After a radio station in San Francisco played Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” on an endless loop for three days, iHeartRadio plans to do the same with Pharrell’s hit song “Happy” for 13 days.
The streaming service told Mashable that the Oscar-nominated song from the film Despicable Me 2 will be playing non-stop on a dedicated iHeartRadio station, starting Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. It will play until March 31 at midnight.
Radio stations that play songs on repeat are a part of a growing trend. One Univision station in Albuquerque, N.M. recently looped Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” for four days in a row last month.
The goal of looping Pharrell’s “Happy,” however, is to promote the United Nation Foundation’s International Day of Happiness on March 20.
The UN’s charitable arm is encouraging social-media users to use their networks this week to remind others what matters most to them, beyond material items. The organization will promote the movement with the hashtag #happinessday across channels, where people can upload and share photos of what makes them happiest via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Content can also be submitted to 24HoursofHappiness.com.
Meanwhile, Pharrell — this year’s celebrity brand ambassador — is set to back a 24-hour YouTube event, which will highlight various videos submitted with the hashtag.
