‘I hate it’: Pharrell Williams got over voice performance struggle for Piece by Piece

13 September 2024

Pharrell Williams managed to overcome a hatred of his own voice for ‘Piece by Piece’.

Pharrell Williams managed to overcome his hatred for his own voice for Piece by Piece

The 51-year-old singer is used to performing in front of packed stadiums but the ‘Happy’ chart-topper has admitted he didn't enjoy listening to his tones during the making of the Lego biopic.

Pharrell told The Hollywood Reporter: "I hate it. Doing it in Lego allowed me to objectively appreciate my voice and my point of view and what I want to do.

"When I hear myself without any kind of other platform or anything connected to it, I’m like, ‘Shut the f*** up. Literally, why are you saying that? Like, who cares? Who do you think you are — some philosopher? Shut the f*** up.’

"Like, they asked me to do something the other day and I’m like, ‘No. Who wants to hear me? Like, no.’ But this film has allowed me to get inspired by my story for the first time because I’m looking at it through a different lens, a different filter, so I can appreciate it objectively."

The animated movie - which follows the ‘Get Lucky’ singer’s rise to fame - also stars Timbaland and Missy Elliott and showcases the trio's early music experimentations growing up in Virginia.

Pharrell explained: "We didn’t know that we wanted to be in the business. We just liked making music. When we realised we wanted to be in the business, it felt like it was so hard to get on. Then, when we got in there, we never let it go. Timbaland’s a genius. He’s relentless. He’s doing something fire right now."

The picture - which is set to release in the U.S. on 11 October - sees the likes of Justin Timberlake, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani and Britney Spears appear, though Pharrell admitted he hadn’t been in contact with the ‘Toxic’ singer for quite some time.

He said: "Man, I ain’t spoke to Britney in maybe 10-plus years. I think I’ve seen her in the elevator one time. I think we were all going into the same place or something. I can remember exactly where it was, and she had her sunglasses on, and I was like, 'I know that’s Britney. Maybe she doesn’t remember me. That’s fine'."