"Kick Ass (We Are Young)" is a song by English singer Mika and Moroccan-Swedish record producer RedOne released as a single from the soundtrack to the film Kick-Ass. It was released on 2 May 2010.

Background

At the European premiere of Kick-Ass in London, Mika said: I have never written a song for a movie, I've had songs in movies which is always weird, you know? When you see faces you've grown up with kind of walking down the street to one of your songs. Feels like they've stolen it! But this one, [the producers of Kick-Ass] called me in, they made me watch the movie and then gave me three days to write the song. So, I was slightly terrified...It's written completely for the film. I loved the film. It panders to all my weird obsessions and perversions. It's demented! It's wrong in every way, that's why it's so right.

Reception

Robert Copsey from Digital Spy gave the song four stars out of five saying the song's verses "have all the usual Mika ingredients – a handful of quirky lyrics, a dash of piano and a sprinkling of his trademark wail – and it's only when the chorus kicks in that we hear the RedOne effect." He also praised the collaboration saying it "actually works remarkably well, creating a pop stomper that's empowering, oh-so-contemporary and packed with personality". Contemporary music website Popjustice also gave the song a positive review, after what was seemingly going to be a negative one, they ended it with "Guess what – 'Kick-Ass' is also AMAZING". However, the song has also been met with some criticism, with people pointing out that the chorus is very similar, lyrically, to that of "Young" by Hollywood Undead.

Music video

The video for the single shows Mika as a helpless individual left in an alleyway after being mugged. He begins to sing and as he does, the words of empowerment in the lyrics and his finding of an issue of the "Kick-Ass" comic inspire him to run for the rooftops and wail the chorus to the sky, now dressed in a slightly more superhero version of his "original persona" outfit. As is the norm with most soundtrack singles, the video features intercut scenes from the film. It was shot at Black Island Studios, London.

Track listing

Chart performance

The song received very little airplay in the UK, resulting in a low peak position, but in Ireland, where it received a substantial amount of airplay, it charted at number seven. In Italy, it peaked at number five and it was certified platinum by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana, for digital sales exceeding 30,000 units.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts