Why ‘Happy’ Is the Song That Nearly ‘Broke’ Pharrell

Pharrell has revealed that writing the iconic song "Happy" in 2013 wasn't exactly the, well, happiest experience.

Apparently, the song was actually built out of frustration on Pharrell's part after several other ideas were shot down.

"[I had written 9 songs that were rejected] It was only until you were out of ideas, and you asked yourself a rhetorical question, and you came back with a sarcastic answer, and that's what 'Happy' was," he told Zane Lowe of the writing process for what would become the most well-known song from the soundtrack for Despicable Me 2.

"How do you make a song about a person that's so happy that nothing can bring them down? And I sarcastically answered it and put music to it, and that sarcasm became the song, and that broke me," he explained.

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He said that the song "broke" him because "all of what he thought" happiness was "supposed to be" didn't work for the song.

"I had to learn that the universe [took over]," he said, alluding to the fact that "Happy" was meant to be.

"It's so crazy for us to think like as individuals, everything comes from us. Your ideas, everything that you get, is coming from a library of existence. Nothing is new under the sun," the artist continued, repeating that this realization "broke" him.

"Happy" became No. 1 in the U.S. and several other countries after its release and was nominated for an Oscar.

Pharrell nabbed the Grammy Awards for Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video thanks to the song in 2015.

The polarizing earworm was also named the most successful song of 2014 and was widely critically acclaimed.