"Happy" is a song written, produced, and performed by American singer and record producer

Pharrell Williams, from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack album. It also served as the lead single
from Williams' second studio album, Girl (2014). It was first released on November 21, 2013,
alongside a long-form music video. The song was reissued on December 16, 2013, by Back Lot
Music under exclusive license to Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music.[1]

"Happy" is a midtempo soul and neo soul song on which Williams's falsetto voice has been
compared to Curtis Mayfield by critics. The song has been highly successful, peaking at No. 1 in
the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and 19 other countries. It was
the best-selling song of 2014 in the United States with 6.45 million copies sold for the year,[3] as
well as in the United Kingdom with 1.5 million copies sold for the year.[4] It reached No. 1 in the
UK on a record-setting three separate occasions and became the most downloaded song of all
time in the UK in September 2014;[5] it is the ninth highest-selling single of all time in the
country.[6] It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. A live rendition of
the song won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy
Awards.

The music video for "Happy" was nominated for Best Male Video and Video of the Year at the
2014 MTV Video Music Awards. It also won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video at the 57th
Annual Grammy Awards.[7][8] The song was Billboard's number-one single for 2014.

"Happy" was the most successful song of 2014, with 13.9 million units (sales plus equivalent
streams) worldwide.[9]

Contents [hide]

1 Background

2 Composition

3 Critical reception

3.1 Accolades

4 Chart performance

4.1 Netherlands

4.2 United Kingdom

4.3 New Zealand

4.4 United States

4.5 Other charts

5 Music video

5.1 "Happy" tribute videos

6 Credits and personnel

7 Charts

7.1 Weekly charts

7.2 Year-end charts

7.3 All-time charts

8 Certifications

9 Release history

10 See also

11 References

12 External links

Background[edit]

Williams provided vocals for French duo Daft Punk's 2013 album Random Access Memories, on
the songs "Lose Yourself to Dance" and "Get Lucky". After returning from the recording sessions
in Paris, he attended a meeting with record label managers who said that the results were
"spectacular" and that "Get Lucky" would be Daft Punk's next single. They also made Williams an
offer to record his own album, to which he agreed quickly, "overwhelmed that someone wanted
to know what's in my heart."[10]

On December 17, 2013, it was announced that Williams had signed to Columbia Records and
would release his second studio album in 2014.[11] In a December 2013 press release, Rob
Stringer, Chairman of Columbia Records, said "When we excitedly partnered with Pharrell in
January of this year, we felt it was his time again. Since then, 'Blurred Lines' and 'Get Lucky' have
defined pop music in 2013, and now we are preparing to launch Pharrell as a global solo
superstar in 2014. 'Happy' is just the beginning."[11]

Williams originally wrote the song for CeeLo Green and felt Green's recording of the song was
better, but Elektra Records, Green's record label, decided against it since he was on the verge of
releasing his Christmas album, Cee Lo's Magic Moment.[12]
Composition[edit]

"Happy" (2013)

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A 23-second sample of "Happy", a soul song.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Happy" was written and produced by Williams, with backing vocals by Rhea Dummett, Trevon
Henderson, Ashley L. Lee, Shamika Hightower, Jasmine Murray and Terrence Rolle.[13] The track
was digitally edited and arranged by Andrew Coleman and Mike Larson, who also recorded it
with assistance from Matthew Desrameaux at Circle House Studios in Miami, Florida. The song
was later mixed by Leslie Brathwaite at Music Box Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.[13]

"Happy" plays for 3 minutes and 53 seconds[1] in common time and at a tempo of 156 beats per
minute.[14] Williams sings the upper notes in falsetto; his vocal range spans from F4 to C6.[14]
His singing on the track has been compared to that of Curtis Mayfield.[15][16]

"Happy" is a mid-tempo soul and neo soul song.[17][18] According to music journalist Paul
Tingen, "Happy" is "a mid-tempo ... song in a faux-Motown style, with an arrangement that is, by
modern standards, very sparse: programmed drums, one bass and one keyboard part, and
handclaps both programmed and played, all topped off by Williams's lead vocals and a whole
posse of backing vocals".[17] Jody Rosen viewed the song as a "standout" with a "sprightly
neosoul funk groove".[15]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source Rating

Contactmusic.com 4/5 stars[19]

Renowned for Sound 4/5 stars[20]

Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[15]

Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone gave it 3.5 stars and deemed it "an instant contender for 2013's Song
of the Summer".[15] In a 4/5 review, Renowned for Sound's Huw Woodward said, "Happy is a
rather… well… happy affair with a cheerful beat and exuberant vocal that would indicate that the
former N.E.R.D singer is finding a lot of lighthearted fun to be had in both music and life.
'Because I'm happy, clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth' sings Williams as the jaunty
rhythm gets your head nodding."[20] Holly Williams of Contactmusic.com gave it four stars,
praising it for being "unbelievably catchy" and "the kind of song that makes you want to dance
and sing along".[19]

Accolades[edit]

The song was nominated for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014,
but lost to "Let It Go" from Frozen.[21] When GQ magazine asked Williams "how badly" he
wanted the Oscar, he responded: "When they read the results, my face was...frozen. But then I
thought about it, and I just decided just to... let it go."[22]

In January 2015, "Happy" was ranked at No. 13 on The Village Voice's annual year-end Pazz & Jop
critics' poll.[citation needed]

"I like that song 'Happy'…" remarked Phil Collins. "It's a great groove and he's a very smart
guy."[23]

Chart performance[edit]

Netherlands[edit]

In October 2013, a month prior to its release, "Happy" catapulted to No. 1 on the Dutch Top 40
chart in the Netherlands, partially as a result of radio station 3FM airplay and subsequent online
downloads, as well as featuring in a Transavia commercial.[24] It was released worldwide on
November 21, 2013. As of April 10, 2014, after 35 weeks in charts and still in the top 15, "Happy"
is the most successful song in the Dutch Top 40 of all time.[25][26]

United Kingdom[edit]

In the United Kingdom, "Happy" debuted at No. 71 on the UK Singles Chart on December 1,
2013.[27] It then spent four weeks climbing before finally reaching No. 1 on December 29.[28] It
became Williams' third No. 1 song in Britain, counting "Get Lucky" and "Blurred Lines", where he
appeared as a featured artist.[29] It has since spent four non-consecutive weeks at No. 1,
reaching the peak on three separate occasions. In doing so, Williams became only the third artist
ever to achieve this, and the first since Guy Mitchell in 1957 with "Singing the Blues".[30]
Following the single's third week at No. 1, it spent five weeks in the top three before returning to
the summit, boosted by his performance at the 2014 Brit Awards.[30] In the same week that
"Happy" returned to No. 1 for the third time, it sold its millionth copy in the UK, Williams' third
in under a year, having previously done so with Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" in June 2013, and
Thicke's "Blurred Lines" in July 2013. This made Williams only the second artist in UK chart
history (the first being The Beatles) to have three singles sell 1 million copies in under a year,[30]
as well as only the third artist ever to have three million-sellers, along with The Beatles (who
have six) and Rihanna (who has four).[30]