Freedom (Pharrell Williams song)

"Freedom"
Single by Pharrell Williams
Released	30 June 2015[1]
Format	Digital download streaming
Recorded	2015
Genre	Indie pop
Length	2:43
Label	Columbia
Writer(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 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 30 June 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 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]

Live performances

Williams performed the song on his international 2015 tour,^[5] including during his set at Glastonbury Festival 2015 on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday 27 June.^[6] Williams also performed this single at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards .^[7] Williams performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Friday September 11.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2015) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 41 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 61 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[10] 2 Belgium Airplay (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 1 Belgium Urban (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13] 2 Belgium Airplay (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 6 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[15] 11 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[16] 23 France (SNEP)[17] 13 Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 66 Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)[19] 3 Hungary (Single Top 40)[20] 11 Israel (Media Forest)[21] 3 Italy (FIMI)[22] 13 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 27 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] 16 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[25] 50 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[26] 55 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27] 30 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 26 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 36 US Pop Digital Songs (Billboard)[30] 30

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Peak position Italy (FIMI)[31] 68

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Belgium (BEA)[32]	Gold	15,000
Italy (FIMI)[33]	Platinum	50,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone sales/streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. McIntyre, Hugh (25 June 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. 25 June 2015.
3. Dionne, Zach (26 June 2015). "Pharrell Working With Adele, Previews His "Freedom" Video". Fuse.
4. Fitzgerald, Marissa (July 10, 2015). "Pharrell Williams: 'Freedom' Single Review". MusicSnake. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
5. Simpson, Dave (14 June 2015). "Pharrell Williams review – pop polymath unveils embarrassment of talents". Guardian.
6. Schwartz, Danny (28 June 2015). "Pharrell Debuts "Freedom" At Glastonbury". Hotnewhiphop.
7. http://music.blog.ajc.com/2015/08/26/pharrell-williams-demi-lovato-to-perform-at-mtv-vmas-kanye-west-will-receive-vanguard-award/
8. "Australian-charts.com – Pharrell Williams – Freedom". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
9. "Austriancharts.at – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
10. "Ultratop.be – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
11. "Ultratop.be – Pharell Williams – Freedom" (in French). Ultratop Airplay.
12. "Ultratop.be – Pharell Williams – Freedom" (in French). Ultratop Airplay.
13. "Ultratop.be – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
14. "Ultratop.be – Pharell Williams – Freedom" (in French). Ultratop Airplay.
15. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201550 into search.
16. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201531 into search.
17. "Lescharts.com – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Pharrell Williams – Freedom". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
19. "Digital Singles Charts – Greece". Billboard.(Subscription required.)
20. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
21. "Pharrell Williams – Freedom Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
22. "Italiancharts.com – Pharrell Williams – Freedom". Top Digital Download. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
24. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pharrell Williams search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
25. "Archive Chart: 2015-07-16". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
26. "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201538 into search.
27. "Spanishcharts.com – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
28. "Swisscharts.com – Pharrell Williams – Freedom". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
29. "Archive Chart: 2015-07-16" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
30. "Pharrell Williams – Chart History: Pop Digital Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
31. "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. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
32. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2015". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 2, 2015.
33. "Italian single certifications – Pharrell Williams – Freedom" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved November 3, 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Pharrell Williams in the field Filtra. Select 2015 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically