Pharrell Williams reveals he forgot what Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky' sounded like as he 'didn't hear it for a year' after recording
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Pharrell Williams wrote ‘Get Lucky’ for Daft Punk, and the song went on to shape his career in a big way.
To honor the 10th anniversary of Daft Punk's 'Random Access Memories', the French electronic duo has been releasing a video series named ‘Memory Tapes’, the first episode of which came out five months ago. This explores the making of the record, and Williams is part of it.
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Pharrell Williams had to re-record hit song 'Get Lucky'
The 50-year-old made an appearance in Episode 6 of the series, which came out on Wednesday, October 11. He discussed their collaboration ‘Get Lucky’.
Williams shared that Thomas Bangalter, 48, and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, 49, asked him to re-record the track in the studio, something he wasn’t expecting.
“I never went in there to perfect it and [Daft Punk] continued to push me,” the ‘Blurred Lines’ singer said.
He continued, “By the time the song was done, I didn’t know who was gon’ end up singing it. I left the studio thinking, ‘Okay, I can’t wait to see who sings it and what it sounds like.’”
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Williams then talked about how he ended up forgetting what the song ‘Get Lucky’ and his other collaboration sounded like as he did not hear it for a year after recording. “When monumental things happen, sometimes it’s lost on me because I’m just so in it and being so present at the moment,” he shared.
He further explained, “You would think that would give you all the detail in the world, but it doesn’t. It does the opposite for me: I get lost in it.”
He said, "I didn't hear it for like a year so I forgot what the song sounded like."
'Get Lucky' was on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 29 consecutive weeks
In the episode of ‘Memory Tapes’ the legendary singer shared how he was surprised to hear his vocals on the final version. “Wow, that’s my only word,” Williams is recorded saying in archival footage.
“I’m always overly critical of my own vocals and that felt great to me. Thank you,” Williams said before adding that he was “humbled to be a part of” their process.
“It was weird to write something in this crazy hour and then not have access to it — talk about Access Memories. I don’t remember writing anything because it was just in a zone… So when I heard it, I was like, ‘Oh, s**t, this is fire.’”
'Get Lucky' went on to stay on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 29 weeks. During this period it reached the number 2 spot and stayed there for five consecutive weeks.
The Daft Punk called it quits and disbanded after 30 years in 2021.