We Are Young

"We Are Young"
Single by Fun featuring Janelle Monáe
from the album Some Nights
B-side	"One Foot"
Released	September 20, 2011
Recorded	2011
Genre	Arena rock indie rock indie pop
Length	4:10 (album version) 3:53 (radio edit)
Label	Fueled by Ramen Nettwerk Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Jack Antonoff Jeff Bhasker Andrew Dost Nathaniel Ruess
Producer(s)	Jeff Bhasker
Fun singles chronology
"C'mon" (2011) "We Are Young" (2011) "Some Nights" (2012)
Janelle Monáe singles chronology
"Cold War" (2010) "We Are Young" (2011) "Q.U.E.E.N." (2013)
Music video
"We Are Young" on YouTube

"We Are Young" is a song recorded by American pop rock band Fun, featuring American singer Janelle Monáe. It is the third track on the group's second studio album, Some Nights (2012). The song was released on September 20, 2011, as the lead single from the album. The song quickly received widespread acclaim from music critics, with many noting the song as a breakthrough for the indie genre and praising the song's catchiness. "We Are Young" attained commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in several countries.

Initially, the track only gained online media attention, in addition to its first commercial radio airplay on Tampa Bay alt radio station 97X, debuting on September 19, 2011. After this, it was soon covered by the television show Glee. With the Glee version having success on the charts, the song was licensed for use in a Chevrolet Sonic commercial that aired during Super Bowl XLVI. This song alone propelled the band into mainstream success, topping the digital charts in February 2012 and becoming a crossover hit. Peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 through airplay on contemporary hit radio stations, the song topped the charts for six weeks straight. It is also the first song to log seven weeks of 300,000 or more in digital sales, surpassing a record previously held by Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie" (2010).

"We Are Young" has been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and is both Fun and Monáe's first charting single on the Hot 100, as well as their first number-one single. The song has also been used in the American Dad! episode "Faking Bad". The song also topped the Hot 100 Airplay chart with 120 million impressions in seven weeks, becoming the first group since Destiny's Child's "Survivor" (2001) to do so. The song was named 99th on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of All-time.^[1]

An accompanying music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld at David Sukonick Concert Hall in Los Angeles. It features the group performing on a stage at a bar where a riot breaks out. As part of the promotion for the song, it was performed at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the American late night television show Conan, and was used as the opening song at the 2012 MTV Movie Awards. The song is featured in the music video game Rock Band Blitz. The song won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year at the 55th Grammy Awards, where it was also nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.^[2]