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5 Seconds Of Summer Are ‘Worlds Biggest Band,’ Says Pop Punk Legend

By Alan Ewart
Published on: 06:59 PST, Apr 27, 2016

Australian pop-punk sensations 5 Seconds Of Summer are just two albums into their music career and are currently rocking their Sounds Live, Feels Live tour. In a few short years, 5 Seconds of Summer have gone from playing cover versions of other people’s songs on YouTube to selling out huge arenas across the world. 5 Seconds of Summer certainly caught a break when they toured with One Direction, and as a result, they were able to build a fan base numbering in the millions almost overnight. That break certainly helped to spread the 5 Seconds of Summer name around the globe in no time.

There may have been a downside to 5 Seconds of Summer touring with One Direction, and 5SOS certainly endured some hate as a result. 5 Seconds of Summer are managed by the same team that managed One Direction, and it is entirely possible that their team saw 5SOS as a ready-made replacement for 1D. As a result, 5 Seconds of Summer were “branded” as a boy band, something that Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings, and Ashton Irwin have never been comfortable with.

There are certainly similarities between 5 Seconds of Summer and One Direction in terms of their career path and how they are managed. It is fair to say that 5 Seconds of Summer did not come to prominence through a reality TV show, and they have always played their own instruments and written most of their own material.

Despite these facts, many have written 5 Seconds of Summer off as just another boy band. That would be a mistake. As the Daily Mail reported, 5 Seconds of Summer have been delighting audiences during the U.K. leg of their tour.

“[5 Seconds of Summer have been] putting on an endless string of energetic performances for adoring fans.

“Tuesday was no different for 5 Seconds of Summer who performed to a delighted crowd in Glasgow in the latest concert of their UK tour.

“The band were in full force as they rattled through hits at the city’s Hydro Arena, with guitarist Michael Clifford leading them in the style stakes.”

It is perhaps their relentless energy that is winning 5 Seconds of Summer huge plaudits from fans, critics, and industry insiders. I recently spoke with Jaret Reddick of pop-punk legends Bowling for Soup and asked him who he admired from the current crop of pop-punk bands. Reddick was effusive in his praise of 5 Seconds of Summer.

“Yeah we are seeing a renaissance, we are now being topped by a lot of the newer bands, All Time Low are over here doing bigger venues that us. On the more pop side 5 Seconds Of Summer are great, they have crossed that boy-band – pop punk divide and they are slaying it, they are the biggest thing in the world right now.”

Jaret went on to tell me that he had written songs with 5 Seconds of Summer and that he doesn’t believe that touring with One Direction was anything other than a huge success.

“I wrote a song with 5 Seconds of Summer and they have millions of followers on Twitter and elsewhere. The only thing is in a way they have to prove all over again that they are a legitimate band. You can’t argue with the sort of exposure those tours brought.”

Anyone with an interest in 5 Seconds of Summer will be well aware that artists have been queueing round the block to work with the band.

5 Seconds of Summer have worked with the monster bands of the pop-punk genre. Good Charlotte, Blink 182 and the Kaiser Chiefs are just a few of those they have worked with. It is no coincidence that MTV are running articles telling 5 Seconds of Summer fans what to expect when the boys roll into the North American leg of their tour at the end of June.

It is clear that all of those who have worked with 5 Seconds of Summer recognize talent and that they believe in 5 Seconds of Summer. Serious music critics might sniff and the pioneers of punk rock might recoil but this is a different age and 5 Seconds of Summer are coming of age right now.

[Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images for iHeartMedia]

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