Sublime.
Remix
The official remix features Bruno MarsBruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
, his Nappy Boy labelmates T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
& R&B group One Chance
One Chance
One Chance is an R&B vocal group based in Chicago, best known for their 2006 song "Look at Her", which peaked at number 53 on the Billboard R&B chart.-Biography:...
, and Atlanta-based rapper Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane
Radric Davis , better known by his stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with Trap House and followed with albums such as Hard to Kill in 2006, Trap-A-Thon and Back to the Trap House in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album The State vs. Radric Davis was released...
. The remix was produced by Young Fyre
Young Fyre
Young Fyre, born Tramaine Winfrey , is an American record producer signed to T-Pain's record label, Nappy Boy Entertainment. He has worked extensively with T-Pain and produced most of the upcoming album Revolver, T-Pain's fourth studio album....
. There is also a Jawaiian remix done by a band called Big Every Time (known has B.E.T. for short) from Hawaii a DJ Mike D remix. UK rapper Professor Green
Professor Green
Professor Green , better known by his stage name Professor Green, is a British rapper. He was signed to The Beats, a record label run by Mike Skinner and Ted Mayhem, until 12 February 2008, as the label went under. He won the inaugural JumpOff MySpace £50,000 battle rap tournament in July 2008...
also covered the song on BBC Radio 1. In 2011, Only Won
Only Won
Only Won is a hip hop artist who has been writing, performing, rapping, beatboxing and singing as well as acting and performing stunt work. Only Won started rapping seriously in 1991 after being influenced by hip hop pioneers Run DMC, Will Smith, dcTalk, and T-Bone...
released a "Geeked out" remix video titled, "I Wanna Be An Engineer" which was a parody that reached viral status and caught the attention of CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, and FIRST Robotics Competition
FIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...
.
Music video
The music video was filmed in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and was first broadcast on MtvU
MtvU
mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...
on May 6, 2010. It begins with Mars playing a guitar whilst sitting on a wall at Venice Beach and singing the opening chorus. The scene switches to McCoy rapping while driving a Mini Cooper with Mars in the passenger seat. Throughout the video, McCoy is shown helping four people, as well as one large group at the end. The first thing he does is give a guy a new skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
after he broke his own in half; the second is buying an unknown, aspiring artist's CD; the third is getting out of the Mini Cooper and giving the keys to a teenager trying to hitchhike to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the fourth is giving a graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artist some more spray paint after his ran out. The video then switches to Venice Beach, where the group in question run dry on beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
in their cooler
Cooler
A cooler, cool box, portable ice chest, chilly bin , or esky most commonly is an insulated box used to keep food or drink cool. Ice cubes are most commonly placed in it to help the things inside stay cool...
, but McCoy and Mars come in and hand out more beers to restore life to the party. Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
's Pete Wentz can also be seen in the video riding on the back of a scooter
Scooter
-Vehicles:*Kick scooter, a two-wheeled non-motorized vehicle, primarily a child's play thing, designed to have the rider primarily in the standing position, propelled by a rider pushing off the ground...
with McCoy.
Glee version
The song was covered on the television show GleeGlee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
during the second season premiere episode Audition
Audition (Glee)
"Audition" is the second season premiere and 23rd episode overall of the American television series Glee. The episode was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Brad Falchuk, and premiered on the Fox network on September 21, 2010...
. Sung by Chord Overstreet
Chord Overstreet
Chord Overstreet is an American actor, singer and musician, best known for his role as Sam Evans on the television series Glee.-Early life:...
, Cory Monteith
Cory Monteith
Cory Allan Monteith is a Canadian actor and musician, best known for his role of Finn Hudson on the Fox television series Glee.-Early life:...
, Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum, Jr.
Harry Shum, Jr. is an American dancer, actor, and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Mike Chang on the FOX television show Glee. He has appeared in dance films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D...
, Kevin McHale and Mark Salling, the song debuted and peaked at #28 on the Hot 100.
Chart positions
| Chart (2010/2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Brazil (Billboard Billboard Brasil Billboard Brasil is a monthly Brazilian magazine launched on October 10, 2009, with a print-run of over 40,000 copies. It is distributed nationwide by Brazil's biggest distributor Dinap... ) Hot 100 Brasil Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay is the official music singles charts in Brazil. It has been compiled by Crowley Broadcast Analysis and published monthly by Billboard Brasil since the release of the magazine, in October 2009.... |
93 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
12 |
| European Hot 100 | 9 |
| German Downloads Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
8 |
| Poland (ZPAV Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... ) |
2 |
| Romania (Romanian Top 100 Romanian Top 100 The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media.... ) |
8 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 30 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 69 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 32 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
45 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart | 34 |
| Romanian Top 100 | 31 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
23 |
Claudia Leitte version
"Famo$.a.", (English: Famous) is the second single from the album As Máscaras of Brazilian singer Claudia LeitteCláudia Leitte
Cláudia Cristina Leite Inácio, known as Claudia Leitte is a Brazilian axé singer, and former vocalist of the group Babado Novo. Since she is one of the most popular axé singers in Brazil, she hosted MTV Brasil's Video Music Brasil 2007, in which she had been nominated as best singer in that award...
featuring Travie McCoy
Travie McCoy
Travie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010....
. The name features the dollar sign and S.A.
S.A. (corporation)
S.A. designates a particular type of corporation in various countries, mostly those employing the civil law. It originated in Spain during the 16th century. Depending on language, the abbreviation stands for various phrases meaning anonymous society, anonymous company, anonymous partnership, or...
(which generally designates corporations) - in this case, ironically used to indicate the strong money appeal of the song and its storyline. The song is a version of Travie's "Billionaire". Leitte's version consist of the same lines by Travie while she sings in Portuguese new verses instead of Bruno Mars
Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez , better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an Filipino-American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age...
'.
In the version written by Leitte, the lyrics makes references to Jô Soares
Jô Soares
José Eugênio Soares, best known as Jô Soares is a Brazilian comedian, talk show host, author, theatrical producer, director, actor, painter and musician. Soares was born in Rio de Janeiro...
' talk show
Programa do Jô
Programa do Jô is a late-night talk show broadcast by Rede Globo in Brazil.The program is hosted by Brazilian comedian, author and musician Jô Soares, and follows the format of American talk shows such as Late Show with David Letterman. It began its life as Jô Soares Onze e Meia in 1988 on the SBT...
, the reality show Big Brother Brasil, the social network Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and the TV host Hebe Camargo
Hebe Camargo
Hebe Maria Monteiro de Camargo Ravagnani is a Brazilian TV presenter. She is also a singer and actress.-Early years:...
.
Music video
The single's music video was filmed in São Paulo and was released in July. The video shows the singer Claudia Leitte scenes in Oscar FreireRua Oscar Freire
Rua Oscar Freire is a tree-lined street stretching from Alameda Casa Branca to Avenida Doutor Arnaldo in the Jardins district of São Paulo. It was named after Oscar Freire de Carvalho, a physician and forensic medicine professor from Bahia, who helped develop the city's first morgue .According to...
, the city street known to contain numerous sophisticated stores and be the point of buying artists and millionaires. Features McCoy's footage from the original Billionaire music video.
Chart positions
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| BR Billboard Billboard Brasil Billboard Brasil is a monthly Brazilian magazine launched on October 10, 2009, with a print-run of over 40,000 copies. It is distributed nationwide by Brazil's biggest distributor Dinap... Hot 100 Airplay |
3 |
See also
- List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2010
- List of number-one R&B hits of 2010 (UK)
External links
- "Billionaire" music video on YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....