Tuesday, March 3 is quickly approaching and with it will come the release of Pharrell Williams‘ second solo album, G I R L. Anticipation levels are VERY high for this one. Pharrell is universally recognized by industry folk and laymen alike as a musical prodigy. To put it into context, he had more success as a producer in 2013 (working with Daft Punk, Robin Thicke, etc.) than some artists have in their entire careers. In a recent interview with Zane Lowe, P shared the inspirations behind G I R L, and in short explained that his production efforts on Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky” initiated a chain reaction that culminated in the new album. “God bless the Robots,” he said.
As is traditional with most album roll outs these days – news breaks about a release, artwork leaks, a bogus tracklist pops up, other random rumors fly around the Internet, and then generally a week or two before the drop date a listening party or playback happens and that’s when the real truth begins to take shape. Yesterday Pharrell played through G I R L at Sony Music’s Kensington office for execs and writing staff including Ryan Bassil with Noisey. You can read Ryan’s entire piece here, where he breaks down the playback experience song by song. From this the roster of featured guests was confirmed and they include Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, and Miley Cyrus. If you just peed your pants a little – it’s ok – because we did too.
In other Skateboard P-related news, the fashion icon just announced that he will be auctioning off his now-famous Vivienne Westwood “Mountain” hat on eBay. Bidders have another nine days or so to win this epic piece of Grammy/Twitter history. Current pricing is at $10,500, which seems fair considering all of the invaluable memories and deep, life-changing experiences one might have when wearing the legendary lid. All proceeds will benefit Pharrell’s charity, From One Hand To Another.
G I R L tracklist:
01. Marilyn Monroe
02. Brand New ft. Justin Timberlake
03. Hunter
04. Gush
05. Happy
06. Come Get It ft. Miley Cyrus
07. Dust of Wind ft. Daft Punk
08. Lost Queen
09. FREQ
10. I Know Who You Are ft. Alicia Keys
11. It Girl
