Pharrell Williams has revealed that Happy was originally recorded by Cee Lo Green. The "powers that be" apparently vetoed Green's version of the song, declaring that the future worldwide smash "wasn't a fit" for their client.
"[Cee Lo] wanted to do it ... [and] he did do it," Williams explained in a radio interview with Howard Stern yesterday. Stern had asked , unknowingly, if he would have ever "given this [song] to a Robin Thicke or someone?"
"I actually did, [to] Cee Lo," Williams said. "He sounded amazing on it. I mean, he burns my version! But the ... how do I say this diplomatically? Um ... he ... um ... The powers that be, at the time, did not see it fit for him. Some folks on his team just felt that the priority should be on [Cee Lo's] album at the time, so they elected not to do that song."
Though it's now the centrepiece of Williams' new solo album, Happy first appeared on the soundtrack to Despicable Me 2. Williams co-wrote the score with Heitor Pereira and in the end, he said, "the movie company insisted [I sing the song]".
"There was a much bigger agenda for [Cee Lo], he had an album to put out," Williams claimed. "It's not his fault – he was totally down with it … [and] he was one of the most gracious people about it when [Happy] came out."
Since its release in November, Happy has sold more than 1.3m copies in the UK alone, topping the singles chart on three separate occasions. Cee Lo Green is meanwhile preparing to release his fifth solo album; his last release, 2012's Magic Moment, peaked at No 167 in the UK.
Cee Lo probably would not have gotten a WW hit out of it, and Pharrell never would be where he would be now as solo artist without it, things happen for a reason
Even if Cee-Lo took it, it would still be the question whether Cee-Lo would have gotten the same kind of hit with it. Songs need to be with the right person, right luck and right circumstances.
Since its release in November, Happy has sold more than 1.3m copies in the UK alone, topping the singles chart on three separate occasions. Cee Lo Green is meanwhile preparing to release his fifth solo album; his last release, 2012's Magic Moment, peaked at No 167 in the UK.
