It was 2013. You couldn't walk into a grocery store, turn on a car radio, or hit a dance floor without hearing that piercing, chipmunk-pitched vocal hook. You know the one. That "la la la" that felt both annoying and impossibly infectious at the exact same time. Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith didn't just climb the charts; it basically lived there. It was a cultural reset for UK garage-pop, and honestly, it’s the song that essentially handed Sam Smith the keys to the kingdom.
Before the Grammys and the Bond themes, Sam Smith was just a featured voice on a track produced by a guy named Shahid Khan. Khan, known professionally as Naughty Boy, had a vision that was weirdly dark for a summer anthem. People forget how strange this song actually is. It’s a track about plugging your ears to ignore the truth, wrapped in a high-tempo breakbeat.
The Story Behind the Sound
Most people think of this as a Sam Smith song. It isn't. Not really. It belongs to Naughty Boy’s debut album, Hotel Cabana. The concept of that album was actually pretty ambitious—it was a metaphorical hotel where celebrities go to lose themselves. "La La La" was the centerpiece.
The production is a masterclass in tension. You’ve got that heavy, thumping bassline that feels like it belongs in a basement club in East London, but then those bright, airy synths keep it radio-friendly. It’s a bit of a contradiction. Naughty Boy originally had someone else in mind for the vocals, but after hearing Sam Smith, the chemistry was undeniable. Sam’s voice, even back then, had this soulful, almost weeping quality that grounded the frantic production. It’s why the song works. Without that vocal weight, it would’ve just been another disposable dance track.
There’s a lot of talk about the "chipmunk soul" influence here, which Kanye West popularized years earlier, but Naughty Boy took it and made it feel more industrial, more British. The "la la la" hook itself is actually a sample. It’s a vocal refrain that mimics the defensive mechanism of a child who doesn't want to hear a parent's lecture. It's brilliant. Simple. Childish. Terrifyingly effective at sticking in your brain for three days straight.
That Creepy, Beautiful Music Video
You can't talk about Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith without talking about the video. It currently has over a billion views on YouTube. A billion. Think about that for a second. It’s based on an old Bolivian legend about a deaf boy who runs away from his abusive home and finds a dog.
The visuals were shot in Bolivia, featuring the Salar de Uyuni salt flats and the city of La Paz. It looks like a high-budget indie film. It follows a young boy who literally "mutes" the world around him, picking up companions who represent different discarded elements of society—a man made of wood, a man made of silver. It’s a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz but through a surrealist, Andean lens.
The ending is genuinely haunting. The boy enters a mine where a demon (El Tío) is said to live, and he stays there to "sing" to the demon so it won't harm others. It’s dark. It’s heavy stuff for a pop song. Most people just danced to it in 2013 without realizing they were watching a cinematic retelling of folklore involving child sacrifice and demons. That’s the power of a great pop hook; it hides the complexity in plain sight.
The Impact on Sam Smith’s Career
This song was the literal launchpad. While Sam had already appeared on Disclosure’s "Latch," it was "La La La" that proved they could carry a massive, global pop hit. It went to number one in over 26 countries.
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- It topped the UK Singles Chart (obviously).
- It broke into the top 20 of the US Billboard Hot 100, which is notoriously hard for UK garage-inspired tracks.
- It earned Naughty Boy two MOBO Awards.
Shortly after this, Sam Smith released In the Lonely Hour, and the rest is history. But if you listen closely to the vocal runs in "La La La," you can hear the blueprint. The way they hit those high notes without losing the grit? That started here.
Why It Still Matters Today
Music moves fast. Usually, a dance track from a decade ago sounds dated within eighteen months. Yet, "La La La" still feels relatively fresh. Maybe it’s the lack of "trendy" 2013 EDM drops. Naughty Boy avoided the big, obnoxious "wub-wub" dubstep sounds that were killing pop music at the time. Instead, he leaned into breakbeats and world music textures.
It’s also a song that captures a specific feeling: willful ignorance. In an era of social media noise and constant information overload, the sentiment of "I'm covering my ears like a kid" feels more relevant in 2026 than it did in 2013. We all want to turn off the volume sometimes.
There was also a bit of drama later on. Remember the Zayn Malik era? Naughty Boy and Zayn had a very public falling out after Zayn left One Direction, which sadly overshadowed some of Khan’s production work for a while. But when you strip away the tabloid headlines, the music remains. This track is the high-water mark of that entire era of UK pop-soul fusion.
Breaking Down the Production
If you’re a gear head or a bedroom producer, there’s a lot to learn from Khan’s arrangement. The song starts with that iconic vocal loop almost immediately. No long intro. No build-up. It grabs you by the throat.
The drums are crisp. They have a "swing" to them that you don't get with standard 4/4 house beats. It’s that garage influence—the "skip" in the rhythm that makes you want to move your feet rather than just pump your fist. Then you have the juxtaposition of the bass. It’s a sub-bass that rumbles, giving the track a much darker undercurrent than your average Katy Perry or Rihanna hit from the same year.
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Actionable Takeaways for Music Fans
If you’re looking to rediscover this era or understand why this song worked so well, here’s how to dive deeper:
Listen to the "Hotel Cabana" album in full. Don't just stick to the singles. Tracks like "Wonder" (featuring Emeli Sandé) show the range Naughty Boy had as a producer. It’s a concept album, which is rare for a producer-led project.
Watch the "Making Of" the music video. Seeing how they filmed those sequences in the Bolivian mines adds a whole new layer of respect for the art direction. It wasn't just a green screen in a London studio; they went to the actual locations to capture that specific, dusty atmosphere.
Compare it to "Latch." Listen to "La La La" back-to-back with Disclosure’s "Latch." You’ll hear two completely different sides of Sam Smith’s early voice—one soulful and house-driven, the other more pop-oriented and experimental. It’s a fascinating look at an artist finding their lane.
Check out the remixes. The Kaos remix and the DEVolution remix offer a more club-heavy take on the track if the original is a bit too "pop" for your taste.
Ultimately, Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith stands as a testament to what happens when underground production meets a once-in-a-generation vocal talent. It’s a weird, catchy, slightly creepy masterpiece that defined an entire summer and launched a superstar. If you haven't heard it in a while, go back and give it a spin with good headphones. You’ll hear things in the mix you definitely missed on the radio back in the day.
Next Steps for Your Playlist:
To truly appreciate the lineage of this sound, look into the 2013-2015 "UK House Explosion." Seek out artists like Gorgon City, Clean Bandit, and MNEK. You’ll start to see how "La La La" wasn't just a one-off hit, but part of a massive shift in how electronic music was integrated into the global pop mainstream. You can also explore the traditional Andean folklore that inspired the video to see just how deep the "deaf boy" metaphors actually go.