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Foster the People is an American
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band formed in
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,
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, in 2009. Its members include founder and frontman Mark Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in Los Angeles as a struggling musician and working as a commercial
jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
writer. After Foster's song " Pumped Up Kicks" became a viral success in 2010, the group received a record deal from Startime International and gained a fanbase through small club shows and appearances at music festivals. After releasing their debut album '' Torches'' in May 2011, "Pumped Up Kicks" became a crossover hit on commercial radio in mid-2011 and eventually reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The record also featured the singles " Helena Beat" and "
Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...
". The group received three
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominations for ''Torches'' and "Pumped Up Kicks". After touring for two years in support of ''Torches'', Foster the People released their second album, ''
Supermodel A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who has a worldwide reputation and background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term became popular in the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothin ...
'', in March 2014. It was preceded by the lead single "
Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
". In July 2017, the band released their third studio album, '' Sacred Hearts Club'', with the addition of Isom Innis and Sean Cimino, both former touring members, to the official lineup. From this album, their song " Sit Next to Me" peaked at number 42 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and was certified quadruple platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. Between 2018 and 2021, the band released a number of singles, two EPs and one album reissue. A new single titled "Lost in Space" was released on May 31, 2024. Their fourth album, '' Paradise State of Mind'', was released on August 16, 2024, to mostly positive reviews.


History


2008–2009: Background and formation

Mark Foster graduated from Nordonia High School in the Cleveland-Akron suburb of
Macedonia, Ohio Macedonia is a city in northern Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,168 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Akron metropolitan area. History The city's name is said to derive from a small joke among divinity studen ...
, in 2002. With his father's encouragement, Foster moved in with his uncle in
Sylmar, Los Angeles Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and the northernmost neighborhood within the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past t ...
, California to pursue a career in music. Foster worked various jobs and at night, he attended parties in Hollywood to expand his social network. He said, "I felt like an 18-year-old Hunter S. Thompson. I was just diving into this
Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills is a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It borders Studio City, Universal City and Burbank on the north, Griffith Park on the north and east, Los Feliz on the southeast, Hollyw ...
subculture and taking it all in. I wasn't shy about taking my guitar out at a party. I wanted to be the center of attention." Foster struggled with
drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...
during his initial years in Los Angeles, saying, "It got pretty dark. My friends thought I was going to die. I was blind to it. When I was 19 years old, it got to a point where I said, 'Enough is enough' ... I saw time was just passing me by. I wasn't being productive." Foster played in several bands, including one with which he auditioned for a record deal in New York. After turning 22, he says he was contacted by
Aftermath Entertainment Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by hip hop producer and rapper Dr. Dre in 1996. It operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed through Interscope Records. The label's roster includes artists ...
about showcasing his musical talents, but the opportunity ultimately fell through. Foster's first professional experience as a music artist was as lead vocalist on the 2006 song " Breakdown" by the Toques. For the next few years, Foster waited tables at a cafe while dealing with
writer's block Writer's block is a non-medical condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Writer's block has various degrees of severity, from difficulty in coming ...
, but he remained in Los Angeles after landing a job as a commercial
jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meanings that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...
writer for Mophonics in 2008. He said of the profession, "I definitely learned from the commercial standpoint what works," and he credited it with reviving his confidence in performing. The music Foster wrote spanned a wide range of genres, but he had difficulty reconciling his eclectic compositions. He explained: "I'd write one song and it'd be a
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
song. I'd write another and it'd be heavily electronic. Another would be like a spiritual, and another would be classic piano song. I was constantly trying to pull those elements together. It took me six years to do it." He still wished to be part of a group; reflecting on a residency he did at a venue performing electronic music, he said, "It was just me and a laptop. Really, it was terrible. I knew I needed a band."


