Pharrell has had quite a comeback over the past two years, part of which has been fueled by the success of “Happy,” which was originally written for the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack and eventually landed on his 2014 record G I R L. Turns out the road to get to that hit single wasn’t easy: In a new op-ed for The New York Times where the singer and producer reflects on the phenomenon surrounding the song, he drops an interesting bit of trivia: “My song submissions for this scene in Despicable Me 2 were rejected nine times,” he admits. “I’m thankful that people now know my name where they hadn’t before.” Looks like we could have lived in a world where “Happy” didn’t exist… In other news, Pharrell was given a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame today.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty.]