"Celebrate" is a song by British singer and songwriter

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 (footbal ...

featuring American singer

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

. 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 respec ...

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

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

. 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

French Singles Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

and on the Belgium Charts, but failed to chart on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Background and release

After the release of "

Elle me dit "" ( en, She Tells Me) 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 " ...

" 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

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

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 ''Empire of the Sun'' is a 1984 novel by English writer J. G. Ballard; it was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story "The Dead Time" (published in the anthology '' ...

, 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 subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

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

Critical reception

Emily Tam of

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

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, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

-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 singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...

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 and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

'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 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
Celebrate with Vegetable Orchestra

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