--- title: 10 Pharrell-Produced Songs That Sound Nothing Like Pharrell description: A sampling of the "Happy" hitmaker and 'The Voice' coach's most unrecognizable tunes. canonical: https://time.com/3645214/pharrell-songs/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-30T11:38:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:05:32.611Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 10 Pharrell-Produced Songs That Sound Nothing Like Pharrell og:description: A sampling of the hitmaker’s most unrecognizable tunes og:url: https://time.com/3645214/pharrell-songs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3766fbcd450d0405/698770945f570f31f8b14657/ap227300522904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pharrell Williams og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Pharrell-Produced Songs That Sound Nothing Like Pharrell twitter:description: A sampling of the hitmaker’s most unrecognizable tunes twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3766fbcd450d0405/698770945f570f31f8b14657/ap227300522904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Pharrell-Produced Songs That Sound Nothing Like Pharrell > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Dec 30, 2014 11:38 AM UTC  Pharrell Williams Pharrell WilliamsTodd Williamson—/nvision/AP  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Dec 30, 2014 11:38 AM UTC Every music producer has their signature style, but to have a decade-spanning career like Pharrell Williams’, you have to know when to switch it up — unless you want to drop off the face of the earth when that style goes, well, _out of style_. (Speaking of, whatever happened to [Rich Harrison](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich%5FHarrison)?) Pharrell has a few tricks he employs quite often — [almost to the point of parody](http://www.stereogum.com/1682908/every-pharrell-song-starts-the-same-way/news/) — but the “Happy” hitmaker and _The Voice_ coach isn’t afraid to hunt down new sounds, and sometimes that has unexpected results. Here are 10 songs that Pharrell either co-wrote or produced (either solo or as a part of the Neptunes) that you’d never guess he had a hand in creating. **No Doubt, “Hella Good”** Before she teamed up with Pharrell for “Hollaback Girl” and “Wind It Up,” Gwen Stefani worked with the Neptunes on this danceable tribute to Bay Area slang (though they’re sometimes only credited as songwriters, the band has said Pharrell and Chad Hugo concocted the beat). The song was the band’s first major collaboration with an outside artist, and the two acts have already reunited for as-yet-unreleased new music (including a session with Sia). **Missy Elliott, “On & On”** Thanks to the Neptunes’ menacing chainsaw synthesizers and bubbling sound effects, the only thing dated about this cut from the rapper’s 2005 album is her shout-out to _America’s Next Top Model_ winner Eva Pigford. It may not have been a Timbaland production, but it’s the kind of sonic curveball the rapper has made a career out of providing. **Solange, “I Decided”** The younger Knowles sister became an indie darling with her slick 2012 EP _True_, but she recruited Pharrell to help her travel back to the 1960s and 1970s on her Motown-inspired _Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams_. Perky pianos and handclaps make this song one of his most unplugged tracks (at least, unplugged-_sounding_) to date. **Scissor Sisters, “Inevitable”** The Scissor Sisters worked with the likes of Calvin Harris and Diplo on their fourth studio album, _Magic Hour_, but the band says Pharrell came in with a particularly unique agenda — to get the Scissor Sisters [“on black radio,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jztr6rIQEGk) as band member Scott “Babydaddy” Hoffman explained. Too bad for Pharrell — the song was never released as a single. **Fefe Dobson, “In the Kissah”**The Canadian musician’s spunky pop-punk got some help from the Neptunes on her sophomore album, _Sunday Love_, but even a collaboration with a A-list producers couldn’t change the album’s fate. The record was canceled when she was dropped by her label shortly before its scheduled release. (It eventually saw the light of day online.) **N.E.R.D. featuring Santigold, “Soldier”** Pharrell has always indulged his rock side with his band N.E.R.D., but the punk sounds of this frantic, drum-heavy contribution to the _90210_ soundtrack instead recall Santigold’s old band, Stiffed, more than they resemble the producer’s usual output (and he’s _on_ the track itself). **Ed Sheeran, “Runaway”** Some of the production on Ed Sheeran’s sophomore album, _x_, wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Justin Timberlake’s solo debut, _Justified_. But when Pharrell messes around with acoustic guitars, he usually can’t resist leaving his fingerprints all over it — keyboard blips and beats that sound like they were banged out on empty paint cans. **Adam Lambert, “Trespassing”** When pop artists work with Pharrell, the end product can feel a little farmed-out, with the performer relying more on Pharrell’s beats-for-hire than the other way around. It’s rare that a Pharrell production sounds like it was custom-created for its star, but the funky title track from the _American Idol_ runner-up’s second album appears to be an exception. **Fall Out Boy, “w.a.m.s.”** If it weren’t for the space-age synthesizers that rear their heads halfway through the track from the band’s 2008 album, _Folie à Deux_, Pharrell’s presence would be nearly undetectable on this guitar-driven track. “Pharrell was really cool,” drummer Andy Hurley [said about their sessions](http://www.nme.com/news/nme/41318#skwJCg6wQTyhK9QF.99). “He laid down beats and \[frontman\] Patrick \[Stump\] would come up with vocals and melodies. It happened so fast.” **Travis Barker, “Come N Get It (featuring the Clipse)”** Virginia rap duo Clipse worked closely with Pharrell when they signed to the Neptunes’ Star Trak Entertainment — so closely, in fact, that the Neptunes produced the entirety of two of their albums. But on this mixtape track with the Blink-182 drummer, the sound that made them famous is nowhere to be heard while Pharrell stays behind the scenes. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3645214/pharrell-songs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3645214/pharrell-songs/"},"headline":"10 Pharrell-Produced Songs That Sound Nothing Like Pharrell","datePublished":"2014-12-30T11:38:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:05:32.611Z","description":"The hitmaker has some tunes that don't sound like him at all","url":"https://time.com/3645214/pharrell-songs/","keywords":["Music","Pharrell","Pharrell Williams","The Voice","gwen stefani"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3766fbcd450d0405/698770945f570f31f8b14657/ap227300522904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3766fbcd450d0405/698770945f570f31f8b14657/ap227300522904.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pharrell Williams","caption":"Pharrell Williams","creditText":"Todd Williamson—/nvision/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3645214/pharrell-songs/","name":"10 Pharrell-Produced Songs That Sound Nothing Like Pharrell"}}]}] ```