5 Seconds of Summer
5 Seconds of Summer, often shortened to 5SOS, are an Australian pop rock band formed in Sydney in 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood, and drummer Ashton Irwin. Originally beginning their career as YouTube celebrities, they rose to international fame while touring with English-Irish boy band One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour. Since 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer have sold more than 10 million albums, sold over 2 million concert tickets worldwide, and have attained more than 7 billion streams of their songs on music streaming services, making them one of the most successful Australian musical acts in history.
In early 2014, the band released "She Looks So Perfect" which topped the charts in four countries. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2014, peaking at number one in 11 countries. The band released their second album Sounds Good Feels Good in 2015, topping the charts in 8 countries. The band's third album Youngblood, released in 2018, was yet another commercial success and became their third number one album in their home country. In the US, 5 Seconds of Summer became the first Australian act to achieve three number one albums on the Billboard 200 album chart. They also became the first band to have their first three full-length albums debut at the top in the US. The album's single, "Youngblood" is the fourth highest selling Australian single of the 2010s decade and is the eleventh best-selling single in Australian history, selling over five million adjusted copies worldwide within the first six months of its release. With the release of "Youngblood", 5 Seconds of Summer became the first Australian act in 13 years to top the ARIA year-end chart and remain the second longest stint at number one in ARIA chart history. In 2020, the band released their fourth studio album Calm. The album was a commercial success, receiving positive reviews from critics, charting in more than 25 countries on multiple charts, peaking in the 10 top on 17 charts and debuting atop the charts in 4 countries. With Calm earning the band their fourth consecutive number one in their home country, 5 Seconds of Summer became the second Australian band in history to have their first four full-length studio albums debut at number one on the ARIA albums chart.
All singles from the band's four studio albums have charted in multiple countries, received multiple official sale certifications, and have been featured in numerous weekly and year-end charts, as well as making appearances on decade-end charts. The band has received numerous accolades and awards, including being honored with the prestigious APRA Outstanding International Achievement Award in 2019, being placed on Billboard's Top Artists of the 2010s chart, which lists the most popular and successful artists of the 2010–2019 decade and being credited in the exclusive APRA AMCOS 1,000,000,000 List in 2020. As of mid-2020, the band's estimated net worth is approximately US$81 million.
History
2011–2014: Origin and debut
5 Seconds of Summer formed in late 2011 when Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, and Calum Hood, who all attended the same high-school, Norwest Christian College, began posting videos of themselves performing covers of popular songs together on Hemmings' YouTube channel. In December 2011, the trio invited drummer Ashton Irwin, and the four-man lineup was completed. The band's name was created by Clifford. Hood said the name was arbitrary, not created with any deep meaning intended. On 3 December 2011, the band played their first show at Sydney pub, Annandale Hotel, reportedly playing for only 12 people. In 2020, the band paid homage to their first performance in their "Old Me" music video, which featured a video clip of their Annandale Hotel performance and a recreation of the show.The band attracted interest from major music labels and publishers and signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Despite having no promotion apart from on Facebook and Twitter, their first music release, an EP titled Unplugged, reached number 3 on the iTunes chart in Australia and the Top 20 in both New Zealand and Sweden. 5 Seconds of Summer spent the second half of 2012 writing and developing their sound with Christian Lo Russo and Joel Chapman of Australian band Amy Meredith, with whom they wrote two songs that were featured on their second EP Somewhere New. The EP was also co-produced by Chapman. The band released their first single "Out of My Limit" on 19 November 2012. The video clip received over 100,000 views within the first 24 hours. In December 2012, the band embarked on a songwriting trip to London where they wrote with various artists including McFly, Roy Stride of Scouting for Girls, Nick Hodgson of Kaiser Chiefs, Jamie Scott, Jake Gosling, Steve Robson and James Bourne of Busted.As their fame and dedication to the band grew, the band members eventually dropped out of school, with Clifford having left school two years prior in Year 10 and later completing a year at TAFE. Hood dropped out in Year 11 in 2012 due to the band's move to London. Irwin had already graduated from Richmond High School in 2012, and studied music performance at a TAFE college, before choosing to leave to pursue the band. Hemmings continued with distance education up until 2013, dropping out in the final year of secondary schooling: year 12, due to the commitment of the band.
