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| album = [[Knee Deep in the Hoopla]]
| B-side = "Private Room" (Instrumental)
| released = August
| recorded = 1984−1985
| genre =
* [[Dance-rock]]
* [[synth-rock]]<ref name= "Breihan 2020">{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Starship's "We Built This City|website= [[Stereogum]] |date= November 9, 2020 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2105047/the-number-ones-starships-we-built-this-city/columns/the-number-ones/|accessdate= August 6, 2023|quote= ...they turned “We Built This City” into a big, blaring synth-rock song with an ultra-bouncy beat...}}</ref>
| length = 4:53 (album version)<br> 4:49 (single version)
| label = [[Grunt Records|Grunt]]
| writer = {{hlist|[[Bernie Taupin]]
| producer =
*[[Peter Wolf (producer)|Peter Wolf]] *Jeremy Smith | next_title = [[Sara (Starship song)|Sara]]
| next_year = 1985
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{{External music video|{{YouTube|K1b8AhIsSYQ|"We Built This City"}}}}
}}
"'''We Built This City'''" is
The song peaked at
The song has gained significant scorn, both for the inscrutability of its lyrics (notably the line "[[Guglielmo Marconi|Marconi]] plays the [[mamba (band)|mamba]]"), and for the contrast between the song's anti-corporate message and its polished, "[[corporate rock]]" sound. It topped a 2011 ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' poll of worst songs of the 1980s by a wide margin, and the magazines ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]'' and ''[[GQ]]'' both called it the worst song of all time.
==Content==
Song
Though the song was originally written about Los Angeles, the Starship rendition references [[San Francisco]] (the hometown of both Starship and its predecessors, [[Jefferson Airplane]] and [[Jefferson Starship]]) with a spoken-word interlude in which a [[radio
The album's title, ''Knee Deep in the Hoopla'', is taken from a lyric in the first verse of this song.<ref name="odd">{{cite web|url=http://oddculture.com/weird-stuff/we-built-this-city-on-rock-and-roll/|title=We Built This City On Rock and Roll|publisher=Oddculture.com|access-date=August 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507052459/http://oddculture.com/weird-stuff/we-built-this-city-on-rock-and-roll/|archive-date=May 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
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==Reception==
{{Undue weight section|date=September 2021}}
''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' said that this "unusual rock 'n' roll anthem is as wise as it is rebellious
"We Built This City" received a [[Grammy Award]] nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal|Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oqojAAAAIBAJ&pg=4623,1962537|newspaper=The Times-News|date=January 10, 1985|page=23|title=Dire Straits, Tina Turner, Sting lead performer nominations|first=Richard|last=De Atley|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
[[Half Man Half Biscuit]] parodied the song on their ''[[Achtung Bono]]'' album, "We Built This Village on a Trad. Arr. Tune".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://spikemagazine.com/1105-half-man-half-biscuit/|title=Half Man Half Biscuit : Achtung Bono - Spike Magazine}}</ref>
===''Blender'' magazine's 50 Most Awesomely Bad Songs Ever===
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===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1985–1986 weekly chart performance for "We Built This City"
|-▼
! scope="col"| Chart (1985–1986)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|11|artist=Starship|song=We Built This City|rowheader=true}}
▲|-
!scope="row"|Paraguay<ref>{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E05fAAAAIBAJ&dq=discos+mas+populares+SCORPIONS&pg=PA20&article_id=1336,4848774|title=Las canciones más populares en Latinoamérica|newspaper=[[La Opinión (Los Angeles)]]|language=es|access-date=3 November 2023|date=20 April 1986|page=20}}</ref>
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| South Africa ([[Springbok Radio]])<ref>{{cite web|title=SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts S|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(S).html|website=The South African Rock Encyclopedia|access-date=September 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826081757/http://rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(S).html|archive-date=August 26, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
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{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+2014 weekly chart performance for "We Built This City"
! scope="col"| Chart (2014)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1985 year-end chart performance for "We Built This City"
! scope="col"| Chart (1985)
! scope="col"| Position
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|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+1986 year-end chart performance for "We Built This City"
! scope="col"| Chart (1986)
! scope="col"| Position
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! scope="row"| South Africa (Springbok Radio)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rock.co.za/files/sahits_1986.html|title=Top 20 Hit Singles of 1986|website=South African Rock Lists|access-date=September 15, 2020}}</ref>
| 10
|}
{{col-end}}
==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "We Built This City"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Starship|title=We Built This City|award=Gold|relyear=1985|certyear=2022|id=11075|access-date=March 2, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Starship|title=We Built This City|award=Platinum|relyear=2010|certyear=2020|id=12952-1188-1|access-date=July 3, 2020}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Starship|title=We Built This City|award=Gold|relyear=1985|certyear=1989|access-date=July 3, 2020}}
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| next_title = [[I Love Rock 'n' Roll#LadBaby version|I Love Sausage Rolls]]
| next_year = 2019
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|8iEB8bfP7wE|"We Built This City"}}}}
}}
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{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Weekly chart performance for "We Built This City" by LadBaby
!scope="col"| Chart (2018)
!scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| [[ARIA Digital Track Chart|Australia Digital Track Chart]] ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cdn.aria.com.au/pdfs/49877FA2621CC853FFFE9BDA314B9ECF59966328C844779167A448C7BD463DD1/ARIA%20Digital%20Tracks%20Chart.pdf?seq=14|title=ARIA Australian Top 40 Digital Tracks|publisher=[[Australian Recording Industry Association]]|date=December 24, 2018|access-date=December 22, 2018}}</ref>
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{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1985 debut singles]]▼
[[Category:1985 songs]]
▲[[Category:1985 debut singles]]
[[Category:2018 singles]]
[[Category:Starship (band) songs]]
[[Category:LadBaby songs]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]]
[[Category:Charity singles]]
[[Category:Christmas number-one singles in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Grunt Records singles]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Australia]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in South Africa]]
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[[Category:Songs written by Martin Page]]
[[Category:Songs written by Peter Wolf (producer)]]
[[Category:
[[Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles]]
|