Even if Pharrell Williams doesn”t walk away with an Oscar for best original song on Sunday, he can celebrate that he has lodged his first No. 1 on Billboard”s Hot 100 as a lead artist.
“Happy,” from “Despicable Me 2,” displaces Katy Perry”s “Dark Horse,” featuring Juicy J, from the top spot after stalling at No. 2 for two weeks. Perry”s track drops to No. 2.
Pharrell”s previous trips to the top were as a featured artist on Snoop Dogg”s “Drop It Like It”s Hot” in 2004, Ludacris”s “Money Maker” in 2006, and last year with Robin Thicke”s “Blurred Lines.” His massive hit with Daft Punk, “Get Lucky,” reached No. 2.
As Billboard notes, he also reached the summit as a producer/co-writer for Nelly”s “Hot in Herre” in 2002 and Gwen Stefani”s “Hollaback Girl” in 2005.
Jason Derulo”s “Talk Dirty,” featuring 2Chainz , holds at No. 3. John Legend soars 11-4 with “All of Me,” which is, incredibly, his first Top 10 hit. His previous high has been No. 24 with both “Ordinary People” and “Green Light.” Beyonce remains at No. 5 with “Drunk In Love,” featuring Jay Z.
There are no new songs in the top 10 other than Legend”s “All of Me.” For the bottom half, we just see a re-arranging of top 10 titles: Bastille”s “Pompeii” climbs 8-6 (clearly having a better week than the unrelated movie of the same name), and Lorde”s “Team” bounces up two spots as well, traveling 9-7.
A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera”s “Say Something” drops 4-8, OneRepublic”s “Counting Stars” falls 6-9. Rounding out the Top 10, Pitbull”s “Timber,” featuring Ke$ha, slips 7-10.