Song · Kid Cudi
“Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi featuring MGMT and Ratatat
Released 2010 Featuring MGMT and Ratatat
“Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi featuring MGMT and Ratatat appears on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2009 and 2025. It was first released in 2010. Its best result is #33 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #339 alternative song of 2009.
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Kid Cudi made "Pursuit of Happiness" the third single from his 2009 debut album, Man on the Moon: The End of Day, with electronic rock duo Ratatat handling the production and neo-psychedelic act MGMT adding vocals. Cudi wrote it with Evan Mast and Mike Stroud, and it came out on GOOD Music and Universal Motown.
Plenty of listeners hear it as a celebration of carefree living, but the song is far bleaker than that: a story of drinking and driving, of the regret and pain that come with drug abuse, and of the escapism it feeds. In December 2022 the RIAA certified it diamond for 10 million sales in the US.
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 | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 33 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 757 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 742 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 355 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
Also listed as: Pursuit Of Happiness; Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare) [feat. MGMT & Ratatat].
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