On 14 February 2013, it was announced that 5 Seconds of Summer would support One Direction on their worldwide Take Me Home Tour. The tour kicked off at the O2 Arena in London on 23 February 2013, and 5 Seconds of Summer joined One Direction for shows in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand, including seven shows at Allphones Arena in 5 Seconds of Summer's home town of Sydney. While on a break from the Take Me Home Tour, 5 Seconds of Summer returned home to Australia where they played a national headlining tour, with all dates selling out within minutes. It was around this time when the band began to gain popularity and become more well-known. On 21 November 2013, the band announced that they had signed to Capitol Records. On 5 February 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer listed their debut major label single "She Looks So Perfect" for pre-order on the iTunes Store. On 5 March 2014, it was announced that 5 Seconds of Summer would join One Direction again, supporting them on their Where We Are Tour in the US, Canada, UK and Europe.
2014: ''5 Seconds of Summer'' and ''LIVESOS''
In late March 2014, the band's single "She Looks So Perfect" was released in UK. Despite spending only one day on top in the British iTunes store and ending its week in the lower end of the top 10, 5 Seconds of Summer became the fourth Australian band to have a UK number-one single, and the first to do so in 14 years. On 9 April 2014, their third EP She Looks So Perfect debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 Chart. On 9 May 2014, they released their second single, "Don't Stop". It peaked at number one in 4 countries, debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was in the top 10 of 8 countries overall. Billboard said that, "In the vein of Green Day's "She" and Blink-182's "All The Small Things", "Don't Stop" is 5SOS' bid for a deceptively charming pop-punk anthem, with lyrics that are stickily sweet in their awkward flirtatiousness. The bridge could be more polished, but that hook is a highlight of the whole album." On 15 June 2014, the band released their fourth EP Don't Stop which was unavailable for purchase in the US, Canada and Mexico.On 13 May 2014, the band announced that their debut self-titled album would be released on 27 June 2014 in Europe and Australia. The album debuted on the top of the Billboard 200 Chart, peaked at number one in 13 countries, and peaked in the Top 10 of 26 countries. On 15 July 2014, the band released their third single, "Amnesia". Billboard described the track as "a surprisingly affecting vocal performance and the most searing lyrics on the album. Taking older listeners back to the relative heartache of dissolving high school romance." Billboard further stated that "'Amnesia' demonstrates the versatility of 5SOS, and one wonders why it's buried at the end of the group's debut album." On 5 September 2014, the band released their fifth EP Amnesia which was not available in US and Mexico. On 12 October 2014, the band released their fourth single, "Good Girls", and the music video logged over two million views within 48 hours. On 16 November 2014, they released their sixth EP Good Girls which topped the UK iTunes Chart. The band released a cover song "What I Like About You" by American rock band The Romantics as the first single from their live album LIVESOS. The band released their first live album, LIVESOS, on 15 December 2014.
2015–2016: ''Sounds Good Feels Good''
In May 2015, the band embarked on their first headlining world tour, the Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour, taking place across arenas in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America.On 17 July 2015, the band released "She's Kinda Hot" as the first single from their second studio album. On 12 August, they announced that their second studio album was titled Sounds Good Feels Good. On 28 August, they released their seventh EP, She's Kinda Hot, in the UK and Ireland only. On 9 October, they released "Hey Everybody!" as the second single and announced their Sounds Live Feels Live World Tour. Sounds Good Feels Good was released worldwide on 23 October 2015. It became the band's second number one in their home country and the first in the United Kingdom. In the United States, 5 Seconds of Summer became the first band to have their first two full-length albums debut at the top of the charts. The band released their third single "Jet Black Heart" on 17 December 2015, together with a music video which featured some of their fans. In 2016, the band embarked on their Sounds Live Feels Live World Tour which included sold-out stadiums and arenas across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.
On 3 June 2016, the band announced their single "Girls Talk Boys". The song was included on the Ghostbusters and was released on 15 July. On 2 December 2016, the band announced the release of their B-sides and rarities, titled This Is Everything We Ever Said, to celebrate their fifth anniversary as a band.
After years of intense touring and the completion of the successful Sounds Live Feels Live World Tour in October 2016, the band announced that "2016 for 5SOS ended," and that they would be taking the remainder of the year to rest and develop the sound for their next studio album. The break lasted nearly two years, with Hood later stating "After six years of being on the road, we needed to get our heads right for the longevity of the band." Hemmings later revealed that the band had briefly considered breaking up due to their intense schedules, stating: "'Seven years as a band may seem like a long time, but we were teenagers when we started." He further went on to say: "We had to look at each other and say 'are we going to stop now, or do this forever? Because if we continue, then we have to go further than we ever have before.'" Ultimately the band chose to continue to release new music and explore new musical directions.