Pharrell Williams has performed ‘Happy’ with a gospel choir at the reopening of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral – watch footage below.
The historic venue hosted a ceremony to celebrate its reopening on Saturday (December 7) after a fire destroyed its roof in 2019, with many international dignitaries in attendance, including President-elect Donald Trump and Prince William.
Also there was Pharrell, who was joined by Voices Of Fire, a 70-member gospel choir led by the singer’s uncle Bishop Ezekiel Williams, for a rendition of his 2013 smash hit single ‘Happy’.
“An honour to perform at the reopening with @VoicesOfFire,” Pharrell wrote on Instagram after the appearance. “A historic moment we’re so blessed to have been a part of. Merci.”
Watch the full performance here:
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When the fire broke out in the 850-year-old landmark in 2019, Christine and the Queens was among the artists to pay tribute, saying: “It is because it seemed eternal and immutable that the heart is tightening to see it in flames. So much history collapsing right before our eyes. Heartbroken for Notre-Dame and Paris.”
In other news, the LEGO biopic of Pharrell’s life, Piece By Piece, was released last month. The film was directed by Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville and features cameos from Daft Punk, Gwen Stefani, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and more.
In an interview with NME over the summer, Williams explained how the movie was an “amazing experience of history for me”.
He also praised Neville for executing his vision: “I can’t tell you how humbled I am to have this masterful storyteller really make sense of my life. It has always been all over the place and made sense to me but not to most. He was able to do it in colour, vividly – brick by brick, piece by piece.”
A number of festival screenings of the film were interrupted by animal rights campaigners, in protests connected to the singer’s role as the men’s creative director of fashion house Louis Vuitton. Representatives from PETA called on Williams to stop being “complicit in cruelty”, in reference to Louis Vuitton’s use of animal skins and furs.