Happier (Marshmello and Bastille song)
2018 song by Marshmello and Bastille
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"Happier" is a song by American DJ Marshmello featuring British indie pop band Bastille (mainly the vocals of the band's frontman, Dan Smith). Written by Marshmello, Smith, and Steve Mac, and produced by the former, it was released on August 16, 2018. It reached number two on both the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 and is the highest-charting single for Marshmello in both the UK and the US (eventually tying with "Come & Go" with Juice WRLD on the latter). It is also Bastille's highest-charting single as well on both charts surpassing their 2013 single "Pompeii"'s number five peak on the Hot 100 and tying at its number two peak on the UK chart. It also logged 27 weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100. The song also currently holds the record for most weeks spent at number one on the US Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with 69 weeks as of January 2020.[3] The song was ranked number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 decade-end chart of the 2010s, becoming the highest-ranking song to not top the Billboard Hot 100 weekly chart.
| "Happier" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Marshmello featuring Bastille | ||||
| Released | August 16, 2018 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label | Astralwerks | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Marshmello | |||
| Marshmello singles chronology | ||||
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| Bastille singles chronology | ||||
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| Remix covers | ||||
 Remixes EP cover | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Happier" on YouTube | ||||
The song was performed live at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards along with another Marshmello song, "Friends" (with Anne-Marie).
Background
Dan Smith, frontman of Bastille, had originally written 'Happier' for Justin Bieber but the band ultimately decided to keep it for themselves.[4] "We've been having a great time writing for other artists in and amongst making our Bastille albums and mixtapes," Smith told NME. "Last year we wrote a song called 'Happier' and everyone got really excited about it so we thought it would be good as a collaboration. We had a really interesting time getting to work on it with Marshmello who managed to find some euphoria in a pretty melancholy, direct song. It's always good to step into somebody else's world for a minute and we're excited to be a part of it."[5]
Composition
Lawsuit
In May 2019, Russian trance producer Arty filed a lawsuit against Marshmello for copyright infringement, citing that "Happier" stole song elements from Arty's remix of the song "I Lived" by OneRepublic.[7][8] According to the suit, it is possible that Marshmello had become familiar with Arty's remix, released in 2014, and had used song elements in his then-upcoming song "Happier," which did not debut until 2015.[9][10] Alongside Marshmello, other defendants in the case include Dan Smith, Steve Mac, and various music publishing companies. Arty is represented by attorney Richard Busch, who had previously represented the Marvin Gaye family in the "Blurred Lines" suit.[11][12] A federal judge rejected the case in April 2021, stating that Arty had given up ownership of the remix composition in his contract and therefore had no grounds to sue.[13] A federal appeals court later upheld the ruling in March 2022.[14]
Music video
Three music videos were released to support the single. The initially released one was a simple lyric video. This was followed by a performance video featuring Marshmello playing guitar with the bandmembers of Bastille playing their own instruments and Dan Smith singing. At the very end, Smith low fives Marshmello.[citation needed]
On September 24, 2018, Marshmello released the official music video through YouTube Premiere, starring Miranda Cosgrove as a teenager who has braces, along with Teala Dunn, Jordyn Jones and James Babson as the father.[15] The music video focuses on Cosgrove's character. The color yellow and Marshmello's logo feature throughout the video, but neither he nor anyone from Bastille appear in the video. The video was directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan and photographed by cinematographer Steve Gainer.
Synopsis
During the main character's 14th birthday party, which is shown to be a disappointment, her father gifts her a yellow bow. This bow is gifted along side a surprise Golden Retriever puppy, on which the yellow bow was presumably for. As she becomes a teenager, the dog grows along with her. The video cuts some years to high school, where she attempts to join a soccer team but is picked last and shown to be socially rejected. The video contrasts this explicit social exclusion with a shot of her playing soccer with her dog. In the next scene, while posing for a team photo, her teammates push her out from the picture. When she smiles, her teammates see her braces and make fun of her. She runs home and cries, but her dog is there to cheer her up. She tries to play with the dog as usual, but the age of the dog is starting to show and it is revealed that the dog is ill. Months pass, and although the dog is treated with medicine, the dog's illness presumably worsens. The dog is taken to the vet who has a private conversation with the girl's father, to whom he reveals the dog's illness to be terminal. The girl's father explains to his distraught daughter that the dog will need to be euthanized. She has an emotional parting exchange, and takes the dog's bow as a keepsake. 20 years later and the girl grows to have a daughter of her own. During her daughter's birthday party, her grandfather similarly gifts her a red bow, and a Golden Retriever puppy. The woman smiles at her daughter's joy and a single tear falls from her eye before she joins her daughter in embracing the new puppy.
Track listings
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Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.[20]
- Marshmello – production, songwriting
- Bastille – vocals, songwriting
- Robin Florent – mixing assistance
- Scott Desmarais – mixing assistance
- Emerson Mancini – master engineering
- Chris Galland – mix engineering
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Steve Mac – vocal production
Charts
Weekly charts |
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[132] | 6× Platinum | 420,000‡ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[133] | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Belgium (BRMA)[134] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[135] | 6× Diamond | 960,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[136] | 6× Platinum | 480,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[137] | 2× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[138] | Diamond | 333,333‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[139] | 3× Gold | 600,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[140] | 2× Platinum | 100,000‡ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[141] | 3× Platinum+Gold | 210,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[142] | 7× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[143] | 4× Platinum | 200,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[144] | 3× Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[145] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[146] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[147] | Diamond | 10,000,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Japan (RIAJ)[148] | Gold | 50,000,000† |
| Sweden (GLF)[149] | 3× Platinum | 24,000,000† |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Awards
| Year | Organization | Recipient(s) | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | International Dance Music Awards[150][151] | Happier | Best Pop/Electronic Song | Won |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Version | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | August 16, 2018 | Digital download | Original |
|
[16] |
| United States | August 21, 2018 | Contemporary hit radio |
|
[152] | |
| Various | October 19, 2018 | Digital download | Remixes EP |
|
[18] |
| November 9, 2018 | Acoustic |
|
[153] | ||
| Germany | November 23, 2018 | CD single | Original | Universal Music Group | [17] |
| Various | November 30, 2018 | Digital download | Remixes (Part 2) EP |
|
[19] |