Band formation and first shows

Foster the People was born out of a nascent relationship with drummer Mark Pontius, a film school student who left his group
Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are ...
to found a band with Foster in fall 2009. At that time, Foster had released and was playing shows supporting a solo album; Pontius was impressed by the number and diversity of songs that Foster had written to that point, saying, "Some were on the guitar, and some were on the computer. But it was this really awesome singer-songwriter thing with a tricked-out beat, and I felt we could go wherever we wanted with this." Foster the People (as "Foster & The People") played their first show on October 7, 2009 at the Dakota Live Music Lounge; they played many of the songs that Foster had written for his solo record. The first iteration of the band was Foster, Pontius, and producer Zach "Reazon" Heiligman. The group soon added a bassist, Foster's long-time friend Cubbie Fink, who had lost his job at a television production company during the
recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction that occurs when there is a period of broad decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be tr ...
. Early on, the band performed as a
quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...
with producer Reazon. Reazon performed live music programming and appeared in some of their early press photos. He broke off from the group in mid-2010 and is credited as a co-writer of the song " Miss You". Mark Foster originally named the band Foster & the People, but people misheard it as "Foster the People". Eventually, he took to the nurturing image it evoked of "taking care" of people, so the name stuck.


2010: Initial attention for "Pumped Up Kicks" and record deal

Not long after the group formed, Foster wrote and recorded a song at Mophonics called " Pumped Up Kicks", which eventually proved to be the band's breakthrough. After Foster posted the song on his website as a free download in early 2010, it drew considerable attention; ''
Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
'' magazine used the track in an online advertising campaign, and through various blogs, it went viral. The group, yet to be signed, garnered buzz with performances at the
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
music festival in March 2010. Foster was emailed by many people about "Pumped Up Kicks", and needing professional guidance, he contacted artist manager Brent Kredel at Monotone, Inc. in March, saying, "Everyone is calling me and emailing me—what do I do? Who are the good guys, who are the bad guys? Kredel recalled that "He went from the guy who couldn't get a hold of anyone to being the guy who had hundreds of emails in his inbox." Kredel and Brett Williams were subsequently hired to co-manage Foster the People, and they arranged meetings for the band with several
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
s, including
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
,
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, Columbia, and Universal Republic. In May 2010, the band was signed to the Columbia imprint Startime International in a multi-album deal. The deal did not involve ancillary rights. Foster controls publishing of the songs in North America, while a separate 2010 deal with
Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...
controls publishing outside of North America. After Foster the People signed their record deal and to avoid burnout, Startime allowed the group to pace themselves and not rush an album that would cash in on the popularity of the song. From July to September 2010, the group wrote new material that would appear on their debut album, and they chose
Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...
,
Rich Costey Richard Costey is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer. He has worked with musicians across genres including rock, indie, pop, hip-hop, and electronica. Notable collaborators include Fiona Apple, Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters, Sig ...
, and Greg Kurstin to co-produce the record with Mark Foster.


2010–2011: Initial tour and music licensing

Without much experience as a live act, Foster the People were booked in October 2010 to play several club shows. At this point a trio, the band recruited musicians Sean Cimino and Isom Innis to tour with them. Booking the group proved difficult, as concert promoters were hesitant about an artist without previous touring experiences. Foster the People promoted these concerts by emailing fans who had downloaded "Pumped Up Kicks" from their website about the shows. In early 2011, the band was booked to perform at April's
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colora ...
. Meanwhile, the group continued to grow its fanbase with a month-long residency of concerts in January at The Echo nightclub in Los Angeles. According to booking agent Tom Windish, by the group's third show at the venue, "there were hundreds of people trying to get in outside.... It was an obvious turning point that could be measured in numbers." The residency also drew the attention of music supervisors in attendance who would later help the group
license A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...
their music. Foster the People issued its first commercial non-single release in January 2011, a self-titled EP featuring "Pumped Up Kicks", "
Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...
", and " Helena Beat" that was intended to hold fans over until their first studio album, '' Torches'', was completed. Fans who purchased the EP through the iTunes Store were able to apply it toward the purchase of their full-length debut album. The EP drew the attention of organizers of March's South by Southwest festival, as well as executives looking to license music for upcoming season finales of television series. Columbia senior director of creative licensing Jonathan Palmer said, "The plan helped us a great deal to set up more opportunities rather than chasing the release date. So by the time we put the record out in May, we had already placed several songs." Half of ''Torches'' songs were licensed—among them are: "Pumped Up Kicks" (''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'', ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
'', '' Friends with Benefits'', '' Entourage''), "Houdini" (''Gossip Girl''); "Helena Beat" (''The Vampire Diaries''); " Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" ('' Suits'',
Nissan Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and '' Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house performance tuning ...
commercial); and " Call It What You Want" (''
FIFA 12 ''FIFA 12'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 12'' in North America) is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2011 on consoles for PlayStati ...
''). Palmer commented, "I haven't seen this kind of a range of song licenses from one album since we worked the first Ting Tings record three-and-a-half years ago. That was an album where we licensed nine or ll10 songs on the album. We're kind of in a similar situation ith ''Torches''"


