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Cover of Foster the People EP by Foster The People
Cover: Foster the People EP

Song · Foster The People

“Pumped up Kicks” by Foster The People

From the EP Foster the People EP (2011)

“Pumped up Kicks” by Foster The People appears on 83 radio countdowns from 49 stations between 2010 and 2026. It was first released in 2011 on the EP Foster the People EP. Its best result is #1 on the WBER Listener Countdown 2011, and it was voted number one on 18 countdowns in total. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #1 alternative song of 2011, #1,163 alternative song of all time and #1 of the '10s.

83countdowns
49stations
#1best position
18#1 finishes
45top 10 finishes
2010–2026years charted

Watch

Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (fosterthepeopleVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Pumped Up Kicks" is the song that made Foster the People, and it began as a one-man job: Mark Foster wrote, recorded, produced and mixed it himself while he was earning his living writing commercial jingles. Posted online as a free download in 2010, it went on to the band's self-titled EP and their debut album, Torches, and helped land them a deal with Startime International, a Columbia imprint.

The trick is the contrast. The music is breezy and sunny, a loping, sun-dappled groove and a hazy vocal made for a summer afternoon, while the words describe the violent thoughts of a troubled young man named Robert. That uneasy gap between sound and subject is what kept people listening twice.

It was a slow burner. Modern rock stations picked it up first, SiriusXM's Alt Nation above all, before pop radio followed in 2011, and it sat at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight straight weeks, the first Alternative Songs chart-topper to reach the US top 5 since Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" in 2009. It earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and remains the band's biggest hit.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2010 82 KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA KSLG Top 94 Slugtunez of 2010 94
2010 32 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010 100
2011 1 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 30 Songs of 2011 30
2011 1 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2011 91
2011 1 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2011 101
2011 7 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2011 89
2011 2 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 102 Songs of 2011 102
2011 1 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON 102.1 The Edge Top 102 Songs of 2011 102
2011 3 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2011 99
2011 2 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 of 2011 97
2011 3 Exit 97.7 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY WEXT Top 97 of 2011 97
2011 6 94.1 The Zone Rochester, NY 94.1 The Zone Most Played Songs of 2011 94
2011 1 99 Rock Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction, NH-VT 99Rock WFRD Top 99 of 2011 98
2011 1 103.1 The River Kalispell-Flathead Valley, MT 103.1 The River Top 103 of 2011 103
2011 2 WTMD Baltimore, MD WTMD Top 89 Songs of 2011 89
2011 1 X96 Salt Lake City, UT X96 Top 50 Songs of 2011 49
2011 6 Rock 93.5 Columbia, SC Rock 93.5 WARQ Top 93 of 2011 92
2011 1 89.9 WLCA St. Louis, MO WLCA Top 89 of 2011 89
2011 4 WFUV New York, NY WFUV Top 90 Songs of 2011 90
2011 3 KFMA Tucson, AZ KFMA Top 50 Songs of 2011 50
2011 1 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2011 111
2011 1 KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA KSLG Top 94 Slugtracks of 2011 94
2011 5 92.3 WTTS Indianapolis-Bloomington, IN WTTS Top 50 Songs of 2011 50
2011 16 KFOG San Francisco Bay Area, CA KFOG Foghead Favorites of 2011 50
2011 1 ALT 104.5 Philadelphia, PA Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2011 51
2011 5 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2011 88
2011 1 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2011 103
2011 3 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2011 107
2011 3 106.1 The Corner Charlottesville, VA 106.1 The Corner Top 107 of 2011 105
2011 3 WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2011 104
2011 6 X107.5 Las Vegas, NV X107.5 Top 50 Songs That Didn't Suck 2011 50
2011 1 WXPN Philadelphia, PA WXPN Year in Review: Top 100 Songs of 2011 100
2011 1 89.7 The River Omaha, NE / Council Bluffs, IA 89.7 The River Top 89 of 2011 89
2011 1 KJEE 92.9 Santa Barbara, CA KJEE Top 92 Songs of 2011 92
2011 1 94.3 WCYY Portland, ME WCYY Top 50 Songs of 2011 50
2011 23 WRSI 93.9 The River Northampton / Pioneer Valley, MA WRSI Top 93 Songs of 2011 93
2011 5 Lightning 100 Nashville, TN Lightning 100 Best of 2011 50
2011 1 90.5 WERG Erie, PA WERG Top 90 of 2011 90
2011 2 93XRT Chicago, IL WXRT Listener Poll: Top 25 Songs of 2011 25
2011 1 WBRU Providence, RI WBRU Top 95.5 Songs of 2011 96
2012 43 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2012 91
2012 21 97X Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL 97X Top 97 Songs of 2012 97

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2011 73 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of the 2000s 102
2011 731 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 224 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2013 553 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 40 BBC Radio 6 Music BBC 6 Music 100 Best Tracks Of The Last 10 Years 100
2013 28 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2013 94 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) 100
2014 572 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 248 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 246 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2016 179 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2018 53 WTMD WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 896
2019 7 ALT 98.7 ALT 98.7 Top 98 ALT Songs of the Decade 98
2019 4 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103.3 Songs of the Decade 103
2019 6 102.7 WEQX WEQX Top 102.7 of the 2010's Decade 103
2019 353 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 215 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 215 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 60 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of Last Decade (2010s) 107
2020 2 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 of the 2010s 102
2020 9 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of the Decade 99
2020 10 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the Last Decade 100
2020 7 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of the 2010s (2020) 100
2020 169 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 19 107.7 The End The End Obligatory Top 100 Alternative Songs of All Time (2021) 100
2021 146 WYEP WYEP 2021 Labor Day Countdown 168
2022 3 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 1106 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2022 450 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 89 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of The Last 40 Years 91
2023 258 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 38 ALT 104.5 ALT 104.5 Top 104 of ALT Time 104
2023 985 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 53 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 1018 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 90 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2024 167 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 35 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 35 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714
2026 3 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 137 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Also listed as: Pumped Up Kicks; Pumped-Up Kicks.

Charting alongside it in 2011

Best songs of 2011 →
  1. 2RopeFoo Fighters
  2. 3The Adventures of Rain Dance MaggieRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 4WalkFoo Fighters
  4. 5You are a TouristDeath Cab for Cutie
  5. 6Rolling in the DeepAdele
  6. 7Howlin' for YouThe Black Keys

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