Freedom (Pharrell Williams song)

"Freedom"
Single by Pharrell Williams
from the album Despicable Me 3 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Released	June 30, 2015 [1]
Recorded	2015
Genre	Indie pop
Length	2:43
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Pharrell Williams
Producer(s)	Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams singles chronology
"Finna Get Loose" (2015) "Freedom" (2015) "WTF (Where They From)" (2015)

"Freedom" (stylized as FREEDOM!) is a song by American musician Pharrell Williams which was released for streaming on Apple Music and played by Zane Lowe on his show on Beats 1 on its launch date of June 30, 2015. ^[2] Part of the song was made available as a teaser on Williams' Twitter page and was also used in a promotional video for Apple Music. ^[3] Its music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 58th Grammy Awards.

Critical reception

Writing for MusicSnake, Marissa Fitzgerald gave the song a very positive review, give it 4/5 stars and stating "'Freedom' is an awesome track with a feel-good vibe and a positive message. The lyrics are uplifting and promote living a happy life without restrictions or limitations." ^[4] Rolling Stone describes the track, "powerful," as well as, "snappy," and, "infectious," ^[5] while The Guardian describes it as, "socially conscious." ^[6] According to USA Today, "Williams may have found a song that captures the tenor of its time." ^[7]

Live performances

Williams performed the song on his international 2015 tour, ^[8] including during his set at Glastonbury Festival 2015 on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday June 27. ^[9] Williams also performed this single at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards. ^[10] Williams performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday September 11. Williams also performed the song with a full orchestra during a guest appearance at Hans Zimmer's live set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Sunday April 16, 2017.

In other media

• In 2017, the song was used for an advert of the telecommunications company Claro by its subsidiary in Argentina. ^[11]
• In 2017, the song was used in a Nissan Navara commercial.
• In 2016, the song was used in an Aetna commercial
• In 2018, the song was used in a Bank of America commercial.
• In 2017, the song appeared on the soundtrack for Despicable Me 3 , which Williams also produces the music for the franchise.
• In 2017 the song was in the Los Angeles bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
• In 2017, the song was used for an advert of the Dutch energy supplier, Eneco. ^[12]
• In 2016, the song was played prior to the concession speech delivered by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic Party's candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. ^[13]
• In 2016, the song was used in adverts for New Zealand telecommunication company, Spark.
• In 2016, the song appeared in the movie, Now You See Me 2 .
• In 2015, the song was used for an advert of the German television transmitter, Sky Deutschland. ^[14]
• In 2019, the song was used in Walmart's new clothing ad for their We Dress America ^[15] campaign.
• In 2016, the song was used in a Fiat 500X UK commercial.
• In the late 2017, the song was used for the Close-Up Toothpaste ^[16] commercial.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2015) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [17] 41 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [18] 61 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [19] 2 Belgium Airplay (Ultratop Flanders) [20] 1 Belgium Urban (Ultratop Flanders) [20] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [21] 2 Belgium Airplay (Ultratop Wallonia) [22] 6 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100) [23] 11 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [24] 23 France (SNEP) [25] 13 Germany (GfK) [26] 66 Greece Digital Songs ( Billboard ) [27] 3 Hungary (Single Top 40) [28] 11 Israel (Media Forest) [29] 3 Italy (FIMI) [30] 13 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [31] 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [32] 27 Scotland (OCC) [33] 50 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100) [34] 55 Slovenia (SloTop50) [35] 33 Spain (PROMUSICAE) [36] 30 Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) [37] 20 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [38] 26 UK Singles (OCC) [39] 36 US Pop Digital Songs (Billboard) [40] 30

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) [41] 30 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) [42] 59 France (SNEP) [43] 102 Hungary (Single Top 40) [44] 78 Italy (FIMI) [45] 68 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [46] 78 Netherlands (NPO 3FM) [47] 64

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA) [48]	Gold	15,000*
Italy (FIMI) [49]	2× Platinum	100,000‡
Poland (ZPAV) [50]	2× Platinum	40,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [51]	Gold	15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [52]	Silver	200,000‡
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. McIntyre, Hugh (June 25, 2015). "Pharrell's New Single 'Freedom' Will Serve As Apple Music's First Exclusive". Forbes.
2. "Pharrell to drop single 'Freedom' exclusively on Apple Music". CTV News. June 25, 2015.
3. Dionne, Zach (June 26, 2015). "Pharrell Working With Adele, Previews His "Freedom" Video". Fuse.
4. Fitzgerald, Marissa (July 10, 2015). "Pharrell Williams: 'Freedom' Single Review". MusicSnake. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
5. Blistein, Jon (June 30, 2015). "Pharrell Screams 'Freedom' on Powerful New Track". RollingStone.com. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
6. Simpson, Dave (June 14, 2015). "Pharrell Williams review – pop polymath unveils embarrassment of talents". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
7. Mansfield, Brian (June 30, 2015). "Song of the week: Pharrell's 'Freedom'". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
8. Simpson, Dave (June 14, 2015). "Pharrell Williams review – pop polymath unveils embarrassment of talents". Guardian.
9. Schwartz, Danny (June 28, 2015). "Pharrell Debuts "Freedom" At Glastonbury". Hotnewhiphop.
10. "Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber to perform at MTV VMAs; Britney Spears to present, Kanye West to receive Vanguard Award | Atlanta Music Scene with Melissa Ruggieri". Archived from the original on August 30, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
11. "- YouTube". YouTube .
12. "Eneco. We moeten megazuinig zijn op onze planeet". YouTube . January 18, 2017.
13. "Full Event: Hillary Clinton FULL Concession Speech | Election 2016". YouTube . November 9, 2016.
14. "- YouTube". YouTube .
15. Walmart (March 18, 2019), We Dress America :30 Anthem , retrieved March 22, 2019
16. Close-Up (September 25, 2018), FreeToLove , retrieved July 4, 2024
17. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
18. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
19. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
20. "Ultratop.be – Pharell Williams – Freedom". Ultratop (in French). Ultratop Airplay.
21. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
22. "Ultratop.be – Pharell Williams – Freedom". Ultratop (in French). Ultratop Airplay.
23. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 50. týden 2015 in the date selector.
24. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 31. týden 2015 in the date selector.
25. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
26. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
27. "Digital Singles Charts – Greece". Billboard . January 2, 2013.(Subscription required.)
28. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
29. "Media Forest Week 30, 2015". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
30. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom". Top Digital Download. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
31. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pharrell Williams" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
32. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
33. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
34. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201538 into search.
35. "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
36. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
37. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 30, 2015" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan . Retrieved May 2, 2021.
38. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
39. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
40. "Pharrell Williams – Chart History: Pop Digital Songs". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved October 10, 2015.
41. "Jaaroverzichten 2015". Ultratop . Retrieved December 8, 2016.
42. "Rapports annuels 2015". Ultratop . Retrieved December 8, 2016.
43. "Top de l'année Top Singles 2015" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
44. "Single Top 100 - eladási darabszám alapján - 2015". Mahasz . Retrieved April 9, 2020.
45. "Classifiche "Top of the Music" 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digitali" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
46. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2015". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
47. "Jaaroverzichten - 3FM 2015". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Retrieved May 13, 2022.
48. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2015". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
49. "Italian single certifications – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved July 2, 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Freedom" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
50. "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2016 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on November 10, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
51. "New Zealand single certifications – Pharrell Williams – Freedom". Radioscope. Retrieved January 28, 2025.Type Freedom in the "Search:" field.
52. "British single certifications – Pharrell Williams – Freedom". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved August 24, 2024.