2011–2012: Breakthrough of "Pumped Up Kicks" and release of ''Torches''

Beginning in July 2010,
Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
satellite radio's Alt Nation channel began playing " Pumped Up Kicks", followed by many alternative radio stations including Los Angeles terrestrial stations
KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...
and
KYSR KYSR (98.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and owned by iHeartMedia. KYSR broadcasts an alternative rock format and is the flagship station of ''The Woody Show''. KYSR's studios are located in Burbank, whi ...
in January 2011. 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." On January 29, the song debuted on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''s Rock Songs chart and a week later, it debuted on the
Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...
chart. 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''. The success of "Pumped Up Kicks" and appearances on many late-night talk shows, including ''
Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with '' ...
'', ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
'', ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'', and ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson. This was the third iteration of the The Late Late Show (American talk show), ''Late Late Show'' franchise, airi ...
'', helped the record debut at number eight on the ''Billboard'' 200. To promote the album, the group undertook a concert tour in the US and Europe for much of the second half of 2011, with most dates sold-out. By the time the group took a break in December, they had toured for 10 consecutive months. "Pumped Up Kicks" proved to be a crossover hit, charting across several different radio formats; in addition to peaking at number one on the Alternative Songs chart in June and number three on the Rock Songs chart in July, the song broke into the top 40 of the Hot 100 in late July and appeared on the
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
and
Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...
charts. Columbia senior VP of promotion Lee Leipsner said, "It was one of the only alternative bands I remember in a while that you could actually dance to. And the fact that the record has a groove and rhythmic feel to it—not heavy guitar-based at all—gave us a wide opportunity to cross the record." He credits the song's crossover success and push into the top 40 to a June presentation of new music by Tom Poleman of Clear Channel. 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 Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
is Foster the People.'" "Pumped Up Kicks" peaked at number three on the Hot 100, spending eight consecutive weeks at the position. According to
Nielsen Soundscan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
, over 321,000 copies of ''Torches'' have been sold in the US. "Pumped Up Kicks" finished 2011 as the sixth-best-selling digital song of the year, with 3.84 million copies sold. The band was named in a lawsuit filed by Brandon Dorsky on May 24, 2011, alleging a breach of an oral contract between him and Foster, and that Dorsky had named the band. The case was settled for an undisclosed amount in July 2011. Foster the People appeared as the musical guest on the October 8, 2011, episode of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', playing "Pumped Up Kicks" and "Houdini".
Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...
appeared as a guest performer on the latter song. At the end of the year, the group received two
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nominations: Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Pumped Up Kicks" and
Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
for ''Torches''. At the awards ceremony, the band and
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...
performed with
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
, one of Foster's childhood idols, in a medley of songs to celebrate the Beach Boys' 50th anniversary. Reflecting on Foster the People's sudden rise to success, Foster said, "For so many years, it was slow, playing in front of rooms full of 10 people and trying to get your friends to come... And then all of a sudden, it kind of took off. It's been a fast incline, so we've had to just work really hard, keep our heads down and just stay grounded. At the same time, we've had a lot of fun during the process." The group continued to tour throughout 2012. By the time the group's final US tour for ''Torches'' concluded in Los Angeles in July 2012, the group had played 295 shows in the previous 16 months.


