Pharrell Williams was 'genuinely shocked by Grammy night'

NEW YORK, May 9 (UPI) -- Pharrell Williams opened up about the four Grammy awards he won in January -- out of seven nominations -- during an interview with W magazine.

"I was genuinely shocked by Grammy night," Williams, 41, told W:Art. "I had been happy running this career marathon. I didn't expect any medals."

"I was particularly amazed when I went backstage after winning the first Grammy and one of my managers told me that my hat now had its own Twitter account," he continued. "During the show, a fan started tweeting as my hat."

Williams' road to superstardom has been in the making for years. He began his career in the music industry as a producer in 1992. After working with A-listers like Justin Timberlake and Jay Z, and then failing miserably with his own studio album in 2006, he decided to accept his "role as the camouflage."

"I was the guy next to the guy, rather than the guy himself. All my formative years, I spent standing next to Jay [Z] or Justin [Timberlake] or all those kings. I've always learned from the masters, whether it's in music or art or fashion," he explained. "But in 2013, it was different: Suddenly, it was not about being the cameo anymore."

Now, the Oscar-nominated singer is ready to take on the spotlight. Williams latest solo album G I R L debuted a No. 2 in March, and he will be joining reality singing competition The Voice as a coach.

"One thing I've learned is that this life is a movie and I am a co-creator," he said. "It's a big movie, and there's a lot of creativity going on. As long as I play my part, it won't be over for quite a while."

You can read Williams' full interview with W here.