"Freedom" (stylized as FREEDOM!) is a song by 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 ...

which was released for streaming on

Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...

and played by

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

on his show on

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

on its launch date of June 30, 2015. Part of the song was made available as a teaser on Williams'

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

page and was also used in a promotional video for

. Its music video was nominated for

Best Music Video The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an accolade presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. ...

at the

58th Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...

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." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' describes the track, "powerful," as well as, "snappy," and, "infectious," while ''The Guardian'' describes it as, "socially conscious." According to ''USA Today'', "Williams may have found a song that captures the tenor of its time."

Live performances

Williams performed the song on his international 2015 tour, including during his set at

Glastonbury Festival 2015 The 2015 Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held from 24 to 28 June 2015. On 17 June 2015, it was announced that the Foo Fighters had cancelled a number of appearances, including the Friday night head ...

on the Pyramid Stage on Saturday June 27. Williams also performed this single at the

2015 MTV Video Music Awards The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, followe ...

and the

2015 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2015 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at the Mediolanum Forum in Assago, near Milan, Italy, on 25 October 2015. This was the third time the awards have taken place in Italy, second time Milan has been the host ...

. Williams performed the song on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

'' on Friday September 11. Williams also performed the song with a full orchestra during a guest appearance at Hans Zimmer's live set at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...

on Sunday April 16, 2017.

In other media

*In 2017, the song was used for an advert of the telecommunications company Claro by its subsidiary in Argentina. *In 2017, the song was used in a

Nissan Navara The is a nameplate used for Nissan pickup trucks with D21, D22, D40 and D23 model codes. The nameplate has been used in Australia, New Zealand, Central America, South America, Asia, Europe, and South Africa. In North, Central and South Amer ...

commercial. *In 2016, the song was used in an

Aetna Aetna Inc. ( ) is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

commercial *In 2018, the song was used in a

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...

commercial. *In 2017, the song appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for ''

Despicable Me 3 ''Despicable Me 3'' is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination, and distributed by Universal. It is the sequel to '' Despicable Me 2'' (2013), the third main installment, and the fourth overall ent ...

'', which Williams also produces the music for the franchise. *In 2017 the song was in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

bid for the

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. *In 2017, the song was used for an advert of the Dutch energy supplier,

Eneco Eneco, the trading name of Eneco Groep N.V., is a producer and supplier of natural gas, electricity and heat in the Netherlands, serving more than 2 million business and residential customers. The company's headquarters are located in Rotter ...

. *In 2016, the song was played prior to the concession speech delivered by

Hillary Rodham Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, the Democratic Party's candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in the

2016 U.S. Presidential Election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and ...

. *In 2016, the song was used in adverts for New Zealand telecommunication company,

Spark Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: People * Spark (surname) * Jessica Morgan (born 1992; formerly known as Spark), female singe ...

. *In 2016, the song appeared in the movie, ''

Now You See Me 2 ''Now You See Me 2'' (also known as ''Now You See Me: The Second Act'') is a 2016 American heist film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Ed Solomon, based on a story by Solomon and Peter Chiarelli. It is the sequel to '' Now You See Me'' ( ...

''. *In 2015, the song was used for an advert of the German television transmitter,

Sky Deutschland Sky Deutschland GmbH, branded as Sky, is a German media company that operates a direct broadcast satellite Pay TV platform in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (through Sky Switzerland). It provides a collection of basic and premium digital su ...

. *In 2019, the song was used in Walmart's new clothing ad for their We Dress America campaign. *In 2016, the song was used in a

Fiat 500X The Fiat 500X (Type 334) is a subcompact crossover SUV manufactured and marketed by Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles), since its debut at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. Following the 500L, and produced from 2014 (from 2016 model ye ...

UK commercial. *In the late 2017, the song was used for the Close-Up Toothpaste commercial. *In 2025, the song was used in the finale of the first season of the TV series Suits LA.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Pharrell Williams songs Songs written by Pharrell Williams Song recordings produced by Pharrell Williams Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Songs about freedom Columbia Records singles Indie pop songs