Robin Thicke Reveals Origins of "Blurred Lines" Song & Video
Robin Thicke's ubiquitous R&B-pop hit "Blurred Lines" has owned the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for the past seven weeks—the most time spent atop the chart this year. But the track's inspiration extends far beyond 2013. The Los Angeles blue-eyed soul singer tells Fuse that a No. 1 hit in 1977 by Marvin Gaye helped shape "Blurred Lines."
Thicke, 36, recalls the studio session with Pharrell that resulted in the mega hit. "I said [to Pharrell], 'I'd love to do something like 'Got to Give It Up,'" Thicke tells Fuse. "Pharrell and I started messing with drums, then he said the, 'Hey hey hey!' [line]. I hopped in the booth and the rest just came flying out."
Easy enough! But how about that NSFW video full of nude models? Well, following sexy visuals for past singles "Sex Therapy" and "Love After War," which involved Versailles-gaudy mansions, lingerie and low-lit, soap opera-worthy bedroom action, Thicke was aiming for a different kind of arousal.
"I wanted to do something funny and silly," he adds. "I had just done [parody show] Real Husbands of Hollywood and had such a great time doing comedy. I'd never done a video like that. [Pharrell, T.I. and I] were doing our old man barbeque dances and having a blast."
And while "Blurred Lines" is unquestionably the biggest hit of his career, Thicke admits he's already sick of the song, but adds, "I will happily sing it for the rest of my life. You can be sure of that."
Watch the full interview above for more on the song and video.
p.s. In case you too have overplayed the mega hit a little too much, we suggest watching covers by Queens of the Stone Age or this Bill Clinton supercut.
1h 27m
21m
21m
1h 30m
21m
1m
1m
8m
3m
4m
9m
3m
4m
23m
1h 34m
20m
44m
22m
1h 14m
20m
21m
20m
59m
21m
21m
22m
19m
20m
1h 3m
14m
45m
44m
23m
1h 22m
41m
42m
24m
41m
41m
1h 49m
22m
5m
8m
1h 33m
59m
41m
20m
18m
41m
41m
3m
2m
1h 1m
1h 39m
20m
20m
2m
42m
43m
21m
59m
20m
20m
2m
41m
30s
3602s
23m
1m
45s
1m
2m
1h 2m
30s
5m
41m
46s
29s
29s
1m
2m
1m
2m
2m
1m
5m
4m
1m
5m
1m
9m
1m
3m
2m
5m