"Cool Kids" is the debut single song by American

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band

Echosmith Echosmith is an American indie pop band formed in February 2009 in Chino, California. Originally formed as a quartet of siblings, the band currently consists of Sydney, Noah and Graham Sierota, following the departure of eldest sibling Jamie i ...

from their 2013 debut studio album, '' Talking Dreams''. The song was written by Echosmith, Jeffery David, and Jesiah Dzwonek. It was produced by

Mike Elizondo Mike Elizondo (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protege of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder, Skylar Grey, Twenty ...

, with additional production on the radio edit by

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

. "Cool Kids" was originally released on May 31, 2013, as the

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Single of the Week and officially impacted United States radio the following year. The song subsequently became a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...

, peaking at number 13 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 and receiving airplay on US

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, and contemporary hit radio stations.

Background

The song describes a boy and a girl who both desire to be noticed. In an interview, guitarist Jamie Sierota discussed the song's background, saying: "This cry to be like the cool kids… it's something that everyone kind of goes through whether you want to act like it or not... There's always somebody out there that you kind of wish, 'If only I could do this, or do that.' I think that's why it connects with people so well."

Composition

"Cool Kids" is written in the key of

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, and follows a chord progression of Fm–D♭–A♭–E♭ (i–VI–III–VII). The tempo of the song is 129 beats per minute.

Music video

The song's official music video was filmed in

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and directed by

Gus Black Anthony Penaloza, better known by his stage name Gus Black, (formerly known as Gus) is an American director, singer-songwriter, and producer from Los Angeles. He signed to Almo Sounds and released two albums on the label, 1996's ''Gus'' and ...

. It was released on June 21, 2013, on Echosmith's official

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channel. After the original video passed one million views, Echosmith released an acoustic version of the song. The band also released a new music video for "Cool Kids" on September 11, 2014, directed by Mark Pellington.

Commercial performance

"Cool Kids" debuted at number 87 on the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 for the issue dated July 26, 2014 and peaked at number 13. The song also reached the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40 and

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

charts, peaking at numbers 9 and 5 respectively. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 4, 2014, and passed the one million sales mark later on in the same month. As of December 2014, it has sold over 1.1 million copies in the United States. "Cool Kids" also peaked at number 6 on the Australian singles chart and was certified double platinum in the country.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 debut singles 2013 songs Warner Records singles Echosmith songs Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs written by Jamie Sierota