Pharrell says that Cee-Lo decided to pass on the song after 'the powers that be, at the time, did not see it fit for him.'
- May 1, 2014
AceShowbiz - Pharrell Williams is currently enjoying the success of his single, "Happy". The Oscar-nominated track is now in its 10th week at No. 1 on Billboard 100. However, the 41-year-old hitmaker recently revealed that the song was originally recorded by someone else.
"[Cee-Lo Green] wanted to do it... and he did do it," Pharrell said in a new interview with Howard Stern. He added that Cee-Lo's version was better than his, but the former coach of "The Voice" decided to pass on the future hit.
"He sounded amazing on it, he burns my version! But... how do I say this diplomatically? The powers that be, at the time, did not see it fit for him," he continued. "Some folks on his team just felt that the priority should be on [his] album at the time, so they elected not to do that song."
Pharrell was sure that Cee-Lo had no regrets about missing the chance to have a huge hit. "There was a much bigger agenda for [Cee Lo], he had an album to put out," he said. "It's not his fault - he was totally down with it... He was one of the most gracious people about it when ['Happy'] came out."
"Happy" appears in the soundtrack of animated movie "Despicable Me 2" as well as in Pharrell's latest album, "G I R L". The star's second solo LP, which was released earlier this year, is now at No. 4 on Billboard 200.