2012–2015: ''Supermodel'' and side project

Mark Foster and unofficial bandmate Isom Innis debuted their
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
side project, Smims & Belle, at Hard Summer in August 2012. (''Mister'') ''Smims'' is Foster's DJ name, while (''Southern'') ''Belle'' is a moniker used by Innis. The duo's songs include "Ghetto Blastah" (with a music video directed by Michele Civetta), and "Beat Illuminati". Smims & Belle released an official remix of
Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
's " Blue Jeans", featuring a bespoke rap verse from
Azealia Banks Azealia Amanda Banks ( ; born May 31, 1991) is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, she began releasing music through Myspace in 2008 before being signed to XL Recordings at age 18. S ...
. The project's unreleased material includes remixes of tracks by Little Dragon,
Florence + the Machine Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, and
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. Smims & Belle have been inactive since around 2015, coinciding with increased production responsibilities for Foster and Innis within Foster the People. At the
2012 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2012 was held on 21 February 2012. This was the 32nd edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London for the second time. The ceremony was presented by Jam ...
, Mark Foster said that Foster the People's second album would be released in 2013. In this year, during June, the band played at the Firefly Music Festival—as well as at a secret show at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, performing four new songs: "A Beginner's Guide To Destroying The Moon", "Pseudologia Fantastica", "Fire Escape", and "Coming of Age". Their second album was supposed to be released in November 2013, but Columbia decided to delay the release until January 2014 because they "didn't want them to be stumbling a hurtle too intense like that fourth-quarter competition. The record's so beautiful, we didn't want to take a gamble of potentially losing it in the rush." Foster told ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', "This record still has the joy that our first album did, but it's been thrown into a pit and forced to dance among wolves." Foster said that the new album, which is "more organic and more human", would be released in early 2014. He hinted at a few new tracks, including "A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon" and "Are You What You Wanna Be?", and stated that the first single should be on radio by January. Foster also told ''Rolling Stone'' that, "In the first record, I was looking at my vision for the project through a piece of opaque glass," and that the next album will be "a clearer picture of what I've had in my head when it comes to that vision." The first single, "
Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
", was digitally released on January 14, 2014. The group's second studio album, ''Supermodel'', was released via digital retailers on March 18, 2014. The album was followed by three more singles (" Best Friend", " Pseudologia Fantastica", and " Are You What You Want to Be?") and an extended play titled '' Spotify Sessions'', which featured recorded versions of five songs off of their album. The band promoted "Coming of Age" by releasing a time-lapse music video of a seven-story mural of the ''Supermodel'' album cover being painted in downtown Los Angeles. Young and Sick, who also designed artwork for ''Torches'', designed the mural. The painting took over ten days to complete. Although Young and Sick designed the mural, the actual painting was done by artists LeBA and Vyal under the guidance of Danial Lahoda, the owner and director of LALAarts. Foster explained that the mural wasn't intended to be a promotion for the album cover: "it's meant to be a piece of art for the city that happens to be an album cover." On January 23, 2014, the band played a free show in front of the mural. Following some legal controversy, the Supermodel mural was later painted over. On March 24, 2015, during an interview in
Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
, Foster the People announced that they were working on a third album. When describing their upcoming record, they said that "the first record was more, kind of, electro-pop, the second record was more of a rock record, and I think this one is going to be a little more hip hop." On September 23, 2015, Foster the People announced that Fink would be leaving the band to pursue other opportunities. He stated, "I would like to express my extreme gratitude to our fans for your incredible love and support over the last four years. It was a true gift getting to perform for such loyal, passionate, and heartfelt people. I will miss playing and seeing all of you on the road. God bless you all." During an interview in 2018, Mark Foster admitted that Fink's departure had been less than amicable and that they have not since kept in touch. He said, "That was really hard. He's like family. We were friends before I started the band. I dated his sister for over a year and thought I was going to marry her. His parents were like my parents. It was really rough, and it wasn't until the past nine or so months where we felt able to move forward. ..We have mutual friends, and I've heard he's doing well. But it was a bad breakup. It was a very high pressure situation for a number of years, but we did so much together. The first Coachella and the first time playing SNL was together. It's like we were in a foxhole together. We experienced things that nobody else will ever understand, and so it was really hard." On April 24, 2015, the film ''
Little Boy Little Boy was a type of atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project during World War II. The name is also often used to describe the specific bomb (L-11) used in the bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ...
'' was released where Mark Foster co-produced the soundtrack for the film, with one track featuring Mark Pontius. On November 27, 2015, Foster the People released a stand-alone single: "Ruby." On December 8, 2015, they released another song called "The Unforeseeable Fate of Mr. Jones" through
BitTorrent BitTorrent is a Protocol (computing), communication protocol for peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P), which enables users to distribute data and electronic files over the Internet in a Decentralised system, decentralized manner. The protocol is d ...
.


