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18 Years Of MGMT’s ‘Kids’ And Its Lasting Impact
MGMT’s ‘Kids’ celebrates 18 years since its release, with the song remaining one of the group’s most recognised tracks worldwide
Eighteen years after its single release, ‘Kids’ remains one of the songs most closely associated with MGMT, even though its story began years earlier. Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser first recorded versions of the track while they were still students, before it later became part of Oracular Spectacular and reached a much wider audience in 2008. Since then, ‘Kids’ has gone from chart success and a Grammy nomination to later versions from major electronic artists, giving the song a history that extends well beyond its original release.
From Wesleyan To ‘Oracular Spectacular’
Before the version most listeners know, ‘Kids’ had already been part of MGMT’s catalogue for several years. An early recording appeared on We (Don’t) Care in 2004. Another version followed on the Time to Pretend EP in 2005, while the pair were still students at Wesleyan University.
Those earlier recordings meant ‘Kids’ was already familiar territory for MGMT when they began work on Oracular Spectacular. Ben Goldwasser has spoken about writing the music while they were still at college. Neither of them could have known then how widely people would eventually hear the song. The album later introduced ‘Kids’ to a much larger audience alongside ‘Time to Pretend’ and ‘Electric Feel’.
‘Kids’ Became One Of MGMT’s Biggest Songs
As Oracular Spectacular gained a wider audience, ‘Kids’ became one of the album’s biggest singles. It reached No. 16 in the UK and spent 48 weeks inside the Top 100. That made it MGMT’s highest-charting single in the country.
The song also brought MGMT recognition at the 2010 Grammy Awards. It received a nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, while the duo also earned a Best New Artist nomination.
Years after its original chart success, the song also found a place with a new generation of electronic artists. KSHMR and Stefy De Cicco released their version with MKLA in 2020. Tiësto later played his own remix at major festivals, including Tomorrowland, while Bassjackers released another version in 2025.
Those reinterpretations are only one part of the song’s history over the past two decades. ‘Kids’ began in MGMT’s university catalogue before becoming part of Oracular Spectacular and finding an international audience. Eighteen years after its single release, it remains one of the songs most closely associated with MGMT and their early career.
