5 Seconds Of Summer’s Calum Hood Looks Fit To Drop As Pressure Mounts
5 Seconds of Summer are just three weeks into a huge world tour, and already Calum Hood looks fit to drop. The Australian pop-punk outfit rolled into the U.K. last week, and it seems that a schedule of three shows every four days is already taking its toll on Hood and his bandmates. Calum and the rest of the band have toured with One Direction several times in the past, and they share One Direction’s management team. Hood should have learned that relentless touring takes its toll, but it seems that 5 Seconds of Summer are at risk of falling into the same trap as One Direction before them.
According to the Daily Mail Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings, and Michael Clifford all looked exhausted as they took to the stage to play a sold out show in Leeds, Yorkshire, on Sunday evening. Apparently, Luke was gasping for breath between the verses of the songs whilst Calum “looked a bit worse for wear during the evening as he was captured glaring to the back of the room.”
5 Seconds of Summer fans will be concerned to hear that Hood and the rest of the boys are looking so tired so soon after the beginning of their tour. Calum and the rest of 5 Seconds of Summer have a very long way to go on this tour, with over 80 dates still to play. Hood won’t be putting his feet up until October, when the tour finishes on home territory in Australia.
It is already beginning to look like Calum and the band are repeating the cycle that became so familiar to One Direction fans. Hood and his bandmates release an album around November, spend a month promoting it, and then hit the road to tour the album in February. Admittedly, Hood and the rest of 5 Seconds of Summer will have some breaks built into their touring schedule, but those breaks will largely be spent recording the next album.
As Hood is discovering, 5 Seconds of Summer, like One Direction before them, are expected to work to a formula. Calum may reflect on the fact that the formula may be a winning one financially, but it takes its toll in other ways. As Calum has discovered in the past, the biggest challenge 5 Seconds of Summer face is in relation to their artistic credibility. The Guardian reviewing the bands recent London gigs called 5 Seconds of Summer’s music “formulaic net-generation pop.”
Hood and 5SOS they claim “aspire to punk acceptance, but while they’re bashing out torrents of trite teen-romance emo pop it’s unlikely. 5SOS think they’re a pupal Green Day; in fact they’re a slightly more angst-ridden Mr Tumble.”
It is perhaps that struggle for artistic acceptance that causes Hood and 5SOS more angst than anything else, but the relentless cycle of touring and recording is bound to take its toll. As reported in The Inquisitr, Calum’s bandmate Ashton Irwin has already revealed that he has struggled with depression. Entertainment Weekly report that Hood’s bandmate Michael Clifford has also had struggles with anxiety and depression.
The quiet, calming and mellow @5SOS will be on the show tomorrow morning! For all your questions use #5SOSonGrimmy ? pic.twitter.com/Fo9A4JhdGh
— R1 Breakfast with Nick Grimshaw 2012-2018 (@R1Breakfast) April 6, 2016
For months, rumors have circulated suggesting that Hood himself is less than happy as a member of 5 Seconds of Summer. In December, Calum’s fans were sent into a tailspin when Hood tweeted and quickly deleted a message on social media indicating that he “wanted to live a normal life.” Hood’s remarks were remarkably similar to those made by former One Direction star Zayn Malik before he walked out. Calum’s fans were obviously worried that Hood was about to follow Malik’s lead.
As was reported in the Daily Mail Hood later had to deny rumors that he was about to quit 5SOS, but those rumors just will not go away. This year is likely to be a very challenging year for Calum and 5SOS. Hood and his mates will be spending the vast majority of the year traveling a long way from home. Calum’s fans will hope that Hood and the rest of the band will rise above the pressure of life on the road and will continue to enjoy playing music.
[Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP]
