RockLists.com
Cover of Some Nights by fun.
Cover: Some Nights

Song · fun.

“We Are Young” by fun. featuring Janelle Monae

From the album Some Nights (2012) Featuring Janelle Monae

“We Are Young” by fun. featuring Janelle Monae appears on 47 radio countdowns from 30 stations between 2011 and 2025. It was first released in 2012 on the album Some Nights. Its best result is #1 on the 97X Top 97 Songs of 2012, and it was voted number one on two countdowns in total. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #10 alternative song of 2012, #2,419 alternative song of all time and #34 of the '10s.

47countdowns
30stations
#1best position
2#1 finishes
11top 10 finishes
2011–2025years charted

Watch

Fun.: We Are Young ft. Janelle Monáe [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Video from YouTube (Fueled By Ramen). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"We Are Young" arrived in September 2011 as the lead single from fun.'s second album, Some Nights, with Janelle Monáe guesting and Nate Ruess behind the words, and it's a lurching, half-time barroom anthem with a chorus the size of a stadium. Jeff Bhasker co-wrote it with the band, produced it, mixed it and played keyboards, and he piled on everything: French horns, trombones, a string section, flute and a children's choir all pushing that big hook skyward.

It started small, with a first radio spin on Tampa Bay's 97X and a buzz online, then Glee covered it and a Chevrolet Sonic ad during Super Bowl XLVI sent it everywhere. It topped the Hot 100 for six straight weeks and set a digital sales record, the first number one for both fun. and Monáe. It later went Diamond and won the Grammy for Song of the Year.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2011 91 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2011 101
2011 10 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2011 111
2011 96 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 of 2011 97
2011 3 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2011 88
2011 25 89.9 WLCA St. Louis, MO WLCA Top 89 of 2011 89
2011 13 ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2011 51
2011 51 WBRU Providence, RI WBRU Top 95.5 Songs of 2011 96
2012 1 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 50 Songs of 2012 50
2012 4 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON 102.1 The Edge Top 50 New Rock Songs of 2012 50
2012 5 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2012 99
2012 5 X96 Salt Lake City, UT X96 Top 50 Songs of 2012 50
2012 12 The Current Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN The Current Top 89 Songs of 2012 89
2012 4 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2012 131
2012 1 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 Songs of 2012 97
2012 29 KFOG San Francisco Bay Area, CA KFOG Foghead Favorites 2012 40
2012 40 WTMD Baltimore, MD WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2012 89
2012 25 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2012 103
2012 5 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2012 88
2012 47 92.3 WTTS Indianapolis-Bloomington, IN WTTS Top 50 Songs of 2012 50
2012 5 Lightning 100 Nashville, TN Lightning 100 Top 100.1 Songs of 2012 101
2012 14 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2012 107
2012 22 WXPN Philadelphia, PA WXPN Year in Review: Top 200 Songs of 2012 200
2012 4 ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2012 51
2013 57 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2013 91
2013 24 94.5 The Buzz Houston, TX 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2013 94

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2013 1414 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 129 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2014 903 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 316 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 330 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2018 513 WTMD WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 896
2019 17 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103.3 Songs of the Decade 103
2019 78 102.7 WEQX WEQX Top 102.7 of the 2010's Decade 103
2019 82 ALT 98.7 ALT 98.7 Top 98 ALT Songs of the Decade 98
2019 434 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 12 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 of the 2010s 102
2020 72 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of the Decade 99
2020 27 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the Last Decade 100
2020 128 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 86 107.7 The End The End Obligatory Top 100 Alternative Songs of All Time (2021) 100
2022 478 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 173 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 422 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 944 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 613 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 242 The Current 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now 893
2025 328 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714

Also listed as: We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monae); We are Young; We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe); we are young; We Are Young feat. Janelle Monae.

Charting alongside it in 2012

Best songs of 2012 →
  1. 1I Will WaitMumford & Sons
  2. 2Little TalksOf Monsters And Men
  3. 3Ho HeyLumineers
  4. 4MadnessMuse
  5. 5Somebody That I Used To KnowGotye
  6. 6Gold On The CeilingThe Black Keys

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "We Are Young" by fun..

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.