"Cups" is the only song released and performed by American actress and singer Anna Kendrick on the 2012 extended play (EP) More from Pitch Perfect.

The original folk song was written in 1931 by A. P. Carter, and in 2009 it was reworked by British musicians Heloise Tunstall-Behrens and Luisa Gerstein recording under the group name Lulu and the Lampshades.

The music video was directed by Jason Moore and released on April 12, 2013; Kendrick appears as a waitress who imagines everyone drumming their cups along with the tune.

[3][5] British musicians Heloise Tunstall-Behrens and Luisa Gerstein, who performed under the group name Lulu and the Lampshades, reworked the Carter Family's version and introduced the cup game as the song's percussion.

[3][9] The actress told Movieline she was not looking to be in Pitch Perfect and that the musical aspect in the movie's script made her nervous.

[8][12] The remix features a new bridge section, a folk pop string arrangement, guitar and xylophone, and has been extended by a minute.

[13][14] It was produced by Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore, Julia Michaels, Julianne Jordan, and the Underdogs.

[13] Kelly Lawler from USA Today stated Kendrick's rendition in Pitch Perfect is "cute and all" but was really not all that special.

[30] Writing for Billboard, Andrew Unterberger praised the original track, describing it as "totally charming", but labeled the remix as "mumfordized" and "needlessly extended", saying it still hits one hell of a flat note.

[31] Houston Chronicle's Joey Guerra lauded the remix, and wrote Kendrick's "plaintive delivery" made it easy to love.

[32] Douglas Wolk of Time magazine placed the song at number nine on his end-of-year list, describing Kendrick's version as a "terrific arrangement.

[34] Writing for Screen Rant, Nicholas Howe ranked the song at number one on his Pitch Perfect: Top 10 Covers In The Movie Series list, noting its near-universal popularity.

[45] The single was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting track-equivalent sales and streams of three million units in the US.

[57][58] Following the song's popularity, development for the music video began in March 2013,[59][18] and was directed by Moore and choreographed by Aakomon Jones.

[61] During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kendrick said that while she wanted to film the music video, she was not keen to make a solo album.

[62] She agreed to the music video mostly because she wanted to work with Moore again and because she liked the idea of an entire diner full of people playing the cup song.

During the song's bridge section, the camera zooms in and tracks to a wide shot of the staff and customers performing the cup tapping routine.