Sean Paul Scores First Diamond Single as Cheap Thrills Tops 11 Million

Sean Paul’s remix of Sia’s "Cheap Thrills" has been certified 11× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, a level that pushes the single past the 10 million-unit threshold required for Diamond status. The certification, reported as recognizing "sales and streaming equivalents exceeding 11 million units in the U.S., surpassing the 10-million-unit threshold required for Diamond status," is being counted as Sean Paul’s first single to reach the Diamond tier.

The 2016 remix tapped into the then-dominant tropical pop sound and helped the track break wide into mainstream radio and streaming. Billboard noted the remix brought Sean Paul his first Hot 100 chart-topper in more than a decade and that the song topped the all-genre Radio Songs chart for eight weeks. Cheap Thrills also finished the 2010s at No. 66 on the decade-end Billboard Hot 100, and the collaboration earned both Sean Paul and Sia Grammy nods in the best pop/duo group performance category.

Production and origin details underline the song’s pop pedigree. Produced by Greg Kurstin, Cheap Thrills was originally written for Rihanna’s Anti before Sia recorded it for her 2015 This Is Acting album; Sean Paul jumped on the remix in early 2016 and added a dancehall edge that broadened its reach. Allseanpaul noted the single was last certified 9× Platinum in 2024 before this latest RIAA update.

For Sia, Cheap Thrills becomes her second RIAA Diamond single, joining "Chandelier," which reached Diamond status in 2024. For Sean Paul, the milestone arrives amid a period of renewed activity: his Grammy-nominated albums Live n Livin (2021) and Scorcha (2022) both reached the top 10 on the Reggae Albums chart, and he co-headlined the Jamaica Strong benefit concert at New York’s UBS Arena on Dec. 12, 2025, releasing the single "Faith We A Keep" the same day.

The certification also reopens questions about national firsts. Worldmusicviews declared Sean Paul "the first Jamaican artist in history to sell a Diamond-certified single in the United States," while other outlets note that Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Legend is certified 18× Platinum on the album side. That distinction between single and album certifications is important and worth confirming against the RIAA database before treating the "first Jamaican" claim as definitive.

Community impact is clear: a Diamond-level single for a dancehall star signals mainstream streaming muscle and long-term catalog value, and it shines a spotlight on reggae and dancehall’s staying power in U.S. metrics. Verify the RIAA entry and exact chart week counts if you plan to cite the national-first angle; otherwise, celebrate the milestone as a major credential in Sean Paul’s career and a boost for Jamaican music on the global stage.