2016–2018: ''Sacred Hearts Club''

On October 9, 2016, Foster the People played at the Rocking the Daisies Music Festival, performing three new songs from their upcoming third studio album: "Lotus Eater", " Doing It For The Money", and "Pay the Man". On April 5, 2017, the band announced a world tour set to start in the summer. On April 27, 2017, the band released an EP, '' III'', composed of three songs from their upcoming third studio album ("Pay the Man", "Doing It for the Money", and "SHC"). With this release, it was announced that their next full album would be released in June or July. This was also the group's first recording for which longtime touring/studio musicians Isom Innis (son of
Restless Heart Restless Heart was an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band's longest-tenured lineup consisted of Larry Stewart (singer), Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dav ...
's Dave Innis) and Sean Cimino were attributed as official members. On June 13, the band announced the title and tracklisting of third album '' Sacred Hearts Club'', that was released on July 21. The band ended the first month of 2018 by performing live in the Asian Pacific region. In March 2018, the band provided vocals on " Ride or Die" by The Knocks. Recently, the band has witnessed the resounding success of " Sit Next to Me", reaching over 200 million streams on Spotify and over 100 million plays on YouTube. Commenting on the song's slow-burning success, Mark Foster said, "It's kind of crazy to me that it's been on the radio for so long and it keeps continuing to grow. I guess it's a sleeper. ..It's such a good feeling to write something that resonates and breaks the mold of the status quo. That's what happened with 'Pumped Up Kicks' and it's happening again with 'Sit Next to Me.' I love timeless pop." They have also expressed their feelings on the recent spike in gun violence in the United States by showing their support for leaders of the March on Washington for Gun Control and other protests.


2018–2021: ''In the Darkest of Nights, Let the Birds Sing'' EP, departure from Columbia Records, and departure of Mark Pontius

