Freaky Friday
by Lil Dicky (featuring Chris Brown)

Album: Single release only (2018)
Charted: 1 8
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The idea for this song came to Lil Dicky while watching the body switching movie Freaky Friday on ABC Family. He recalled to Billboard:

    "I was sitting in my parents house, like I was just home, and I was just watching TV and the movie came on, and I had seen the movie a ton of times, but like, I love the movie, and then I was just watching it and I thought, the concept is so universally appreciated, like the body-switch concept I think that everybody really enjoys, and I've never really seen it applied to music, and it's such an opportunity because imagine being able to have access to other artists' vocal range, like vocal cords. It's just a funny thing to be able to, through a different artist's voice, speak."
  • The song features Chris Brown. Lil Dicky recalled how he recruited Breezy for the tune:

    "I got with a bunch of people and started writing the song and thinking about all the different ways, like the jokes to be made and stuff like that. And we got it to a very rough, demo-y place, and I wanted to show Chris, and it's hard. Like imagine hearing an unfinished demo without seeing the video? It's like harder to understand from hearing just the song.

    So I got a guy who sounds a lot like Chris Brown, to sing the song so it could help him really visualize it. I remember thinking in my head, "I can't confuse him." Like, already it's such a confusing premise. I remember when I talked to people they were like, "Wait, are you gonna be his voice?" So it was very confusing especially without a video, you know? But I played him the demo, and I've never seen someone get my music more than when I played him that demo. Like he laughed at every single joke, understood every single angle, and like it was awesome to see cause I didn't know what to expect. But he really loved it and he just gets me and my music, and he recorded it like the next night."
  • Chris Brown also appears in the music clip switching bodies with Dicky for a day. After they change back into their regular bodies, the MC switches bodies again, but this time with Ed Sheeran, DJ Khaled and Kendall Jenner. Dicky recalled: "I knew in the end I wanted to turn to a few different other people, so really I made everything, but that, excluding the ending. And Ed Sheeran is a friend of mine, so like I showed him [the video], and he thought it was so funny, so good and he wanted to be a part of it. So, you know, now I got Ed on it, and once I got Ed, it was easier to go to Khaled 'cause he's friends with my manager, Scooter Braun. I don't know Khaled that well, but he loved the video. I think the common thread is they all loved the video. The cherry on top was Kendall, I waited on Kendall to the very end, and she killed it. We recorded it at Kris Jenner's house, and I literally went there and recorded her, and it was so fun. She was having so much fun."
  • The song climbed to #1 on the UK singles chart dated April 8, 2018. It was Lil Dicky's first UK chart-topper and the second for Chris Brown, who previously reached the summit with "Turn Up The Music" in 2012.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.