More about: Pharrell Williams
Star reveals pop music's Pass The Parcel
Thanks to a string of huge hit singles, Pharrell Williams has fast become one of the biggest names in music, but the singer, songwriter and producer has revealed that his 'Happy' single was originally meant for Cee-Lo Green.
The ageless star revealed the secrets of the song during an interview with US DJ Howard Stern, telling the host that he recorded the track himself after Cee-Lo Green passed up the opportunity, reports Consequence Of Sound.
Williams also spoke openly about his role as a producer and a solo star, claiming he never felt any regret about passing big tracks to other artists.
"See, I've never seen it like that, ever," he told Stern, when quizzed about writing for others. "I wanted to an artist in my early, early 20s, but that stomped out by people saying 'no no no you're weird, you wear weird things', we'll just stick to the things you write and produce for other people."
He also spoke of his hopes to work with Prince - however unlikely it might be, saying: "I don't think he needs it. He's just super talented... He's a genius Gemini."
Listen to the full interview below - where he talks about the stories behind big hits of his career, including Robin Thicke's controversial 'Blurred Lines' hit.
Below: Pharrell's recent collaborations - rated and ranked
10. Paloma Faith - 'Can't Rely On You': Faith is a perennially underwhelming artist - so we were slightly confused as to why Pharrell produced her latest single [for the money obviously, but humour us]. 'Can't Rely On You' is pretty much a tired version of 'Blurred Lines', so at least P didn't lend Paloma his best beats.
9. Azealia Banks ft Pharrell - 'ATM Jam': Wow, what the hell went wrong here? On paper, Banks and Pharrell seemed like a match made in heaven, but what we got was a highly boring, one dimensional track which we had no interest in listening to again after the first play. The skittering, sparse drum harks back to The Neptunes' futuristic weirdness [but not in a good way], and this alienated fans - 'ATM Jam' bombed. Definitely not a highlight.
8. Future ft Pharrell, Pusha T, Casino - 'Move That Dope': Pharrell truly steals the show on this swaggering, Mike Will Made It-produced track, simply because after all of the earnest pop tunes he's guested on recent months, it's great to hear him rapping on a song that is 100%, unashamed hip hop - where his roots truly lie.
7. Miley Cyrus - '#GETITRIGHT': Wait, come back! Seriously, Bangerz wasn't exactly mind-blowing, but there were a few brilliant pop gems on there, and this was one of them. The bouncy, whistle-sampling beat has Pharrell written over it, whilst Miley rasps all over it in her Southern twang about how "your sexy is sexy". Nothing groundbreaking here, but it's dangerously listenable. Also: what a chorus.
6. Pusha T - 'Suicide': A longtime collaborator of Pharrell's, most notably on Clipse's seminal album Lord Willin', Pusha promised us the "hip hop album of the year" with his solo debut My Name Is My Name. It didn't quite deliver, but was still a solid effort, and the squelchy, futuristic 'Suicide' is a definite highlight. It sounds like The Neptunes at their peak, when everyone thought they were weird, Pharrell had a dodgy moustache and they were producing some of the most unique beats around.
5. Major Lazer ft Pharrell - 'Major Lazer': Out with 'She's up all night for good fun/I'm up all night to get lucky' in with 'My dick like a table you can place food on', with this deliciously dizzying Major Lazer/Pharrell collab. Yep, it's Pharrell back to his bragging, rapping best and you wouldn't dare take the piss out of his Grammys hat once you've listened to this track.
4. Earl Sweatshirt - 'Burgundy': We were thrilled when Pharrell appeared on the credits for Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt's major label debut, Doris, and we weren't disappointed with the results. 'Burgundy' is a typical horn blaring Pharrell beat, with skitterish drums that underline Earl's jarring aesthetic perfectly. Pharrell + Earl just feels right - we hope to hear more from them both in the future.
3. Beyonce - 'Blow': Beyonce's self titled album came out of nowhere, and luckily it was really rather good. 'Blow' is the song that we instantly loved, and still come back to time and time again. It's more straightforward than any of the other tracks on the record - a 70s roller disco groove underlines Beyonce cooing "can you eat my Skittles/it's the sweetest in the middle" - but no less impressive, and is easily the finest, tightest production work Pharrell did in 2013. It's just a very, very good song.
2. 2 Chainz ft Pharrell - 'Feds Watching': We all know 2 Chainz isn't one of the best rappers out there, and it's a testament to Pharrell's production skills that on 'Feds Watching', he sounds pretty great. Pharrell's falsetto choruses, layered synths and sweeping, grandiose percussion combine wonderfully to simply make a massive tune, and proves Pharrell can still knock out a great rap song as well as playing to the mainstream, poppy side of things.
1. Pharrell - 'Happy": It's an obvious choice, isn't it? 'Happy' is, by far, Pharrell's biggest solo hit to date [his solo album In My Mind didn't make waves back in 2006], as well as being a genuinely uplifting, irresistibly catchy and finely produced track. But it's also a nice and fitting encore to a producer and musician who enjoyed his most successful year yet with 2013. Longtime fans of The Neptunes and N.E.R.D know Pharrell has been one of the best in the game since the late 90s, but it's taken a while for others to catch on. With 'Happy', it's almost as if Pharrell is reacting to this recent spate of success in a graceful and grateful manner.
More about: Pharrell Williams
