Please enjoy Pharrell's very cringeworthy song to celebrate China's biggest shopping day

As they say, everyone has a price.
 By 
Yvette Tan
 on 
Please enjoy Pharrell's very cringeworthy song to celebrate China's biggest shopping day
Mandatory Credit: Photo by David Buchan/DDH/REX/Shutterstock (7059547m) Pharrell Williams The Contenders 2016: Presented by Deadline, Los Angeles, USA - 05 Nov 2016 Credit: David Buchan/DDH/REX/Shutterstock

As they say, everyone has a price.

Pharrell co-wrote and performed a new song in China to celebrate Singles' Day -- the world's biggest shopping holiday.

This year, Chinese shoppers spent $25 billion on Alibaba's Taobao site in just 24 hours, blowing events like Black Friday completely out of the water.

Pharrell and his co-performer, Chinese-Canadian singer Kris Wu, were onstage for Alibaba's huge extravaganza celebrating the shopping day.

There's no way any description could do this song justice, so you'll have to just listen for yourself:

If your ears couldn't make it through that cringefest, we'll sum it up for you.

The song, titled "Double Eleven Day" is a reference to the date that Singles' Day is celebrated on Nov. 11.

The duo appear to be singing a song encouraging Chinese consumers to stay up and buy goods. Here's a choice line: "You know the world's watching wishing they could participate, there's gonna be a lot of people in the world staying up late, Double Eleven day. Hey China!"

Pharrell and Wu also take turns to sporadically shout out "Zhongguo!", which means "China."

They also repeat phrases like "shiyi, shiyi", which means "11, 11" in Chinese.

"The song should be illegal."

People on Facebook were pretty horrified by the duet.

"This is the worst thing either of them have ever been involved with," said one user on Facebook in response to the video.

"The song should be illegal," another added.

However, people on Chinese social media website Weibo weren't nearly as harsh.

"The melody's nice. Listening to it puts me in a good mood and [like I want] to spend money," said one user.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"Such a nice duet! A commercial song done well," another added.

Like Amazon in the U.S., Alibaba Taobao is undisputably the king of ecommerce in China, and therefore the biggest winner over Singles' Day, which it was hyping up for months.

Pharrell wasn't the only big name on stage for Alibaba's celebration. Other Western celebs like Nicole Kidman, Maria Sharapova, and Jessie J were up on stage for the gala, too.

Also, shoutout to Jessie J who very unironically sang Price Tag in celebration of the biggest spending event in the world.

It's all about the money, money, money.

Topics Music

Mashable Image
Yvette Tan

Yvette is a Viral Content Reporter at Mashable Asia. She was previously reporting for BBC's Singapore bureau and Channel NewsAsia.

Mashable Potato

Recommended For You



Best Buy has launched a huge Apple Shopping Event: Shop new MacBooks, iPads, and more all weekend
Apple devices on blue background

How to use Apple Pay on Amazon when shopping the Big Spring Sale
person using Apple Pay contactless payment to pay

Trending on Mashable
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 3, 2026
Connections game on a smartphone

Wordle today: Answer, hints for April 3, 2026
Wordle game on a smartphone

Google launches Gemma 4, a new open-source model: How to try it
Google Gemma

NYT Strands hints, answers for April 3, 2026
A game being played on a smartphone.

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!