5 Seconds of Summer: Everything you need to know

5 Seconds of Summer 5SOS

by Owen Tonks |
Published on

Who are 5 Seconds of Summer, aka 5SOS?

5SOS are an Australian rock group from Sydney in Australia consisting of members Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin.

They got together in 2011 and rose to prominence on YouTube where they posted videos of themselves covering songs by various artists, but they gained international fame after touring with One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour.

Early in 2014 the group released its worldwide debut single called She Looks So Perfect. The song topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK.

They released their self-titled debut album in June 2014 which reached the number one chart position in 11 countries.

They later released a live album, LiveSOS, and their second studio album Sounds Good Feels Good was available to buy in October 2015.

After their second album they released a live performance and documentary DVD called How Did We End Up Here.

The formation of 5SOS

The band started out in 2011 when members Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford and Calum Hood, who attended Norwest Christian College together, posted videos of themselves singing on YouTube, with their cover of Chris Brown’s Next To You getting more than 600,000 views.

Drummer Ashton Irwin joined the others in December 2011 completing the line-up.

5SOS record label

The group received interest from record companies and music publishers and signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV Music Publishing.

The foursome had no promotion other than on Facebook and Twitter but released EP Unplugged which reached number three on the iTunes chart in Australia and made it into the top 20 in New Zealand and Sweden.

5SOS and One Direction stars Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan

1D singer Louis Tomlinson posted a link to 5 Seconds of Summer’s music video for their song Gotta Get Out which helped to increase their following.

They were then endorsed by Louis’ fellow band member Niall Horan who tweeted a link to their video for song Out of My Limit.

5SOS debut album and LiveSOS

Before releasing their first album, 5 Seconds of Summer, who are signed to the same UK-based management company, Modest Management, as One Direction, announced they would be touring with 1D.

On 23 February 2013, 5SOS joined One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour and performed at shows in the UK, America, Australia and New Zealand.

After gaining popularity, the band announced on 21 November 2013 that they had signed to Capitol Records.

On 5 February 2014, 5SOS’s debut single released by a major label, She Looks So Perfect, was listed for pre-order on iTunes.

In late March 2014, the song was released in the UK and it reached the number one spot for one day before ending the week at the lower end of the top 10. This meant 5 Seconds of Summer were the fourth ever Australian band to have a number one single in the UK and they were the first to do so in 14 years.

After touring with One Direction again on their Where We Are Tour in America, Canada, the UK and Europe, and the release of their second single Don’t Stop, 5SOS released their debut self-titled album on 27 June 2014.

The disc debuted at number one on the Billboard Chart in the US and reached the top spot in 13 countries, plus the top 10 in another 26 countries. The group was awarded a Kerrang! award for their first album.

They released their first live album, LiveSOS, on 15 December 2014.

5SOS album Sounds Good Feels Good

On 17 July 2015 the boys released the first single, She’s Kinda Hot, from their second album, Sounds Good Feels Good.

The album was released worldwide on 23 October 2015.

5SOS tour

On October 9 2015, the band announced they would be touring on their Sounds Live Feels Live Tour which was to take place in 2016 in Asia, the UK, Ireland and North America.

5SOS’s Hi or Hey Records

On 27 January 2014, the band announced they would be setting up their own record label called Hi or Hey Records.

They decided to release their music through the label in conjunction with Capitol Records and they also said they would be signing other artists to the brand.

On 24 March 2015 they signed pop rock band Hey Violet.

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