Pharrell Williams is no stranger to creating hits and classics, both for himself and others. With 2013’s ‘Happy,’ he reached a new level of success, which was seismic.
On a global scale, the single is one of the most popular songs ever, topping the Billboard Hot 100 and several other charts worldwide. The RIAA certified it 11x Platinum for US equivalent sales of more than 11 million.
However, in a new interview promoting his LEGO-powered biopic ‘Piece by Piece,’ Williams discusses how the experience “broke” him.
Speaking about ‘Happy’ with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, the Neptunes star said:
“You didn’t wake up one morning and decide you were going to make a song about an emotion.”
He added that the song’s roots are actually in sarcasm after he wrote nine songs for a key scene in ‘Despicable Me 2′ – with all being rejected.
“How do you make a song about a person that’s so happy that nothing can bring them down? And I sarcastically answered it and put music to it, and that sarcasm became the song, and that broke me.”
As for the viral and enduring resonance of the universally loved song, he said it made him realize his insignificance in the enormity of the universe and the power it wields:
“It’s so crazy for us to think like as individuals, everything comes from us. Your ideas, everything that you get, is coming from a library of existence. Nothing is new under the sun.”
He attributed the triumph of his wins with ‘Get Lucky’ and ‘Blurred Lines’ to the universe.
Watch the full interview:
