"Celebrate" is a song by British singer

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname, and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footba ...

featuring American musician

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

. It was released as the lead single of the former's third studio album, ''

The Origin of Love ''The Origin of Love'' is the third studio album released by British singer-songwriter Mika. The album was released in France on 17 September 2012, and in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2012, via Casablanca Records and Barclay Records res ...

'' (2012), in the United Kingdom, Europe and America, and the second single in France. It was written by the artists alongside

Fryars Benjamin Garrett, better known by his stage name Fryars (sometimes stylised frYars), is an English art pop musician from London. Career Fryars released his debut EP, ''The Ides'', in September 2007, and was profiled as ''The Guardian''s "New b ...

and produced by the latter, alongside

Peter Mayes Peter Mayes (born 5 October 1976) is an Australian musician and producer. He is widely known for being a leading member of dance act Pnau. He is a longtime collaborator with Nick Littlemore and has produced and mixed many of his projects, most ...

, and

Nick Littlemore Nicholas George Littlemore (born 6 May 1978) is an Australian musician, record producer, singer, songwriter and tour manager. As a musician, he is the frontman of the electronic project Pnau, an ex-member of the art-rock band Teenager and one p ...

. The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Some called it a "great summer song" and praised Pharrell for giving another dimension to Mika's vocals. However, some critics dismissed Mika's processed vocals and the song's rhythm. The song has charted on the

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and on the Belgium Charts, but failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and release

After the release of "

Elle me dit "" () is a song by Lebanese-born British singer and songwriter Mika, released as a single in France ahead of the release of his third studio album, ''The Origin of Love''. Mika re-recorded the song in English under the title "Emily". "Emily" ...

" in 2011, only in French-speaking countries, Mika unveiled a music video for the song "Make You Happy", which is not a single, but is included on ''The Origin of Love''. Later, on 14 July 2012, Mika previewed a 30-second clip of the song. It was uploaded to

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ahead of its official unveiling and was later removed from the online store. The song was released on 15 June 2012.

Composition

"Celebrate" was written by

and Ben Garrett and produced by Peter Hayes and

. Nick Littlemore of the Australian electorock outfit, Empire of the Sun, lends a hand on the production, which gives the song a retro

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

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by feel. The song's message is clear—he simply wants the whole world to celebrate life.

Critical reception

Emily Tam of

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wrote that "it shows that the Neptunes mastermind brings his smooth vocals, giving it another dimension." Ivan Ibarra of DJ Booth called it "a synth-heavy pop, yet head-nodding, sound that allows MIKA to blossom." Lanne Billings from "Paste Magazine" named it "an

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

-ish spin on the eternal 'let’s party' single." However, a negative review came from "Pop Dust"'s Katherine St Asaph, who gave the song 1 out of 5 stars, writing: "Pharrell doesn’t sound like Pharrell, Mika, meanwhile, swaddles his voice in so much processing he ends up sounding like

Adam Levine Adam Noah Levine ( ; born March 18, 1979) is an American musician who is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and sole continuous member of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, for ...

if he were whispering. The whole thing ends up sounding like a subpar take of one of

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...

's weaker

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singles. It might be best for Mika and Pharrell to quietly bury 'Celebrate' in favor of a real comeback single. They both deserve better."

Vegetable Orchestra version

Mika collaborated with the

London Vegetable Orchestra The London Vegetable Orchestra is a British musical ensemble that fabricates and subsequently plays musical instruments made out of vegetables. It is understood to be the only vegetable orchestra in the United Kingdom. The orchestra was founded c ...

and the Junk Orchestra and recorded a different version of the song at Sarm Studios in July 2012. This version features Mika's vocals accompanied only by instruments crafted from fresh vegetables (played by the London Vegetable Orchestra) and junk (played by the Junk Orchestra). The musical director was Oli Jackson. As of August 2012 this version has only been released online.Mika's Vegetable Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i22JyxcjgEU

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Mika (singer) songs Songs written by Mika (singer) Songs written by Pharrell Williams 2011 songs Barclay (record label) singles Casablanca Records singles Pharrell Williams songs