Pharrell reveals 'Happy' was originally written for Cee-Lo Green [LISTEN]

"Happy" has become an international hit, sitting at No. 1 for the past ten weeks (going on 11). But did you know that it the track wasn't originally meant for Pharrell Williams? In an hour-long appearance on Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show in support of his latest album G I R L, Williams revealed that the song was only put in his hands after Cee-Lo Green passed on it.

He also mentioned on the show that this isn't his first time dealing with songs that ended up in the hands of artists for whom they weren't originally written. For example, many of the songs that were used on Justin Timberlake's debut album, 2002's Justified, were originally meant for Michael Jackson.

According to Williams, Jackson and his team rejected the songs but later on Jackson admitted that he personally liked them. "[Jackson] did sing them to me, and we were like falling over in the trailer because he sounded just like Justin," adding, "It was definitely a bummer" that the he and Jackson didn't end up working together.

Replay the full interview below (via Consequence of Sound), and let us know what you think in the comments section.

Tags
Pharrell Williams, Cee Lo Green
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