Pharrell Williams: I'm more than music

Pharrell Williams wants to inject his music with purpose.

The American hitmaker is one of the hottest names in music thanks to tracks such as Happy and is riding high on the wave of success. Last night he took home the gong for solo artist at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London, and he says there is much more to him than simply making music.

"It took me a minute to find my purpose," Pharrell mused to the Wall Street Journal. "I knew something was missing, and then I realised, OK, you're able to make music; now you have to inject purpose. I want to make music with something extra to it - a holistic property.

"I want to make it feel good. I'm not the only one doing this. Kendrick Lamar's music feels amazing. Adele's music feels amazing. Alicia [Keys]'s new album feels amazing. The distinction between sounding amazing and feeling amazing - that's the thing. People, I think, are looking for a feeling."

As well as his own tracks, 41-year-old Pharrell has featured on some of the biggest songs the music world has produced over the last few years. He laid down vocals for Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines and the smash hit tune from Daft Punk song Get Lucky.

Pharrell's mega success, in his opinion, is in part down to his son Rocket, five, who he has Helen Lasichanh, but he also concedes people were ready for a change in musical direction.

"I just think the world felt cold for a second and we were making music that was callous. The internet is responsible for all this connectedness, but bad news travels faster than good," he explained.

"People were inundated with tragedy and travesty, and then it was like, what are we so mad about?"