It Girl

Album: G I R L (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • Pharrell closes G I R L with this ode to the love of his life. He had been in a relationship with model/designer Helen Lasichanh for several years and they married in Miami on October 12, 2013.
  • G I R L is a tribute to ladies - physically and emotionally. The Neptunes producer's only previous solo album, 2006's In My Mind, received generally mixed reviews and had a disappointing commercial performance. Williams told GQ magazine how he got a call from Daft Punk's label, Columbia in Spring 2013. "And they're like, Look, we know that you're not interested in doing another solo album," he recalled. "But we know that you're going to change your mind. Even if you're not ready now, we know you're going to change your mind. And since we know that, we'd like to get ahead of it and change your mind and tell you, 'Look, here's a deal. Go make whatever album you want to make.'"

    Pharrell took some convincing, but once he'd signed, he already knew what the album would be. "I instantly knew that the name of the album was called G I R L," he said, "and the reason why is because women and girls, for the most part, have just been so loyal to me and supported me."
  • The song finishes on a long instrumental fade with distorted guitar riffs, warping strings and chiming percussion behind which Pharrell repeats the word 'girl.' He explained at the listening party that it's a song written with live shows in mind, hence the funky breakdown.
  • The colorful animated video channels both Japanese anime and 64-bit video game styles as we see a cartoon version of Pharrell wearing his recognisable Vivienne Westwood hat.

    Williams created the clip with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. The pair previously worked together in 2009, when they collaborated on a sculpture that allegedly sold for $2 million. The Neptunes producer also remixed the theme song to Murakami's film Jellyfish Eyes five years later.

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