From November 6, 2018, the band would periodically release a new single every few months. These consisted of the four songs “Worst Nites”, “Style”, “Imagination”, and “Pick U Up”, all released between November 6, 2018, to September 6, 2019, though they were never included on an album. Each single would eventually be accompanied by a music video that was directed by Mark Foster, who had previously only directed one music video, '' Pseudologia Fantastica'' back in 2014. Young & Sick, who designed the cover art for ''Torches'' and ''Supermodel'', designed all the cover art for each single as well. ''Imagination'' gained notable popularity compared to the rest of the singles, boasting over 110 million streams on
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
and over 82 million views on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Around this time, Foster the People departed from their longtime label,
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
. Band member and drummer Mark Pontius revealed on the first episode of his podcast that the group had split from Columbia Records and were operating independently. In one article, frontman Mark Foster revealed that when it comes to contractual agreements, Columbia Records had agreed to let the band operate independently; Foster also stated that he feels lucky that he and the band never went through "horror stories of labels trying to force us to do a collaboration with somebody that was just a bad idea", and that Columbia Records as a whole was “really supportive.” Foster went on to say that when it comes to the modern-day music industry, "...the way that music's consumed has changed. There's a fluidity with streaming that's really powerful: to be able to go direct to a fan, to cut out the middle man, to not worry about having hard sales, making CDs, and getting them on the shelves in stores. None of that stuff really matters anymore." Foster finished on the note that the most important part of splitting from their label was the fact that they would be able to "retain all of our rights" to all music released going forward. On March 24, 2020, the group released another single, "It's OK to Be Human". The song's single cover references the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
with its lyrics calling for encouragement. On May 18, 2020, the group announced that the sixth single "Lamb's Wool" would be released on May 22, 2020. A visualizer for the song was released the same day. On July 9, 2020, the group released a seventh single called "The Things We Do," which focused on police violence and racial inequality in the United States. All proceeds of the song were donated to four charities: 25% to Black Lives Matter International, 25% to
The Bail Project The Bail Project is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization aiming to pay bail for people who are not financially capable of doing so themselves. The Bail Project also provides pretrial services. The Bail Project was founded in 2017 by Robin Steinb ...
, 25% to Rebuild Foundation, and 25% to The Underground Museum. In October 2020, Isom Innis and Sean Cimino released an eponymous EP for their
side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...
, Peel. The group released an eighth single titled "Under the Moon" on November 13, 2020. This single was followed by the EP titled '' In the Darkest of Nights, Let the Birds Sing'', released on December 11, 2020. The tracklist included the three pre-released singles: "Lamb's Wool", "The Things We Do", and "Under the Moon", along with the recently debuted "Cadillac", and two new songs: "Walk With a Big Stick" and "Your Heart Is My Home". Mark Foster said in a ''Live at My Den'' interview that most of the EP was written throughout quarantine, where the band passed around different projects until "the EP felt complete." On May 23, 2021, Foster the People released a teaser to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their debut album ''Torches'' titled ''Torches X''. The anniversary album, which features new and remixed tracks from the exclusive editions, released on November 12 the same year. To celebrate, they released the track "Broken Jaw" which was originally exclusive to the iTunes edition. On October 13, 2021, Mark Pontius left the band to focus on raising his daughter, leaving Foster as the only founding member still in the band. On October 29, 2021, the group teamed up with Canadian DJ
Deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...
to release a new single titled "Hyperlandia", which had been in the works since 2016. In November 2021, the band performed ''Torches X'' concerts at the Wiltern, which were live-streamed worldwide via the Moment House platform. From late 2021 until early 2024, the band was on unofficial hiatus, and no social media posts were made from the band's accounts.


2024–present: ''Paradise State of Mind'', and departure of Sean Cimino

In May 2024, the band was confirmed to be working on a new song titled "Lost in Space". This single release was followed by the announcement of a fourth studio album, '' Paradise State of Mind'', released on August 16, 2024 to mostly positive reviews yet commercially underperforming. This has in part been attributed to the band's unofficial hiatus between 2021 to 2024 with no announcement of new music during this period, causing many fans to speculate the band was no longer together. Despite the commercial underperformance, the album is the highest rated album by Foster the People on Metacritic. Mark Foster confirmed the departure of Sean Cimino from the band, but stated he had contributed guitar and modular to several tracks on the new record. Foster also announced a collaboration with Electric Guest that would be released separately to the album.


Musical style

Foster the People's musical style has been described
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
,
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
,
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
,
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
,
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
,
neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the music production approaches and songwriting of 1960s psychedelia, either exploring emulations of the sounds of the era or applying its ethos to new styles of music ...
, indietronica, and
psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...
.


