[5] A visual presentation of the track, being advertised as "the world's first 24-hour music video" coincided the single, featuring Williams and directed by We Are from LA, and went viral upon release.

[9] The co-director of Despicable Me 2, Chris Renaud had recalled the "distinctive music of the first film" that born out of the collaboration between Pereira and Williams, leading them to work for its sequel.

[10] Pereira attributed that for El Macho, being a Mexican wrestler and the main antagonist, had to implement "full choir with a latin flair to emphasize his presence".

[12][13] Williams wrote three original songs, including the popular track "Happy" that was released as a single on November 21, 2013, to wider commercial success.

[17][18] The song was initially intended to be written for CeeLo Green (who earlier sang another track "Scream"),[19] but due to conflicts with CeeLo's record company Elektra Records, as he was on the verge of releasing his 2013 Christmas album,[20][21] Williams himself sang the track, instead.

[17] The four-minute video edit of the song released on YouTube on November 21, and as of March 2018, it crossed over 1 billion views.

[30] It holds the record for the second-highest audience peak for a week on the Hot 100 Airplay, with 225.9 million impressions, only behind Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines".

[39] When GQ magazine asked Williams "how badly" he wanted the Oscar, he responded: "When they read the results, my face was...frozen.