5 Seconds of Summer

Did You Know?

• 5 Seconds of Summer became the first Australian act in 13 years to top the ARIA year-end chart with "Youngblood."
• In 2020, the band was awarded a place on the APRA AMCOS' The 1,000,000,000 List for "Youngblood" reaching over a billion streams, an honor given to only 16 artists in history.

History

The band formed in late 2011 when Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, and Calum Hood, who attended Norwest Christian College together, began posting cover videos on Hemmings' YouTube channel. Drummer Ashton Irwin joined in December 2011, completing the lineup. The name was chosen by Clifford, with Hood stating it had no deep meaning. Their first show was on 3 December 2011 at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney, reportedly playing for only 12 people; the band later paid homage to this performance in their "Old Me" music video.

After signing a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, their first EP Unplugged reached number 3 on the Australian iTunes chart despite no promotion beyond Facebook and Twitter. In the second half of 2012, they wrote and developed their sound with Christian Lo Russo and Joel Chapman of Amy Meredith, producing songs for their second EP Somewhere New. Their first single "Out of My Limit" was released on 19 November 2012, and its video received over 100,000 views in 24 hours.

In December 2012, they traveled to London to write with artists including McFly, Roy Stride, Nick Hodgson, Jamie Scott, Jake Gosling, Steve Robson, and James Bourne. As the band's commitment grew, members left school: Clifford had left two years earlier in Year 10, Hood dropped out in Year 11 in 2012, Irwin had graduated high school in 2012 but left a TAFE music program, and Hemmings continued distance education until dropping out in Year 12 in 2013.

Artistry and band status

5 Seconds of Summer have experimented with various musical styles across their albums and have stated they do not want to be confined to a single genre. Their music has been described as pop, pop rock, pop-punk, power pop, and new wave. Rolling Stone called them "emo-gone-pop" in 2015, and John Feldmann of Goldfinger said they were the best pop-punk band he had ever heard. AllMusic's Matt Collar noted a sound reminiscent of '90s punk-pop and 2000s boy band pop.

For their first album, they cited influences including Sum 41, Blink-182, Green Day, All Time Low, Good Charlotte, Nirvana, Mayday Parade, Busted, McFly, A Day to Remember, Boys Like Girls, and My Chemical Romance. All Time Low was named as one of their biggest inspirations and a dream collaboration; in 2020, All Time Low opened the European leg of the No Shame Tour. For their second album, they cited All Time Low, The Used, Yellowcard, State Champs, Good Charlotte, INXS, Sugarcult, Green Day, and Mayday Parade.

The band has been labeled a boy band by media, partly due to their past affiliation with One Direction and a mostly female audience, but members have rebutted this. Irwin compared their fanbase to Fall Out Boy's, and Hemmings described the band as a pop rock band with a boyband fanbase. In a 2018 Vice interview, Irwin responded to being mistakenly referred to as a boy band.

Hi or Hey Records and departure from Capitol Records

On 27 January 2014, the band announced their own record label, Hi or Hey Records, named via fan voting on Twitter. The label releases the band's music in conjunction with Capitol Records and also signs other acts; on 24 March 2015, it signed pop rock band Hey Violet. The band's first three studio albums were released through the Hi or Hey imprint. In May 2019, 5 Seconds of Summer departed from Hi or Hey Records/Capitol Records and signed with Interscope Records for their fourth album Calm. Their fifth album, 5SOS5, was released independently via BMG Rights Management on 23 September 2022. As of 2020, Hi or Hey Records remains active, releasing Hey Violet's recordings with Capitol.

Philanthropy and supported causes

In October 2018, the band released a cover of Queen's "Killer Queen" with all proceeds going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, an organization founded by Queen's members to support HIV/AIDS efforts. Queen's manager Jim Beach expressed gratitude for the band's support. In December 2018, they appeared on 24 Hours of Reality: Protect Our Planet, Protect Ourselves, a web-telecast organized by The Climate Reality Project to raise awareness about climate change.

In June 2019, they competed on Celebrity Family Feud against The Chainsmokers for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. In February 2020, they performed at Fire Fight Australia, a televised fundraising concert for Australian bushfire relief that grossed $9.85 million AUD. Their performance was widely praised, with Billboard calling them the perfect warm-up act for Queen. A compilation album Artists Unite for Fire Fight, released in March 2020, included their live performance of "Youngblood."