Contrasting with the upbeat musical composition, the lyrics describe the homicidal thoughts of a troubled youth named Robert.

I guess I wanted to reveal that internal dialogue of a kid who doesn't have anywhere to turn, and I think the song has kind of done its job.

Foster said to CNN Entertainment, "I wrote 'Pumped Up Kicks' when I began to read about the growing trend in teenage mental illness.

"[9] Jeffery Berg of Frontier Psychiatrist said, "I was so engrossed with the cheery melody of its chorus that it took me a few listens to discover that the lyrics suggest dark, Columbine revenge.

[19] Many have written letters to Foster's record label and called radio stations to complain that the song was glorifying school shootings.

Still, the group was inexperienced as a live act, and as a result, their booking agent Tom Windish secured them several club shows "to help them get their sea legs."

Foster the People promoted these concerts in January 2011 by emailing fans who had downloaded "Pumped Up Kicks" from their website, notifying them of the shows.

The group continued to grow its fanbase with a month-long residency of concerts in January at The Echo nightclub in Los Angeles.

[20] Mark Foster credits Sirius XM's airplay with the song's success, saying, "Alt Nation played our music before any other radio outlet in the country.

In May, the track debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100, and later that month, the group released their first full-length studio album, Torches, on which "Pumped Up Kicks" appears.

He credits the song's crossover success and push into the top 40 to a June presentation of new music by Clear Channel president of national programming platforms Tom Poleman.

According to Leipsner, "After we showed our presentation, we had so many Clear Channel major-market programmers come up to us and say, 'The record I want to play besides Adele is Foster the People.'"

Parts of the video were filmed at the University of California, Riverside and at a huge parking lot, on Humboldt St, Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles.

Barry Walters of Spin said that with the song as their debut single, Foster the People "announce themselves as major players.

"[39] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone described the song as having a "slinky groove, misty guitar flange and delicious astral-wimp vocals.

"[41] August Brown of the Los Angeles Times called it a "reputation-making single" that "cakes Foster in Strokes-y vocal distortion atop a loping synth bass.

Reflecting on the song's fusion of various musical elements, Beaumont said the song is a prime example of how they "adapt Animal Collective's art-tronic adventurousness to incorporate the funky danceability of Scissor Sisters, the fuzzy pop catchiness of 'Kids' and the knack of throwing in deceptively downbeat twists akin to Girls, Sleigh Bells or Smith Westerns.

"[44] Matt Collar of AllMusic said the song, like other tracks from the album, is "catchy, electro-lite dance-pop that fits nicely next to such contemporaries as MGMT and Phoenix".

[52] NME ranked it number 21 on its list of the "50 Best Tracks of 2011", writing, "Unusually for a song so omnipresent, listening to its hyper-upbeat melodies about a psycho high-school kid-killer is still an enjoyable experience.

In an article for The Huffington Post, DJ Louie XIV singled out "Pumped Up Kicks" as one of several popular songs that helped usher in the return of commercially successful indie music.

"[57] Reflecting on the song's success, Gary Trust, the associate director of charts/radio for Billboard, said, "They're walking a tightrope very well in terms of eras, formats and styles.

"[7] The song was used in TV series such as Entourage,[58] Gossip Girl, CSI: NY, Cougar Town, The Game, Homeland, Pretty Little Liars, Warehouse 13 and The Vampire Diaries, the web series Dick Figures, and also in the 2011 films Friends with Benefits[20] and Fright Night, as well as sampled in Shawn Chrystopher's song "All the Other Kids", from his 2010 hip-hop album You, and Only You.

[59] "Pumped Up Kicks" was included as a playable track in the music video game Rock Band Blitz and Guitar Hero Live.

[63] Due to the song's dark lyrics, it was temporarily pulled from circulation on certain U.S. radio stations in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

"[67] Peruvian singer Tongo also recorded a cover in 2017, called "Pan con ají" (Bread and peppers), in allusion to a vague pronunciation with Spanish phonemes.

Also in 2011 the underground rapper George Watsky released a "Pumped Up Kicks" remix on his album A New Kind of Sexy Mixtape.

Singer-songwriters Dani Shay and Justin Chase covered the song in a theatrical music video in October 2011[69] and released the single in November 2011.

[70] A parody of the song was performed by Taylor Swift and Zac Efron on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as a serenade to the host.

[71] On March 12, 2012, singers Lex Land and Charlotte Sometimes performed the song during the second "Battle Round" episode of The Voice season 2.

[72] In September 2012, singer Mackenzie Bourg performed this song as his Blind Audition for The Voice season 3, winning a spot on Cee Lo Green's team.