It was certified gold in the United Kingdom,[8] South Africa, Australia and Sweden;[9] and has sold over three million copies worldwide.

RAK Records boss Mickie Most heard Wilde singing on a backing track to another song recorded by her brother Ricky Wilde, an aspiring young songwriter and producer who had some fame as a child singer in the style of Donny Osmond in the early 1970s.

Eager to grab the opportunity, Ricky went home and wrote "Kids in America" that same day with his father Marty.

[13] The eighth note synth bassline, which forms the intro, was inspired by Gary Numan (as was the vocal melody in the opening lines).

[11] Marty had recently seen a television programme featuring American teenagers and took inspiration from their single-minded and hard attitudes, leading him to the song's story of a tough girl looking out of the window and thinking, "What the damn hell am I doing sitting here.

[11] After hearing the track for the first time, Most declared it would be a smash hit; but it needed remixing, which he did together with Marty at RAK Studios.

[11] "Kids in America 1994" was released in May 1994 in order to help promote Wilde's compilation album The Remix Collection (1993).

Among some of her other classic hits, Wilde recorded a new version of the song for her 2006 comeback album Never Say Never, featuring English singer Charlotte Hatherley.