Pharrell Williams finds humor in the unexpected comparison of his voice on “Beautiful,” the 2003 hit with Snoop Dogg, to a beloved cartoon character.
During an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Pharrell confessed he’s not a fan of how he sounds on the track.
“I had a song called ‘Beautiful’ with Snoop. Girls heard me singing that. I heard [Disney character] Mickey Mouse. I swear to you, when you just get a moment and you just listen, you’ll never be able to unhear it. But that’s what I hear,” he said with a laugh.
Journalist Kelefa Sanneh chimed in with a playful question, “Sexy Mickey Mouse?”
The 51-year-old musician responded, “No not sexy, just Mickey Mouse. It was wild for me.”
As the conversation unfolded, Pharrell reflected on an earlier phase of his career following the success of songs like “Beautiful,” Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl.”
He shared that at that time, he felt disengaged from his craft.
“I had moved away from being a student and things became formulaic, and that was troubling to my spirit,” he explained.
However, a creative renaissance came in 2013 when Pharrell scored big with “Happy” for the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack, along with high-profile collaborations on Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”
He admitted, “I would have never written a song called ‘Happy.’ It was commissioned for me to do, and on top of that, I didn’t think I was gonna have anymore like hit records,” adding that the surprise success humbled him.
“The universe was like, well, not only are you wrong about that, but I’m gonna have three different commissions come from three different places, and these are gonna be the biggest records for you.”
Pharrell, who also delved into the world of fashion as a men’s designer for Louis Vuitton, emphasized his desire to spread joy through all his ventures.
“I always want to evoke a sense of joy ’cause I feel like there is a deficit of joy. If you enjoy it, nine times out of 10 somebody else is going to enjoy it. You can’t go wrong when your aim is to enjoy what you do,” he stated.
