5 Seconds of Summer Biography

5 Seconds of Summer is a pop punk band from Australia. The group formed in 2011 and gained popularity by covering hits song and posting them on Youtube. They became internationally renowned in 2013 by opening for One Direction on their Take Me Home Tour. In 2014, the band released their self-titled debut album, topping charts from 13 countries.

Early Career 

5 Seconds of Summer began in 2011 when four college boys started to post songs on Youtube. They covered successful artists such as Christ Brown and Mike Posner, gathering over 500.000 views. They caught the eye of various labels and eventually signed with Sony. With little to no promotion, they released an EP which charted in Australia, New Zeeland, and Sweeden. In 2012, they began songwriting for other artists, including McFly and Kaiser Chiefs. Furthermore, they released a second EP and their first single, Out of My Limit. In 2013, one of the members of One Direction shared one of 5 Seconds of Summer’s covers, which led to their collaboration.

Breakthrough & Success

Due to their connection to One Direction, the group was labeled as a boy band, which displeased them. In 2014, they released their first commercial single, She Looks So Perfect, which topped the UK iTunes store. Short after, the band’s third EP came out and ranked as number 2 on the Billboard 200. After their second single, Don’t Stop, Billboard compared the boys to Green Day and Blink-182. The single reached top 10 in eight countries. Following on that success, 5 Seconds of Summer released their debut album, which was a massive international success. Then followed another EP.

The boys collaborated with the Madden brothers (Good Charlotte), who wrote the young pop-punkers’ next single, Amnesia. The song received very good reviews and generated an homonymous EP. Additionally, the band’s fourth single, Good Girls, broke the band’s views record. Their sixth EP reached the top of the UK iTunes chart. The fall of 2015 came with the boys’ second album, Sounds Good Feels Good. In 2016, their single Girls Talk Boys was featured on the Ghostbusters OST.

Photo credit: Discogs