Michael Jackson: Pharrell Opens Up On Meeting The King of Pop

From Brazilian models to being humbled by Michael Jackson, Pharrell Williams recently opened up about the King of Pop and his first few encounters with him.

Contact Music reports that Williams, 42, clearly remembers the first time he ever met Jackson, and although The Voice host knew exactly who Jackson was, Jackson didn’t seem to have a clue about Williams.

“He goes, ‘So have you ever been in a studio before?’ I’m like, ‘What? You called me.’ But I couldn’t say that to him. It’s Michael Jackson.”

Williams also remembers another encounter that included Jackson’s great choice in women. Williams indicated that wasn’t sure what to expect next from Jackson, referring to the “Thriller” singer as “the king of catching you off-guard.”

“We get into the trailer. It’s a two-story trailer. The trailer has stairs, OK? The assistant comes in, like, ‘You guys can have a seat.’ So we sit down. He comes in, he’s tall, he’s standing there, two beautiful women walk in. He kisses one, like, full on, for a moment. It ain’t like no peck. It’s like a real situation. They looked Brazilian.”

Another fond memory that Williams has of Jackson were his mannerisms. Williams recalls that while working in the studio with Justin Timberlake, Jackson called to check in, but Williams thought a friend was pranking him until he heard someone chewing popcorn over the phone.

“I heard someone eating popcorn in my ear and that’s how I knew it was him. He was just the king. He’s like, ‘Hey, OK, you working with Justin? Ah, that’s really nice. That’s great. OK cool. Alright, cool, well, you guys have a great session, tell Justin I said, ‘Hello.’ Hangs up.”

Timberlake reportedly laughed it off and informed Williams that’s just the way Jackson was.

Williams wrote numerous songs for Jackson, which ended up going to Timberlake. The songwriter explains that the call came after Jackson realized that the songs he turned down were now going to Timberlake, and he simply wanted to give them his blessings.

“The [first] meeting was supposed to be for us to meet to talk about music, and the songs that he turned down, I don’t think he realised that I was going to give those songs to Justin.”

To hear more details about Williams’ encounters with Michael Jackson, tune into Apple Music’s Beats 1 show OTHERtone airing this Sunday at 12 p.m. PST.

[Photos Courtesy of Richard Bord/Getty Images, Jason Merritt/Getty Images, & Tim Whitby/Stringer]