Long before Pitbull was a twinkle in J-Lo’s eye, there was only one guy you could rely on to add a banging feature to your wannabe hit single. Step forward Sean Paul!
But Jamaican rapper/singer/producer/megastar Sean Paul is much more than a cameo – he’s had plenty of hits all by himself too. And he’s been pretty busy lately: he is sitting at the top of the Official Singles Chart once more, thanks to his guest spot on Clean Bandit’s Rockabye, and this week he released TWO new singles – No Lie feat. Dua Lipa and Tek Weh Yuh Heart, feat. Tory Lanez.
To celebrate this long overdue flurry of Sean Paul activity, we look back at his biggest dutty hits.
Before we get to the nitty-gritty of the list, some of the highlights over the last 14 years of Sean’s illustrious pop career:
Gimme the Light
The song that started it all, this was Sean’s first UK hit back in 2002, peaking at 32. But that wasn’t the end of it – it was back in 2003 for another crack at the big time and had more success, reaching Number 5. It’s perhaps been since eclipsed by the bigger hits in his repertoire, but still finishes a respectable 17th in his Top 20, with sales of over 134,000 copies.
Get Busy
Gimme the Light was his first hit, but Get Busy really made the world sit up and take notice. The dancehall track’s success was helped by that distinctive beat that sounds like really fast clapping – known as the “Diwali Riddim”, fact fans – that was a huge sound in the early Noughties, and behind many other big hits. Despite its huge success, reaching Number 4, Get Busy only stuck around in the Top 40 for six weeks (five of those in the Top 10). With 256,000 sales, it’s his sixth biggest seller, and it’s racked up seven million streams.
Breathe
This big one got even busier than, um, Get Busy. It went all the way to the top!
Sean’s first Number 1, thanks to the sassy dulcet tones of Blu Cantrell and the scorching summer of 2003, where R&B ruled supreme. Mariah was getting down with Busta Rhymes, Beyoncé was going Crazy in Love, and Sean and Blu were ruling the charts for a whole month. With 454,000 sales, it’s pipped into second place on Sean’s all-time chart by… well you’ll need to hang on a bit before we tell you.
Baby Boy
From Blu to Bey – 2003 was a good year for Sean. This follow-up to Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love peaked at Number 2 and the pair got to rock Edinburgh to its very foundations with this performance at that year’s MTV EMAs, which were held in the Scottish capital. It comes in 13th, sadly, with 158,00 sales – but it’s worth bearing in mind that singles sales were battling the rise of illegal downloads around that time.
She Doesn’t Mind
We’re fast-forwarding a few years with Sean’s first Top 10 hit for seven years. He may not have had a Top 10 for a while, but he lost none of his swagger, showing off his mohawk haircut and hanging out with – who else? – lovely ladies, in an airport. She Doesn’t Mind peaked at Number 2, and has shifted 443,000 copies.
What About Us
Another Number 1 for Sean, made even more momentous because it was the very first chart-topper for the Saturdays. This solid gold banger, which even Sean looks like he can’t quite believe is happening, comes in fourth on his all-time list, with 408,000 sales.
Hair
Zooming to the present day, and Sean Paul is having a pretty cracking 2016. It all kicked off with a guest spot on Little Mix’s third single off Get Weird. The song peaked at 11 and, spookily, it finishes 11th on the rundown, with 185,000 sales. When it comes to streaming, however, it’s a different story – it’s his second-most played song, with 25 million listens of the single version. If we added sales and streams together, which we do when we’re compiling the Official Singles Chart, it would be his second biggest song of all time.
MORE: Look back at Little Mix’s hits in their archive
Number 1 is… Cheap Thrills
OK, so while Sean may not actually take a credit on this song, you can’t deny his magical presence on this massive tune, which spent 16 weeks in the Top 10 and is still a radio fave. It’s his top seller and his most-streamed track, notching up 475,000 sales and 91.9 million plays. Blimey!
Oh, and what about Rockabye?
Yes, there’s the small matter of the current Number 1 that Sean Paul has added to his trophy cabinet. His team-up with Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie has spent two weeks at Number 1, and is likely to climb Sean Paul’s Official Top 20 over the next few weeks. It’s currently 16th with 120,000 sales, and is on 12 million streams.
MORE: See every single one of Sean Paul’s UK hits
Here’s Sean’s full Official Top 20 sellers:
TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR 1 CHEAP THRILLS SIA FT SEAN PAUL 2 2016 2 BREATHE BLU CANTRELL FT SEAN PAUL 1 2003 3 SHE DOESN’T MIND SEAN PAUL 2 2012 4 WHAT ABOUT US SATURDAYS FT SEAN PAUL 1 2013 5 DANGEROUS LOVE FUSE ODG FT SEAN PAUL 3 2014 6 GET BUSY SEAN PAUL 4 2003 7 WE BE BURNIN’ SEAN PAUL 2 2005 8 DO YOU REMEMBER JAY SEAN/SEAN PAUL/LIL JON 13 2009 9 GOT 2 LUV U SEAN PAUL FT ALEXIS JORDAN 11 2011 10 TEMPERATURE SEAN PAUL 11 2006 11 HAIR LITTLE MIX FT SEAN PAUL 11 2016 12 LIKE GLUE SEAN PAUL 3 2003 13 BABY BOY BEYONCE FT SEAN PAUL 2 2003 14 OTHER SIDE OF LOVE SEAN PAUL 7 2013 15 I’M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU SEAN PAUL FT SASHA 6 2004 16 ROCKABYE CLEAN BANDIT FT SEAN PAUL 1 2016 17 GIMME THE LIGHT SEAN PAUL 5 2003 18 SUMMER PARADISE SIMPLE PLAN FT SEAN PAUL 12 2012 19 EVER BLAZIN’ SEAN PAUL 12 2005 20 (WHEN YOU GONNA) GIVE IT UP TO ME SEAN PAUL FT KEYSHIA COLE 31 2006
Source: Sean Paul’s Official Top 20 biggest selling singles revealed
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