Everybody Wants to Rule the World

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
Single by Tears for Fears
from the album Songs from the Big Chair
B-side	"Pharaohs"
Released	22 March 1985[1]
Studio	The Wool Hall (Beckington, Somerset, England)
Genre	New wave synth-pop dance-rock
Length	4:12
Label	Phonogram Mercury Vertigo
Songwriter(s)	Roland Orzabal Ian Stanley Chris Hughes
Producer(s)	Chris Hughes
Tears for Fears singles chronology
"Shout" (1984) "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (1985) "Head over Heels" (1985)
Music video
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" on YouTube

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears from their second studio album Songs from the Big Chair (1985). It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hughes. It was released on 22 March 1985 by Phonogram, Mercury, and Vertigo Records as the third single from the album. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a new wave and synth-pop song with lyrics that detail the desire humans have for control and power and centre on themes of corruption.

An international success, the song peaked at number two in Ireland, Australia, and the United Kingdom and at number one in Canada, New Zealand, and on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cashbox. It was certified gold by both Music Canada (MC) and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Retrospectively, music critics have praised "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", with some ranking the song among the decade's best. Along with "Shout" (1984), it is one of the band's signature songs.

A music video received promotion from MTV. In 1986, the song won Best Single at the Brit Awards, and was re-recorded by the band as a charity single for the Sport Aid campaign the same year. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" has been covered extensively since its release, most notably by New Zealand singer Lorde for the soundtrack to the film adaptation of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.