“We Are Young,” the 2011 collaborative effort between Fun and Janelle Monáe, has hit one billion streams on Spotify. The streamer’s official social media channels posted the news on September 18 along with a thanks to the fans who made it happen.
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“[Forever] We Are Young. @OurNameIsFun and @janellemonae’s youth anthem is the newest entry in the #BillionsClub canon,” the tweet reads.
[RELATED: Meaning Behind the Song: How Pink Convinced Nate Ruess to Sing on “Just Give Me a Reason”]
“We Are Young” was dropped as the first single from the group’s second album Some Nights, which was released on September 20, 2011. The song debuted on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart in December of that year and picked up steam gradually, eventually hitting No. 1 on March 17 as reported by Billboard.
Monáe is currently on the road in support of her new album The Age of Pleasure. You can find tour dates and ticket information on her website here.
Although Fun has been on an extended hiatus since 2015, band member Jack Antonoff is seemingly everywhere — leading his own band Bleachers and collaborating/producing albums and tracks with artists such as Taylor Swift, Lorde, and most recently Maren Morris on her new track “Get the Hell Out of Here,” featured on The Bridge EP.
Fun’s leader singer Nate Ruess, meanwhile, has been recording and releasing his own music in addition to running the New York City Marathon.
In an interview with Rolling Stone published in February 2015, Ruess said, “You get a little selfish about the songs that you write, and it’s really hard to do that in a group setting, where there are two other people, and you have to think about everybody else’s feelings. I’m writing and singing these songs about myself. When you work with producers versus bandmates, that line becomes a lot less blurry.”
Shortly after “We Are Young” hit No. 1, Ruess was featured on P!nk’s hit single, “Just Give Me a Reason,” released as the third single from her third 2012 album The Truth About Love. The pair co-wrote the song with production credits by Jeff Bhasker.
Photo by Mark Davis/WireImage
