Starting off as Youtubers, the band Five Seconds of Summer, or 5sos,  weren’t really known by a lot of people. On their Youtube channel “Hemmo1996”, Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, Michael Clifford and Ashton Irwin made covers of different kinds of songs. Starting to take notice of the boys, One Direction invited them to come along on their ”Take Me Home Tour” to be their opening act. To me, 5sos sound and look like a punk version of One Direction. It was around November of 2013 when the band started to gain popularity and become more well-known by signing to Capitol Records. Their first album came out in July of 2014.

5sos’s debut album, 5 Seconds of Summer, includes twelve songs. The four more well-known songs are “She Looks So Perfect”, ”Don’t Stop”, ”Amnesia”, and ”Good Girls”. The bands most successful song is “She Looks So Perfect” which was released in February 2014. Luke said it was his favorite song on their debut album and I think it is one of the favorites for most of their fans as well.”Amnesia” is the third single and was released on July 15, 2014. For this song, the boys had to leave the pounding drums and steer towards a more slower song that was very successful and topped music charts. 5Sos has a very different style unlike many other bands today.
5 Seconds of Summer was released on June 27, 2014 in Europe and July 22, 2014 in the US, Mexico, and Canada. Traveling with One Direction led people to refer as a boy band, but some of the members have said that they are not a boy band. They write their own songs and play their own instruments so they aren’t like most boy bands. Their music reminds me of rock, but their lyrics relate to teenagers today.  Much like other bands,  they write about relationships and girls, but they put an edgy twist to their music. Bands such as Green Day and Blink-182 have a big influence on the band because they have more of a pop punk theme. I like their music because they don’t sound the same as most music today. Considering their success, I would say I’m not the only one that likes their different sound.
The album has had lots of success. Selling 259,000 copies, 5 Seconds of Summer has the most first-week sales for a debut album since 2006. Also within the first weeks it peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States. “She Looks so Perfect” got number one in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, and United Kingdom. It also sold 70,000 copies and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. “Good Girls” wasn’t as popular, but it did get number nineteen in the UK. Not all of their songs are as successful, but they still are really good songs.
Starting off as Youtubers who sang covers for bands, making a new album and opening for One Direction in two or three years show that they must be good. I definitely recommend listening to 5 Seconds of Summer because it’s a perfect mix of rock, pop, and can relate to teenagers today. Their success and background shows a lot in their debut album. I could hear all the dedication and work they put into it. Even though they started off rough, they are talented young artists who have become successful and will hopefully continue down that path.