Members

Current * Mark Foster – lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizers (2009–present) * Isom Innis – piano, keyboards, synthesizers, drums, percussion, backing vocals, bass (2017–present; touring member 2010–2017) Former * Mark Pontius – drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals (2009–2021) * Jacob "Cubbie" Fink – bass, backing vocals, synthesizers (2009–2015) * Sean Cimino – guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals (2017–2024; touring member 2010–2017) Touring musicians * Zane Carney – guitar (2024–present) * Micah Moffett – bass, keyboards (2024–present) * Aaron Steele – drums (2024–present) Former touring musicians * Zach "Reazon" Heiligman – MPC (2009–2010) * Phil Danyew – guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals (2014–2020) * Haley Louise Dekle – backing vocals (2014) * Arlene Deradoorian – backing vocals (2014) * Tyler Halford – bass, keyboards, synthesizers (2015–c. 2020) * Gabe Noel – bass, keyboards (2015, 2021) * Aaron Redfield – drums, percussion (2021) * Brad Ripley – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (2024)


Timeline


Discography

* '' Torches'' (2011) * ''
Supermodel A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who has a worldwide reputation and background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term became popular in the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothin ...
'' (2014) * '' Sacred Hearts Club'' (2017) * '' Paradise State of Mind'' (2024)


Awards and nominations

;Billboard Music Awards , - , rowspan="5",
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, rowspan="3", Foster the People , Top New Artist , , - , Rock Artist of the Year , , - , Alternative Artist of the Year , , - , ''Torches'' , Rock Album of the Year , , - , " Pumped Up Kicks" , Top Rock Song , , - , ,
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, " Sit Next to Me" , Top Rock Song , ;BRIT Awards , - ,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, Foster the People , International Breakthrough Act , ;Grammy Awards , - , rowspan="2",
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, "Pumped Up Kicks" , Best Pop Duo/Group Performance , , - , ''Torches'' , Best Alternative Album , , - ,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, "
Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...
" , Best Short Form Music Video , ; Hungarian Music Awards !Ref. , - , 2012 , '' Torches'' , Best Foreign Alternative Album , , ;iHeartRadio Music Awards !Ref. , - ,
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, " Sit Next to Me" , Song of the Year , , ;MTV Europe Music Awards , - ,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, Foster the People , Best Push Act , ; MtvU Woodie Awards , - , 2012 , Foster the People , Woodie of the Year , ;MTV Video Music Awards , - , rowspan="2",
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, Foster the People ,
Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...
, , - , "Pumped Up Kicks" , Best Rock Video , ;MuchMusic Video Awards , - , rowspan="2",
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, "Houdini" , International Video of the Year – Group , , - , " Helena Beat" , Most Streamed Video of the Year , , - ,
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, "
Coming of Age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
" , International Video of the Year – Group , ;MVPA Awards , - , rowspan="6" , 2013 , rowspan="6" , "Houdini" , Best Director of a Band , , - , Best Computer Effects , , - , Director of the Year , , - , Best Pop Video , , - , Best Cinematography , , - , Best Special Effects , ; New Music Awards , - , 2019 , Foster the People , Top40 Group of the Year , ;NME Awards , - , rowspan="2",
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, Foster the People , Best New Band , , - , "Pumped Up Kicks" , Dancefloor Anthem , ;
Q Awards The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
, - , rowspan="2", 2011 , Foster the People , Best New Act , , - , "Pumped Up Kicks" , Best Track , ;SharkOne Awards , - , , 2011 , Foster the People , New Artist of the Year , ;Teen Choice Awards , - , rowspan="2" ,
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, Foster the People , Choice Rock Group , , - , "Pumped Up Kicks" , Choice Music: Rock Song , , - , ,
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, "Sit Next to Me" , Choice Music: Rock Song , ;UK Music Video Awards , - , rowspan="2" , 2012 , rowspan="2" , "Houdini" , Best Rock/Indie Video , , - , Best VFX , ; WEQX Award , - , , 2011 , "Pumped Up Kicks" , Song of the Year ,


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Authority control 2009 establishments in California Alternative dance musical groups Alternative rock groups from California American neo-psychedelia groups Columbia Records artists Indie pop groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 2009