Foster the People's 'Pumped Up Kicks' is one of the most musically deceptive hits in history. While its upbeat melody and catchy whistling made it a summer radio staple, the lyrics are told from the perspective of a troubled youth imagining a school shooting. Mark Foster wrote the song in five hours while working as a commercial jingle writer, intending to bring awareness to the issue of youth violence and mental health. The song's 'lo-fi' vocal effect was achieved by Foster singing into a cheap microphone to give it a detached, eerie feeling. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a sleeper hit, taking almost a year to reach the top of the charts. Because of its sensitive subject matter, the song was frequently censored or pulled from radio stations following real-world tragedies, highlighting the complex relationship between pop music and social reality.