World Leader Pretend was a five-person rock band from New Orleans, featuring Keith Ferguson on lead vocals. The group took their name from the fifth song of R.E.M.'s 1988 album Green. Their first release, Fit For Faded, came out in 2003 on Renaissance Records, a local label based in New Orleans. In 2004, World Leader Pretend signed with Warner Bros. Records and released their major-label debut, Punches, in 2005. The band's first EP, Rubble-Rousing Misspent Bouts, was released earlier that year. Their career included notable appearances such as the first annual CMJ Cleveland.