The Rise and Hiatus of Fun. : the Complete 'We Are Young' Journey
Modern radio gatekeepers did not immediately know what to do with the song. It was too bombastic for alternative stations and too organic for synth-heavy pop rotations. Television stepped into the breach.
In December 2011, the musical comedy series Glee covered "We Are Young" in its third-season episode "Hold On to Sixteen." The cover debuted at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, selling 355,000 digital copies in its first week. Suddenly, millions of listeners were hunting for the original version by Fun.
Chevrolet provided the decisive push two months later. The automaker placed the original recording in an elaborate Super Bowl XLVI commercial featuring stunt driver Rob Dyrdek kick-flipping a Sonic. Over 111 million television viewers heard the song during the broadcast. Within hours, digital downloads surged to historic heights. It became the first track to sell more than 300,000 digital copies per week for seven consecutive weeks, bypassing traditional terrestrial radio play to capture mass appeal through pure synchronicity.
