Pharrell’s “Here”: Hear his solo contribution to the Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack. (Audio.)

Hear a New Song From Pharrell. It’s an Acoustic Ballad.

Hear a New Song From Pharrell. It’s an Acoustic Ballad.

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Slate's Culture Blog
April 16 2014 11:37 AM

Hear a New Song From Pharrell. It’s an Acoustic Ballad.

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Pharrell gets emotional for Spider-Man 2 ballad, "Here."

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella

Pharrell might get most accolades, including most of his seven Grammys, for his production work, but beneath the now infamous vintage Vivienne Westwood hat lies an increasingly strong vocalist. For his solo contribution to the Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack, “Here,” Pharrell teams up with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, as Spin notes, for something unexpected: a tender ballad.

Draped against only simple acoustic guitar, at first, and then swelling strings from Hans Zimmer, Pharrell belts out a song about having “unfinished business” with a lover—and, in a goofy metaphor about travelling in circles, needing “new GPSes.” It’s a far cry from “Happy,” originally from the Despicable Me 2 soundtrack—it’s closer to Woodkid’s sad version—but it’s the best we’ve heard of the soundtrack thus far. It’s available April 22.

Dee Lockett is a writer for Vulture and a former Slate editorial assistant.