Christchurch retirees’ cover of Pharrell Williams’ Happy has gone viral for a second time, after an endorsement from the hip-hop superstar himself.
Williams has tweeted a link to Diana Isaac Retirement Village residents’ video and posted it on his Facebook page, with the caption “Wow … 80 Odd Years of Happy!”
The clip has received more than 150,000 hits on YouTube since Williams’ tweet. It now has more than 1.7 million views on YouTube.
Within hours, the video’s star, Alister Leckie, had interview requests from all over the world, a Ryman Healthcare spokesman said.
But international media would have to contend with Leckie’s great-grandson, who has requested he perform at his kindergarten disco, the spokesman said.
More than 60 residents and staff at the Diana Isaac Retirement Village filmed the video over four days in May.
Leckie, 79, also known as “Al Pharrell Williams”, said he had loved the experience and hadn’t hesitated when asked to give it a go.
“Heavens above, you get on and have as much fun as you can,” the retired engineer said.
“It was a great opportunity. I’m not sure why I was chosen but I loved giving it a go.
“I was a bit jiggered by the end of it though.”
More than 400 people attended the red-carpet premiere of the video at the village.
Enjoy again the Diana Isaac Retirement Village residents’ rendition of Happy:
And once again, the original (366 million views and counting):
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– Stuff
