Pharrell Williams has opened up about the unexpected inspiration behind his global hit “Happy.” In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the producer and singer revealed that the 2013 chart-topping song was born from a moment of creative frustration and a rhetorical question. Williams shared these insights just ahead of the release of his biographical film, Piece by Piece.

Reflecting on his busy year in 2013, Williams recalled the creative block he faced while working on the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2 with composer Heitor Pereira. At that point, he was juggling several major projects, including collaborations on Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”

“When I was about 40, that’s when ‘Get Lucky,’ ‘Blurred Lines,’ ‘Happy,’ all of that was the same year,” said the now 51-year-old artist. “And these were all songs that were more commissions than they were just like, I woke up one day and decided I’m going to write about X, Y, and Z.”

Struggling to find inspiration for a song about unshakable happiness, Williams asked himself a seemingly simple question: “How do you make a song about a person who’s so happy that nothing can bring them down?” The response, which came in the form of sarcasm, gave birth to what would become one of the most iconic songs of the decade. “That sarcasm became the song, and that broke me,” Williams explained.

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“Happy” quickly became a global sensation, selling over 13.9 million copies worldwide. In the UK, it was declared the most-played song on British radio during the 2010s. At one point, its music video—lasting 24 hours—held the record for the longest-ever, until Twenty One Pilots surpassed it in 2020 with a 177-day-long video.

During the interview, Williams also discussed his upcoming biographical film Piece by Piece, directed by Morgan Neville, who is known for his work on the Mr. Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Uniquely, the film presents Williams’ life story through Lego animation.

Neville, 57, highlighted how the creative process for Piece by Piece was different from a typical documentary. “Normally, somebody shares their story with you, and then you figure out how to tell it,” Neville explained. “But in this case, Pharrell started writing songs based on my view of his story, and it became this circular conversation.”

Williams also revealed that he initially hesitated to include his family in the film. However, after trusting Neville’s vision, he agreed to bring them into the project, a decision he shared during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

Piece by Piece is set to offer a new, animated look into Williams’ life, showcasing his journey and creative evolution, all while highlighting the profound impact of a seemingly sarcastic question that turned into an anthem of joy.