We Are the People (Empire of the Sun song)

"We Are the People" is a song by Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun, released as the second single from their debut studio album, Walking on a Dream (2008). It was released in Australia on 20 September 2008[1] and debuted at number eighty-five on the ARIA Singles Chart before peaking at number twenty-four on 12 January 2009. It became a number-one hit in Germany in December 2010.

"We Are the People"
Single by Empire of the Sun
from the album Walking on a Dream
Released	20 September 2008
Studio	Soundworks Music and Linear Recording, Sydney
Genre	Electronic rock dance-rock electropop
Length	4:27 (album version) 4:02 (radio edit)
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Luke Steele Nick Littlemore Jonathan Sloan
Producer(s)	Empire of the Sun Donnie Sloan Peter Mayes
Empire of the Sun singles chronology
"Walking on a Dream" (2008) "We Are the People" (2008) "Standing on the Shore" (2009)
Alternative cover
Australian iTunes single cover
Audio sample
"We Are the People" file help

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Josh Logue, was shot in Mexico, and was inspired by the ancient Mexican festival Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos). Locations included the surreal gardens of Sir Edward James at Las Pozas of Xilitla in the state of San Luis Potosí, Monterrey, Nuevo León and García, Nuevo León.[2]

Usage in media

The song has been used in media productions such as advertisements for the Special Broadcasting Service, Vizio televisions, and Idents for Channel V. Since October 2010, the song has been used in the Vodafone TV commercial in Germany.[3] The song was also used in the 2011 film The Roommate and in the 2011 film Hall Pass, when Rick (Owen Wilson), Fred (Jason Sudeikis) and Coakley (Richard Jenkins) run into Rick's children's babysitter. In Season Six Episode 11 of Entourage, the song plays in the background of Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Turtle’s conversation.

Track listings

Australian CD

1. "We Are the People" – 4:34
2. "We Are the People (Shazam remix)" – 5:44
3. "We Are the People (Sam La More remix)" – 7:32
4. "Walking on a Dream (Neon Neon mix)" – 3:50
5. "Walking on a Dream (Danger racing remix)" – 4:37

UK iTunes EP 1

1. "We Are the People" – 4:32
2. "We Are the People (Burns remix)" – 6:52
3. "We Are the People (The Golden Filter remix – UK edit)" – 6:57
4. "We Are the People (We Are the Cagedbaby mix – UK edit)" – 6:56
5. "We Are the People (Crazy P remix – UK edit)" – 6:49

UK iTunes EP 2

1. "We Are the People" – 4:32
2. "We Are the People (Wawa remix) [UK edit]" – 6:55
3. "We Are the People (The Shapeshifters vocal remix) [UK edit]" – 6:47
4. "We Are the People (Sam La More remix) [UK edit]" – 6:47
5. "We Are the People (Shazam remix)" – 5:44
6. "We Are the People (Style of Eye remix) [UK edit]" – 6:58

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009–12) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[4] 24 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 20 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 16 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[8] 57 Denmark (Tracklisten)[9] 33 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[10] 15 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 20 Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 23 Israel (Media Forest)[14] 5 Italy (FIMI)[15] 19 Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)[16] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[17] 12 Scotland (OCC)[18] 49 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[19] 51 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 40 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 20 UK Singles (OCC)[22] 14

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position Australia (ARIA)[23] 98 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[24] 78 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[25] 80 Italy (FIMI)[26] 90 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 99 UK Singles (OCC)[28] 119 Chart (2010) Position Germany (Official German Charts)[29] 16 Chart (2011) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 23 Germany (Official German Charts)[31] 33

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[32]	2× Platinum	140,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[33]	Gold	15,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[34]	3× Gold	450,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[35]	Gold	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]	Gold	400,000
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Format
Australia	20 September 2008[1]	Capitol EMI	Digital single
	20 February 2009[37]		Digital EP
	21 February 2009[38]		CD single
	1 May 2009[39]		Digital remix EP
Germany	8 May 2009[40]	EMI	Digital EP
United Kingdom	24 May 2009[41]	Virgin
	31 May 2009[42]
	1 June 2009		7" single
Germany	26 November 2010[43]	EMI	CD single

References

1. "We Are the People – Single by Empire of the Sun". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
2. "Empire of the Sun's We Are the People shot in Mexico". The Daily Telegraph. News Limited. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
3. ""We are the people" als Song für die neue Vodafone-Kampagne" (in German). EMI Music Germany. 28 October 2010. Archived from the original on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
4. "Australian-charts.com – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
5. "Austriancharts.at – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. "Ultratop.be – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
7. "Ultratop.be – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People" (in French). Ultratop 50.
8. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201232 into search.
9. "Danishcharts.com – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". Tracklisten.
10. "Empire of the Sun Album & Song Chart History – European Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
11. "Empire of the Sun: We Are the People" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – We Are the People". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
14. "Empire of the Sun – We Are the People Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
15. "Italiancharts.com – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". Top Digital Download.
16. "Luxembourg Digital Songs". Billboard. 11 December 2010.
17. "Norwegiancharts.com – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". VG-lista.
18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
19. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200933 into search.
20. "Swedishcharts.com – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". Singles Top 100.
21. "Swisscharts.com – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". Swiss Singles Chart.
22. "Empire of the Sun: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
23. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2009". ARIA. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
24. "Jaaroverzichten 2009". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
25. "Rapports Annuels 2009". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
26. "Classifiche annuali dei cd, dvd, compilation più venduti e digital download più scaricati online nel 2009" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. 19 January 2010. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
27. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2009". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
28. "UK Year-End Charts 2009" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
29. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 2010" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
30. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2011". austriancharts.at (in German). Retrieved 16 April 2019.
31. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 2011" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
32. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
33. "Austrian single certifications – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People" (in German). IFPI Austria. 22 February 2011.
34. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Empire of the Sun; 'We Are the People')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
35. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Empire of the Sun; 'We Are the People')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
36. "British single certifications – Empire of the Sun – We Are the People". British Phonographic Industry. 26 April 2019.
37. "We Are the People – EP by Empire of the Sun". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
38. "WE ARE THE PEOPLE – Empire Of the Sun". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
39. "We Are the People (Remixes) by Empire of the Sun". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
40. "We Are the People von Empire of the Sun". iTunes Store Germany (in German). Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
41. "We Are the People by Empire of the Sun (#1)". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
42. "We Are the People by Empire of the Sun (#2)". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
43. "EMPIRE OF THE SUN // We Are The People" (in German). EMI Music Germany. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2010.