CeeLo Green thinks Pharrell Williams releasing Happy is “how it’s meant to be”.
The 39-year-old singer-songwriter originally recorded the track, but didn’t end up releasing it. Instead Pharrell put his vocals to it and scored one of the biggest hits of the year, but the former The Voice coach doesn’t have a problem with how things turned out.
“I don’t regret it,” he told TMZ. “I think it’s how it’s meant to be.”
The 41-year-old Get Lucky singer first revealed the history of the track to Howard Stern on his radio show last week.
According to Pharrell, who co-wrote the song, CeeLo’s team chose not to release the tune as they felt he should focus on his album.
“[CeeLo] wanted to do it … and he did do it,” he said during the radio show. “He sounded amazing on it. I mean, he burns my version!”
But when TMZ relayed the compliment to CeeLo, the Forget You singer shook his head in bemusement. He went on to state he felt Pharrell was finally getting the credit he deserved with the success that came from the single.
“I wouldn’t say that. I appreciate that, I respect that, he’s a chivalrous brother,” he said. “I think karma is rewarding him because he was all prepared to give all of that away, you know what I’m saying? So the fact that it’s worked so well for him is very gratifying for the both of us.”
It’s clear that the two artists have a great level of respect for each other, as Pharrell couldn’t help but sing CeeLo’s praises during his chat with Howard.
“He was totally down with it,” he said. “He was one of the most gracious people when [my version] came out.”
