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Number One (Pharrell Williams song)

song by Pharrell

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ3879352 ↗
Source-derived summary

"Number One" is a song by American musician Pharrell Williams featuring American rapper Kanye West, released by Star Trak Entertainment and Virgin Records on August 21, 2006 as the third single from Williams' debut studio album, In My Mind (2006). A synth-heavy love song, it was written by both performers. Production was handled by Williams, while West acts as the song's hype man and performs the third verse.

"Number One" became the second song from In My Mind to enter the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 57. The song was praised by critics, in contrast from its parent album.

Music video

The music video was directed by Hype Williams, and features models Selita Ebanks, Miranda Kerr, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. There are two versions: one is a color version which features many bright colors and the other is in black and white.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Number One (Pharrell Williams song)” as song by Pharrell. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2006—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2006-08-21. The account is most persuasive where Number, Pharrell and Williams can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song by Pharrell. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3879352. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2006.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Number One (Pharrell Williams song)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Number One (Pharrell Williams song) primary sources, Number One (Pharrell Williams song) archive and Number research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Number One (Pharrell Williams song)”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Number One (Pharrell Williams song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.