5 Seconds of Summer and Elephant Heart

It draws inspiration from pop, pop rock, and pop punk bands like Green Day, Good Charlotte, Nirvana, and Blink-182, blending styles into something completely new with every album.

5 Seconds of Summer was formed in 2011 in Sydney, Australia, by a group of high school friends. The band consists of Luke Hemming on vocals and rhythm guitar, Michael Clifford on lead guitar, Calum Hood on bass, and Ashton Irwin on drums. After posting cover songs on YouTube, the group garnered attention. Later that year, the band played its first show at a local pub.

5 Seconds of Summer released its first EP, Unplugged, in June 2012 through Capitol Records. Despite minimal promotion, the album reached number three on the iTunes chart in Australia. It also made the Top 20 in New Zealand and Sweden. The band’s second EP, Somewhere New, dropped that December. The video for the first single, “Out of My Limit,” received over 100,000 views in the first day.

With this growing fame and success, the members of 5 Seconds of Summer decided to drop out of high school to pursue music. In February 2013, the band joined the hugely popular group One Direction on its Take Me Home Tour as a supporting act. This catapulted the band into international stardom.

During a break on the One Direction tour, 5 Seconds of Summer returned home to play its first local headlining tour. Tickets sold out within minutes, confirming the group’s rising popularity. In November 2013, the band signed to Capitol Records. The following March, it toured with One Direction once again on the Where We Are Tour.

In July 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer released its first self-titled studio album. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and peaked at number one in 13 countries, and produced chart-topping singles like “She Looks So Perfect,” “Don’t Stop,” “Amnesia,” and “Good Girls.”

Later in 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer released a cover of “What I like About You,” by The Romantics. It was the first single from the band’s upcoming live album, LIVESOS, which dropped that December.

5 Seconds of Summer embarked on its first international headlining tour in May 2015. The Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour took place across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America.

5 Seconds of Summer released its second studio album, Sounds Good Feels Good, in October 2015. The album became its second number one at home and first in the UK. This success was followed up in 2018 with the release of the band’s third studio album, Youngblood. The album produced four singles: “Want You Back,” “Youngblood,” “Valentine,” and “Lie to Me.”

Calm, 5 Seconds of Summer’s fourth studio album, was released in 2020. It was praised by critics for its mature lyrics and sound. Thanks to a shipping error, over 10,000 copies of the album were released early in the U.S. This happy accident caused the album to chart a week before it was supposed to come out. It also earned the band its fourth number-one album in Australia. This made 5 Seconds of Summer the second band in the country’s history to have its first four studio albums debut at number one.

In 2022, 5 Seconds of Summer released its fifth studio album, 5SOS5. The band is currently promoting the album on its Take My Hand World Tour. Catch its shows live now through December.