flowfrom street to home

August, 2014

Pharrell Williams battles for the Best Original Song

This time, music may steal some thunder of movie in Oscar.

Pharrell Willams will face a fierce competition in Best Oscar Song, with all the five nominees all having hit No.1 in the Hot 100.

Oscar is ready for the competition for music

flow | 08.2014

pt 1 | THE CAMPAIGN

WILLIAMS’ SECOND GO AT THE DESPICABLE ME FRANCHISE SIGNALED THE MOVIE INDUSTRY’S

FAITH IN THE HIP-HOP STAR who first gained entry to that world via a key endorsement from composer Hans Zimmer(the perennial nominee recruited Williams, 40, as co-musical consultant for the 2012 Oscars and the two are currently collaborating on May’s Amazing Spider-Man 2). But Williams’ubiquity was undeniable when Despicable Me 2 opened at No.1 at the box office on July 4th weekend as he held the top two slots on the Hot 100 — joining Robin Thicke at No. 1 for “Blurred Lines” and with Daft Punk at No. 2 for “Get Lucky.” At the time, Universal Pictures was releasing the soundtrack through its Back Lot label, with no plans to market the film with a single.

“It was sort of off the table,” says Universal’s president of music Mike Knobloch. “We still consider radio crucial for a hit single and it seemed tough to release another Pharrell-branded track. It became clear in November that there was a lot of interest in the song and discovery without the connection to the film.” Driving that was the 24-hour video Pharrell released for “Happy,” which became a viral sensation.

“It was a stroke of genius — and it was all Phar-rell’s doing — that in December he got people focused on a song that came out in June,” says Columbia Records executive VP Joel Klaim-

pt 2 |THE SONG

Co-director Chris Renaud presented a task: Show Gru, a character known for being evil, in a state of unlimited happiness. It took several attempts to get a feel for what the directors wanted.“The second and third ideas didn’t work,” says Williams. “I got to the ninth idea and had nowhere else to really turn, but sit quietly and ask myself, ‘Dude, how do I make a song about Gru and being happy and this relentless mood that can’t be changed?’ That’s when I realized the answer was in the question.”

Williams says Renaud and Knobloch pushed him to keep writing. “When he showed up with‘Happy,’ it was attention-getting with a growwove that’s unexpected and the lyrics perfectly crafted without being too blatantly on the nose,” says Knobloch.

Williams, who will be paid his writer’s share of the song while publishing is split between Uni-versal Pictures, EMI April Music and Williams’ More Water From Nazareth (licenses can easily add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars), admits to frustration, but never in a negative way. “I learned so much about songwriting by watch-ing their filmmaking process,” he says.“ ‘Happy’ doesn’t have the word ‘sweat’in it or girls booty shaking. It was pure emotion devoted to Chris’ and [codirector] Pierre Coffin’s intention for the scene and the film.”

flow | 08.2014

“It was a stroke of genius — and it was all Pharrell’s doing — that in December he got people focused on a song that came out in June.”

flow | 08.2014

pt 3 | THE TIPPING POINT

Universal Pictures got the song in a Beats headphones ad, which aired on highly rated live shows, including Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the Golden Globes and the Grammy Awards. While the Despicable Me messaging was often present, “As a standalone asset, ‘Happy’ is the ultimate example of licensing and leveraging,” says Knobloch. “It is genuinely coincidental that its success happened [during the awards campaign season].”

pt 4 | THE ODDS (11-2)

FOR IT: The “in” Pharrell has been omnipresent without oversaturating the media.

AGAINST IT: Williams’ name is not on the ballot, and sequels often get the Oscar shaft.

Click the icon to check out other songs competing for Oscar

(33-1)

(5-1)

(4-1)

HAPPY

flowfrom street to home

August, 2014

Pharrell Williams battles for the Best Original Song

This time, music may steal some thunder of movie in Oscar.

Pharrell Willams will face a fierce competition in Best Oscar Song, with all the five nominees all having hit No.1 in the Hot 100.

Oscar is ready for the competition for music

pt 1 | THE CAMPAIGN

WILLIAMS’ SECOND GO AT THE DESPICABLE ME FRANCHISE SIGNALED THE MOVIE INDUSTRY’S FAITH IN THE HIP-HOP STAR who first gained entry to that world via a key endorsement from composer Hans Zimmer(the perennial nominee recruited Williams, 40, as co-musical consultant for the 2012 Oscars and the two are currently collaborating on May’s Amazing Spider-Man 2). But Williams’ubiquity was undeniable when Despicable Me 2 opened at No.1 at the box office on July 4th weekend as he held the top two slots on the Hot 100 — joining Robin Thicke at No. 1 for “Blurred Lines” and with Daft Punk at No. 2 for “Get Lucky.” At the time, Universal Pictures was releasing the soundtrack through its Back Lot label, with no plans to market the film with a single.

“It was sort of off the table,” says Universal’s president of music Mike Knobloch. “We still consider radio crucial for a hit single and it seemed tough to release another Pharrell-branded track. It became clear in November that there was a lot of interest in the song and discovery without the connection to the film.” Driving that was the 24-hour video Pharrell released for “Happy,” which became a viral sensation.

pt 2 |THE SONG

Co-director Chris Renaud presented a task: Show Gru, a character known for being evil, in a state of unlimited happiness. It took several attempts to get a feel for what the directors wanted.“The second and third ideas didn’t work,” says Williams. “I got to the ninth idea and had nowhere else to really turn, but sit quietly and ask myself, ‘Dude, how do I make a song about Gru and being happy and this relentless mood that can’t be changed?’ That’s when I realized the answer was in the question.”

Williams says Renaud and Knobloch pushed him to keep writing. “When he showed up with‘Happy,’ it was attention-getting with a growwove that’s unexpected and the lyrics perfectly crafted without being too blatantly on the nose,” says Knobloch.

Williams, who will be paid his writer’s share of the song while publishing is split between Universal Pictures, EMI April Music and Williams’ More Water From Nazareth (licenses can easily add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars), admits to frustration, but never in a negative way. “I learned so much about songwriting by watching their filmmaking process,” he says.“ ‘Happy’ doesn’t have the word ‘sweat’in it or girls booty shaking. It was pure emotion devoted to Chris’ and [codirector] Pierre Coffin’s intention for the scene and the film.”

flow | 08.2014

“It was a stroke of genius — and it was all Pharrell’s doing — that in December he got people focused on a song that came out in June.”

flow | 08.2014

pt 3 | THE TIPPING POINT

Universal Pictures got the song in a Beats headphones ad, which aired on highly rated live shows, including Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the Golden Globes and the Grammy Awards. While the Despicable Me messaging was often present, “As a standalone asset, ‘Happy’ is the ultimate example of licensing and leveraging,” says Knobloch. “It is genuinely coincidental that its success happened [during the awards campaign season].”

pt 4 | THE ODDS (11-2)

FOR IT: The “in” Pharrell has been omnipresent without oversaturating the media.

AGAINST IT: Williams’ name is not on the ballot, and sequels often get the Oscar shaft.

Click the icon to check out other songs competing for Oscar

(33-1)

(5-1)

(4-1)

HAPPY