JUKEBOX: “Despicable Me” by Pharrell Williams

Minions (I don't really think this needs a caption, but there you go. :) )

Hi everybody! It’s Kimberly here for my sixteenth post for the genre “Children’s Music.”

The scene opens in a desert. A shepherd and his goats get suddenly swept away by a bus full of tourists. The tourists rush to take pictures of the pyramids. A kid finds his way onto one of the pyramids and shockingly it deflates. A newsman talks about how people all over the world are protecting their “beloved landmarks” and asks the viewers, “Who could be responsible for this despicable crime and where will he strike next?” A silhouette appears and a song comes into the background. The most prominent lyrics are “Despicable Me.” I remember seeing this trailer numerous times in the movie theater before Despicable Me came out in 2010. Today, I decided to review this song that was in the trailer I described.

With the popularity of Pharrell’s song “Happy” from Despicable Me 2, I would take a guess that many people forgot about “Despicable Me,” which was also written by Pharrell. Williams has had a busy career thus far. He was the driving force behind most of the music that one hears in Despicable Me. Pharrell has also been a producer for numerous projects including Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, for which he won a Grammy. Other notable projects include “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky.” With nominations in 7 categories at the most recent Grammy’s, Pharrell was able to get the title of “Producer of the Year.” I would describe Pharrell’s sound as a cool and smooth pop/R&B vibe and that groovin’ sound is present in “Despicable Me.”

“Despicable Me” has a “bob-your-heard” kind of beat to it. Pharrell uses a deeper register in this song as opposed to the one he uses in “Happy.” The deepness of his voice fits the purpose of the song, which is to portray the main character Gru as a bad guy. The lyrics go well with the movie’s plot and the rhymes make it fun to sing along to. For instance, there’s a line that goes, “I’m having a bad, bad day. If you take it personal that’s okay.” The song stays consistent throughout with its “bad guy” theme, but it gets strange with the heavy use of auto tune and the addition of children singing in the background. Also, although I enjoy the groove in “Despicable Me,” the song itself doesn’t seem to fit completely well in an animated movie with adorable yellow minions. Overall, I’m going to give “Despicable Me” 3 records because even though the song may not necessarily fit in the movie, the lyrics and the groove make it a fun song to listen to.

Thank you for checking out my review of “Despicable Me,” and please make sure to come back next week for another Children’s Music review. J

Below is a lyric video for “Despicable Me,” so you can get a better idea of the lyrics.