Songfacts®:

• Echosmith is a South Californian indie-pop band comprising siblings: vocalist Sydney, guitarist Jamie, bassist Noah, and drummer Graham Sierota. The group was originally formed in February 2009 and their father booked the quartet's first gig, enlisting his kids to play a benefit concert for a friend's daughters.
  
  Echosmith signed to Warner Bros. Records in May 2012 and this dreamy tune is a track from their debut album, Talking Dreams, which was released on October 8, 2013.
• The song tells the story of a boy and girl who just want to be noticed. "This cry to be like the cool kids… it's something that everyone kind of goes through whether you want to act like it or not," Jamie explained to Radio.com. "There's always somebody out there that you kind of wish, 'If only I could do this, or do that.' I think that's why it connects with people so well."
• Echosmith performed the song on December 31, 2013 during the Teen Nick Top 10: New Year's Eve Countdown, hosted by Nick Cannon.
• Sydney Sierota explained the song's meaning to The Sun. "It's about the desire to fit in," she said. "But the message is to accept yourself and that's all it takes to be cool. We see people of all ages coming to our shows, so it's really cool to see that everyone is able to connect on that level and to be able to embrace who they are."
• According to the group, listeners often mishear the title as "cookies."
• The song reemerged in 2022 after it trended on TikTok. Users uploaded video montages of their personal evolutions soundtracked by a sped up version of "Cool Kids."