The song Happy by Pharrell Williams has sold more than 650,000 copies, it is played on radio stations internationally on a regular basis and Pharrells many music videos based around this song have captured more than 160,000,000 views. Happy has surpassed genre and generation by making fans out of a multitude of media listeners. It doesn’t seem to matter what kind of music you listened to before, odds are you have done the Happy dance (or some kind of wiggling to this tune).
This track was originally released all the way back in November of 2013 as part of the Despicable Me 2’s soundtrack. Luckily for us the UK recognized its potential and started playing it on the radio, it soon spread from the UK and became what it is today, a very happy-making 3 minutes and 53 seconds or 24 hrs depending on how dedicated you are. With a tempo of 160 beats per minute and a primarily falsetto sung song, Pharrells neo soul/funk composition has lure that can’t be denied.
So, why is this song so dang addictive? Why do we want to push repeat and make our very own 24 hour dance party?
Like mentioned above, this song transcends several genres which makes it accessible to a wide range of music fans. Even our Groove Merchants band couldnt resist learning this awesome song, if you want it played at your event click here. Dr. Stewart, a psychologist who has researched “earworms” likened it to Hey Ya by OutKast and I can’t say I disagree. It seems that the main point of success for this song is its reverberation in both lyrics and melody. The song is pretty repetitive after all but not in the way that makes you want to throw a shoe at your radio instead this song invites you to clap along and express what makes you happy. Pharrell does not implicitly invite people into the song either he quite literally asks them to, “Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth”. I guess you could say that it’s our grownup version of If Your Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands.
Another doctor that studied Williams’ song said that the song may capture the brains motor circuitry and actually make people feel happy. Many others have tried to pin point what exactly makes this song so appealing to so many but no matter what the cause is, Happy is likely one of the most well named tracks that has heretofore been played. If you are looking for a little happy the link for the “Official Music Video” is provided below so button-up your shirt and put on a fedora. Tell us why you think this song is so addictive, comment below!
–Nikole Higgins, Communication Director, Nikole@utahliveband.com