Peak
1
Weeks
42
Score
9,420
Chart Year
2012
The music video, directed by Marc Klasfeld, was filmed at David Sukonick Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The video showcases a bar fight in slow motion with the band performing on a stage in the bar. Some other portions of the video were shot in real time. The video opens with a girl (played by Rachel Antonoff, sister of the band's guitarist Jack Antonoff and ex-girlfriend of lead singer Nate Ruess)[35] messaging another person on a HTC Titan. On the screen was a text message reading "NOW!" implying that the message was possibly a signal to begin a flash mob[citation needed]. The girl then throws the smartphone into the middle of the bar, where it hovers in mid-air. As the first chorus begins, the girl gets a wine bottle smashed over her head as the patrons degenerate into a bar fight. Different types of food are thrown and smashed at various points in the video, most notably grapes. Large amounts of flour and confetti are sprayed across the stage from the left and right. People run, fall, and fly across the bar. Streamers and a disco ball also fall from the ceiling. During the second chorus, various glassware is thrown around and, as a result, shatters. A couple kiss with food spread all over their faces, and Janelle Monáe walks into the center of the bar and sings the first half of her bridge in real time and the second in slow motion. Monáe's role in the video was described as being the eye of the storm. It is also implied that Fun's performance mirrors the intensity of the bar's atmosphere, as their performance becomes more intense and energetic as the video progresses. The video concludes with Fun ending their performance as the girl from the beginning of the video walks out of the bar smiling.[36][37] As of August 2022, the video has received 1 billion views on YouTube.
New York-based Indie Pop band Fun was formed by frontman Nate Ruess in 2008 after the break-up of his previous group The Format. He was joined by multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost of Anathallo and guitarist Jack Antonoff of Steel Train. The three seasoned musicians immediately wrote and recorded their debut album, Aim and Ignite, which was released on the Nettwek label on August 25, 2009. Fun subsequently supported various bands like Paramore, Panic! At the Disco and Jack's Mannequin and secured a spot in an Expedia commercial with their song "Walking The Dog." It's not always easy to be young, but it can be a lot of fun. This song captures the moments of youthful exuberance that come with a memorable night out - the kind of night you tell stories about for many years to come. Lead singer Nate Ruess says the lyrics were inspired by one specific night, after "my worst drinking night of all time." Ruess told Rolling Stone that he was kicked out of a taxi cab for puking all over it. "The cabbie was demanding all this money, and all I could do was stand on the corner with my head against the wall. It took me another day before I was a functioning adult and could actually write down the verses," he said. This is the lead single from their second album, Some Nights. The song features American Alternative Soul singer-songwriter Janelle Monáe, whose "Tightrope" was voted Track of the Year by UK magazine Mojo in 2010. Monáe recorded her vocals in Europe then sent them over to the band, who later in the year supported the singer on her Campus Consciousness Tour. The song had a surge in sales following its soundtracking of Chevy Sonic's 2012 Super Bowl commercial. The Some Nights album is a mixture of indie pop, theatric rock, and hip-hop, all sounds that can be heard on this tune. Guitarist Jack Antonoff told MTV News: "That song, to us, is like bull's-eye center of what we wanted to do with this album. It's a brilliant song to have out as a single, because it's saying all the things to people that we want to say. It's showing how, artistically, [the album is] different, it's showing all the influences brought by Jeff Bhasker, who produced the album, and all he brings from his hop-hop world, working with people like Kanye and Jay-Z. And it shows where we've moved with songwriting. And one of our favorite things about 'We Are Young' is that, if it's the center of the album, every song is sprouting out of it in different directions," he continued. "And if you like the song, then I think the album's just going to be a rollercoaster ride, because it just flies in every direction in and out of that song." Report this ad When the song climbed to #1 on the US singles chart, Fun became the first rock band to lead the Hot 100 with its first entry on the chart since Nickelback reached the summit with "How You Remind Me" in December 2001. They were also the first rock group to top the tally since Coldplay did so on the June 28, 2008 chart with "Viva La Vida." This was the first Hot 100 #1 for Warner Music subsidiary Fueled By Ramen, sixteen years after it was founded by John Janick and Less Than Jake drummer/lyricist Vinnie Fiorello. The label's previous best chart placing had been the #2 position of Fall Out Boy's "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race in 2007. We were surprised to learn that this was the first Hot 100 #1 with the word "young" in its title. The closest any "young"-ster came was when Gary Puckett and the Union Gap's "Young Girl" reached #2 in 1968. In 1957, when Billboard had the "Top 100" chart, a song called "Young Love" was a #1 hit for both Tab Hunter and Sonny James. Stylistically, this song fuses elements of Pop, Rock, and Alternative. It appeals to fans of Elton John, Queen, and Ben Folds Five because it mixes familiar catchy Pop hooks with grandiose choruses while still maintaining a deeper meaning within the song. It starts with a 9 second drum intro then jumps into a positive pop jingle with the lyrics "Give me a