5 Seconds of Summer: A Decade On

 by Emma Pope

Image by Alex Goykhman 

December 3^rd, 2021 marks the ten-year anniversary of Australian pop-rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, also known as 5SOS. The band has four members: drummer Ashton Irwin, bassist Calum Hood, lead guitarist Michael Clifford and lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings. In the last decade the quartet has risen from high schoolers posting covers on YouTube to global stars playing the likes of Wembley and Global Citizen Live. Their four albums and seven EPs have garnered them a loyal fanbase, eighteen million monthly Spotify listeners and a place in the top two hundred most listened to artists on the planet.

The bands’ origin is relatively unremarkable, beginning as three high school friends wanting to make music. Drummer Ashton was invited later when the band needed a drummer for a show and reached out to Ashton via Facebook. This performance with all four members is what the anniversary marks even though several cover videos predating Ashton are still available on the bands’ YouTube page. Unsurprisingly, this early content is very typical of the period, awkward teenagers filming themselves on grainy cameras. Despite no formal promotion and the boys being just fifteen–seventeen their amateur videos led to subscribers, then a growing fanbase and eventually a record deal with Sony/ATV music. By the second half of 2012 they were already seeing success; landing a trip to London, song writing sessions with several mainstream artist and the release of their first two EPs ‘Unplugged’ and ‘Somewhere New’. The single ‘Out of My Limit’ was already attracting attention, gaining one hundred thousand views within twenty-four hours. Whilst the acoustic version of ‘Gotta Get Out’ caught the attention of Louis Tomlinson, then a member of massively popular One Direction. With the enormity of the One Direction fan base a simple twitter endorsement had massive power.

Not long after Louis’ tweet, 5 Seconds of Summer were announced as the opening act for One Direction’s 2013 ‘Take Me Home’ tour, a role they retained for the subsequent ‘Where We Are’ tour in 2014. In between these tours the band embarked on their own Australian tour, signed to Capitol Records and released the single ‘She Looks So Perfect’. The song saw massive success, hitting number one in the UK, and paved the way for EPs three and four and their first full album, the self-titled ‘5 Seconds of Summer’. Downbeat breakup song ‘Amnesia’ and catchy ‘Don’t Stop’ became well-known favourites from the album. A live album and their own headlining world tour (‘Rock Out With Your Socks Out’) soon followed. Riding high on success, their second studio album ‘Sounds Good Feels Good’ released in October 2015, with single ‘She’s Kinda Hot’ emerging as its biggest commercial hit. Following another tour and a song for the soundtrack of the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot (‘Girls Talk Boys’) the band went on a break. This was the point at which the band considered breaking up as a result of their unrelenting and intense schedules. Band members have discussed the pressures of their lifestyle, with Ashton commenting that “I was dealing with my feelings in the beginning [of the hiatus] with just alcohol” and Michael opening up about his anxiety and depression on numerous occasions. Ultimately the band stayed together causing them to outlast many of their industry peers including One Direction. Perhaps the bands authentic beginning, starting as pre-established friends, rather than being manufactured by producers or a reality show has contributed to their endurance.

2018 saw their triumphant return with the single ‘Want You Back’ that kicked off a small promotional tour and multiple TV, radio and festival appearances in the build up to their third studio album ‘Youngblood’. The title track became one of 2018s songs of the summer, achieving eleven times platinum status in Australia and continuing to stand as the 86^th most streamed Spotify song of all time. This era featured a comeback documentary, three Aria awards (including song of the year for Youngblood) and a collaboration with The Chainsmokers on ‘Who Do You Love’. They went on to be the opening act for The Chainsmokers’ 2019 tour ‘World War Joy’. ‘Easier’ and ‘Teeth’ became the first two singles from their 4^th album, ‘CALM’ — a name formed with the first letter of each band members’ name. The album released in March 2020 and faced certain challenges, with traditional promotion cancelled due to Covid-19, forcing the band to do what they could virtually. The music video for the single ‘Wildflower’ was filmed by shipping a greenscreen between the members’ homes and editing it all together. Despite how unconventional the albums’ release was it still reached number one in the UK, narrowly missing the top spot in the US due to a shipping error causing the first fifteen-thousand copies to appear on the Billboard chart a week early. The pandemic also served to broaden the creative horizons of the members, with Michael doing numerous online live streams via Twitch and Ashton and Luke releasing their own solo albums, ‘Superbloom’ and ‘When Facing Things We Turn Away From’.

Now as they approach 10 years of making music, the band has been reflecting on the past decade with a podcast series, with each episode releasing nightly and focusing on one year. A livestreamed show and a new song titled ‘2011’ are also being released on the 3^rd in celebration of the milestone. The journey has in no way been an easy one, with members struggling mentally and having to give up both education and budding careers for the band. But as the anniversary looms, it’s clear that the band are ready to face the future, with the band already hinting towards progress on a fifth album. To quote my personal favourite 5 Seconds of Summer song, “the future’s better than yesterday”, and it’s looking exciting.