'Happy' Now? Pharrell Williams Gets Star On Hollywood Walk Of Fame
HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Here's some news bound to make a lot of people "Happy."
Singer-songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams (think of him as the cat in the hat) received the 2,537th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday.
Williams, 41, has won seven Grammys and even more industry and fan acclaim on both sides of the mic.
The song "Happy" — you couldn't miss it if you tried — catapulted him to super stardom.
But it was a road that he has traveled steadily for years.
The Virginia-born Williams started his producing career as one half of The Neptunes with Chad Hugo, helping create such memorable radio and club hits as Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," Nelly's "Hot in Herre," Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U (Give it 2 Me)," Britney Spears' "I'm A Slave 4 U" and Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You."
Williams received four of his seven Grammys at this year's ceremony as a performer on Daft Punk's record of the year "Get Lucky," its album of the year "Random Access Memories" and best pop duo/group performance for "Get Lucky."
Williams, a coach on "The Voice," also received a best original song Oscar nomination this year for writing "Happy" from the animated film "Despicable Me 2," losing out to "Let It Go" from "Frozen."
"Happy" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 10 consecutive weeks and peaked at No. 1 on iTunes in 103 markets worldwide.
Williams' golden touch extends beyond hit tune making. He has designed accessories and jewelry for Louis Vuitton, T-shirts for Uniqlo, sportswear for Adidas and a sculpture with the Tokyo-born artist Takashi Murakami. A perfume collaboration with Comme des Garcons is set to be released soon.
Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres was among those joining Williams at the ceremony in front of the W Hollywood Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard.
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