On April 27 , 2011 the song was performed at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival before the song was met with mainstream success . On February 22 , 2012 Fun performed " We Are Young " on Conan backed with a choir . On April 23 , 2012 the song was performed on the iHeartRadio music festival among six of the band 's songs including " Some Nights " . The performance was critically successful and even garnered positive feedback from Bon Jovi . On June 3 , 2012 , the song was performed to open the 2012 MTV Movie Awards . The performance began with the band pounding away in a tiny red-lit cube , dressed in white tuxedos , with frontman Nate Ruess bounding back and forth in the enclosed space . Eventually , as the song grew into the chorus , Ruess stepped out of the cube , and at that widescreen moment , Janelle Monáe herself appeared on the stage , Monáe met Ruess in the middle of the stage , and the two traded verses and embraced . Then , Ruess bounded back to his bandmates and brought the song home . On June 29 , 2012 , Fun performed " We Are Young " on British talk-show '' The Graham Norton Show '' and November 11 , 2012 on 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards in Frankfurt , Germany . The last performance of " We Are Young " was on December 5 , 2012 for " The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live ! – Countdown to Music 's Biggest Night " in Nashville , Tennessee where they were nominated for 6 awards : Album Of The Year ( lost ) Record Of The Year ( lost ) Best New Artist ( won ) Best Pop Vocal Album ( lost ) Best Pop Duo/Group Performance ( lost ) and Song Of The Year ( won ) beating " Call Me Maybe " by Carly Rae Jepsen
2012 MTV Europe Music Awards
2012 MTV Europe Music Awards
We Are Young