I was surprised by this because it sounds like one of those internet stories that aren’t true, or were morphed so many times after multiple retellings. But a quick search shows me that this is completely true:
npr.org/…/pharrell-says-his-hit-happy-came-from-a…
WILLIAMS: Well, after nine times of, you know, nine nos, like, nope, doesn’t work, doesn’t work, doesn’t work, doesn’t work, doesn’t work, doesn’t work, doesn’t work, then I had to kind ask myself a rhetorical question. How do you write a song about someone that’s so happy that nothing can bring them down? I’m paraphrasing. And the song ended up being the sarcastic answer to that.
cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works 22 hours ago
Kinda like how Sara Bareilles wrote “I’m not gonna write you a love song” in response to the execs asking her to write a love song and it was a hit. Now that I think of it, maybe this is a common excuse for artists who write corporate slop. They just blame the system for making them do it.