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"Young, Wild & Free" is a song by American rappers Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa, featuring vocals from American singer-songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released on October 11, 2011, by Atlantic Records as the lead single from the soundtrack of the film, "Mac & Devin Go to High School". The track was co-written by Mars, Philip Lawrence, and Ari Levine, along with Cristopher Brown, Snoop Dogg, and Wiz Khalifa. Since the track samples two other songs, "Toot It & Boot It" and "Sneakin' in the Back", songwriting credits were added for a total of seventeen. Produced by the Smeezingtons, its composition began during a Smeezingtons freestyle studio session; when progress on the song stalled, Aaron Bay-Shuck considered it a potential hit and asked them to finish it. After the song was finished, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa were added.
"Young, Wild & Free" received mixed reviews from music critics, who praised it for standing out stylistically from the rest of the soundtrack with hip-hop drums and a piano hook. Some critics praised Mars's pop-nostalgia chorus and Snoop Dogg's rap but criticized Wiz Khalifa's rap performance due to being too rough. It was commercially successful, reaching the top ten in several markets (including number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six in France and Switzerland); it peaked at number two in New Zealand and number four in Australia. The single was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), five times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and one-time platinum by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).
Its accompanying music video, filmed in Montclair, California in October 2011, was directed by Dylan Brown. The video features Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa having fun driving karts, skateboarding and surrounded by girls at a party, interspersed with footage from Mac & Devin Go to High School. "Young, Wild & Free" was performed live several times, including on the 2012 VMA Tour and at Coachella 2012. It was also part of the 2015 Boys of Zummer (the American leg of Khalifa's tour with Fall Out Boy), Dogg's 2016 Puff Puff Pass Tour Part 2, and two collaborative tours by Dogg and Khalifa: the 2011 High School Tour and the 2016 High Road Summer Tour. The song was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013, and received the Most Performed Song award at the 2013 ASCAP Pop Music Awards.
"Young, Wild & Free" debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, selling 159,000 digital copies and peaking at number seven. It topped the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 chart for three weeks, and peaked at number four on the Hot Rap Songs chart. The song peaked at number 10 in the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40, and was number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100-year-end ranking. In Canada, "Young, Wild & Free" peaked at number 13 on the Canadian Hot 100. It was certified six times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and triple platinum by Music Canada (MC). By September 2012, the song had sold 3,211,000 digital units.
In Europe, "Young, Wild & Free" reached the top 10 of several countries. It entered the French chart at number 50 in early November 2011, peaking at number six and spending 48 weeks on the chart. The song entered Norway's VG-lista chart in early 2012 at number 20. It spent 12 weeks on the chart, peaking at number six in its third week. The single peaked at number six in its tenth week on the Swiss Hitparade, leaving the chart 26 weeks later. "Young, Wild & Free" peaked at number nine and spent 17 weeks on the Flanders Ultratop 50 chart. It was certified gold, with the same number of sold copies (15,000) in both countries, by IFPI Switzerland and the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA). On January 14, 2012, the song peaked at number seven in its eighth week on the Dutch Top 40. In Italy, it peaked at number five and was certified three times platinum by Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI).
"Young, Wild & Free" debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at number 17, and entered the top ten in its sixth week on the chart at number five. The following two weeks (in early January 2012), it peaked at number four. The song was certified five times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In New Zealand, it debuted at number 21 and rose to number 11 the following week before peaking at number two for three consecutive weeks. The song spent nine weeks in the top ten, and was certified platinum by Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).
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