second, I need to get my story straight." The song is driven by drums and piano until the 50 second mark when it switches styles and turns into an anthemic arena-rock song. The listener is rewarded with two strong payoffs in the song: the sing-along-style chorus and the breakdown where the singer shouts "Carry me home tonight!" Singer Janelle Monae's contribution in the bridge also adds increased depth to the song from both a vocal and lyrical perspective. The combination of "artsy" verses, tight production, and straightforward, infectious choruses quickly engages the casual music fan and makes "We Are Young" a hit that stays with you long after you hear it. The song was the first ever to log seven weeks of 300,000 or more in digital sales. The only previous title to rack over four weeks of sales of 300,000-plus was Eminem's "Love The Way You Lie," which did so for five weeks non-consecutively in July/August 2010. The song featured on the TV show Glee during its December 6, 2011 episode "Hold On to Sixteen." It was performed after the end of Sectionals in the auditorium of McKinley High. The version by the Glee Cast debuted at #12 on the Hot 100 on the following week, spurring Fun's original to enter the same chart at #53. This was the most listened to song on Facebook in 2012. Runner-up was Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know." Explaining how she ended up collaborating on the song, Janelle Monae told Billboard magazine that Fun "were big fans" of her Archandroid album and other work. She added: "When they sent me the song, I listened to it and immediately reacted. I don't do a lot of collaborations that I don't believe in. Actually, I don't do any collaborations that I don't believe in. When we heard the song at Wonderland, we were like, 'yeah, this is a big idea; it's gonna touch people in a way that they haven't been touched before.'" This won Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards. As Nate Ruess took the stage to accept the award, he joked about the band's many years on the road before they achieved success. "This (broadcast) is in HD, you can see our faces, and we are not young," he said, pointing to his bandmates. Fun also won Best New Artist at the same ceremony. Rihanna was the first choice for the female vocals. "Someone tried to reach out and I know she heard the song and liked it," Bhasker revealed to MTV News. "But I think some wires just got crossed." According to Bhasker, his beat for the song was "an inch" away from being on Kanye West and Jay-Z's Watch the Throne album. The producer had offered 'Ye the beat before he began working with Fun. "They were going to rap over the beat, but everything gets changed at the last minute," explained Bhasker to MTV News. "I was working with them on Watch the Throne when I met Nate [Ruess] and I said, 'maybe you guys want to mess with this' and [Ruess] really liked it a lot. In the end, it didn't quite fit on [Throne] because it's a big pop song on an album they wanted to have a undergroundness and counter culture sensibility." For the music video, director Marc Klasfeld staged a slow-motion bar fight instigated at the beginning of the clip by guitarist Jack Antonoff's sister, Rachel Antonoff. The band remained relatively unscathed at the end of the 17-hour shoot, but the extras were covered with an amalgamation of food and confetti, not to mention cuts and bruises. It was filmed at the David Sukonick Concert Hall in Los Angeles. This was used in these TV shows: The Office ("Customer Loyalty" - 2013) 90210 ("Forever Hold Your Peace" - 2012) Gossip Girl ("The Return Of The Ring" - 2012) Grey's Anatomy ("Support System" - 2012) Chuck ("Chuck Versus The Baby" - 2011)
Give me a second I I need to get my story straight My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State My lover she's waiting for me just across the bar My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking 'bout a scar, and I know I gave it to you months ago I know you're trying to forget But between the drinks and subtle things The holes in my apologies, you know I'm trying hard to take it back So if by the time the bar closes And you feel like falling down I'll carry you home Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun Now I know that I'm not All that you got I guess that I, I just thought Maybe we could find new ways to fall apart But our friends are back So let's raise a cup 'Cause I found someone to carry me home Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun Carry me home tonight (na na na na na na) Just carry me home tonight (na na na na na na) Carry me home tonight (na na na na na na) Just carry me home tonight (na na na na na na) The moon is on my side (na na na na na na) I have no reason to run (na na na na na na) So will someone come and carry me home tonight (na na na na na na) The angels never arrived (na na na na na na) But I can hear the choir (na na na na na na) So will someone come and carry me home (na na na na na na) Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun Tonight We are young So let's set the world on fire We can burn brighter than the sun So if by the time the bar closes And you feel like falling down I'll carry you home tonight
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 24, 2011 | 53 | 73 |
| 2 | Dec 31, 2011 | 78 | 48 |
| 5 | Jan 21, 2012 | 88 | 38 |
| 6 | Jan 28, 2012 | 86 | 40 |
| 7 | Feb 4, 2012 | 89 | 37 |
| 8 | Feb 11, 2012 | 63 | 63 |
| 9 | Feb 18, 2012 | 41 | 85 |
| 10 | Feb 25, 2012 | 3 | 123 |
| 11 | Mar 3, 2012 | 6 | 120 |
| 12 | Mar 10, 2012 | 3 | 123 |
| 13 | Mar 17, 2012 | 1 | 125 |
| 14 | Mar 24, 2012 | 1 | 125 |
| 15 | Mar 31, 2012 | 1 | 125 |
| 16 | Apr 7, 2012 | 1 | 125 |
| 17 | Apr 14, 2012 | 1 | 125 |
| 18 | Apr 21, 2012 | 1 | 125 |
| 19 | Apr 28, 2012 | 2 | 124 |
| 20 | May 5, 2012 | 2 | 124 |
| 21 | May 12, 2012 | 2 | 124 |
| 22 | May 19, 2012 | 2 | 124 |