Something is refreshing about seeing a band with more than a decade of history drop the self-defence, laugh at the past, and step fully into who they are now. That’s the energy behind 5 Seconds of Summer’s EVERYONE’S A STAR!, an album that manages to be reflective, self-aware, emotional, and still fun. It’s definitely their most mature release, but it never trades joy for seriousness.
The album feels like a conversation between their younger selves and the men they grew into. All the confusion of being in the spotlight too early, all the pressures of being shaped by an industry that sees you more as a product than a person, it’s all there. But instead of bitterness, the album is filled with clarity.
The Aesthetic
One element that instantly caught our attention was the visual aesthetic: bold, exaggerated, and almost cartoonish in a way that feels both playful and pointed. On the album cover, the band appears with oversized heads, tiny bodies, and hyper-stylized outfits, a strangely symbolic look.
Fans were quick to theorize about its meaning. Some pointed out that the visuals make the boys look like “funko pops”, which sparked conversations about how young artists, especially boy bands, are often treated more like collectibles than people.
The meaning behind the songs
The cultural moment of the era, though, is undeniably the single “Boyband”.
The timing alone, dropping it on the anniversary of Liam Payne’s unfortunate death, sent the internet into immediate overanalysis. Again, fans instantly began theorizing about the lyrics, pointing out that, beyond describing 5SOS’s own experiences, the song also mirrors what they witnessed One Direction go through during the time they opened for the “Take Me Home Tour” in 2013. The boys were barely out of their teens, watching fame swirl around them backstage like a tornado.
And the irony is delicious. After years of pushing back against being called a “boyband”, they are now embracing the term in the most self-aware way possible, by literally titling a song that. It’s a full circle. It’s healing. Furthermore, it’s giving “Fine, IF we’re a boyband, we’re rewriting what that means.”
The track has already blown up on TikTok, inspiring edits, fancams, nostalgic montages, and clips of fans joking about the boys finally stopping caring about what the fandom has fought over on Twitter since 2014.
Then there’s “Evolve”, the song that touches on something universally understood: girls tend to mature faster than boys. It’s thoughtful and sends an important message. Yet, it’s catchy as hell, the kind of song you hear once and immediately replay.
Similarly, “Telephone Busy” is pure addiction. It’s fun, sharp, rhythmically magnetic, the kind of track that scratches all the right parts in your brain. Group those two, and you have the duo you accidentally loop for 45 minutes straight without noticing.
A new album, an evolved band
What makes the album so impressive is that it balances all these tones very well. It’s grown, but not jaded. Pop but not shallow. Fun but not frivolous. The production feels confident, the lyrics feel lived-in, and the whole project carries the energy of four men who know themselves better than ever.
In a way, the album feels like a thesis: you can grow up, literally become fathers (hey, Luke and Michael), without losing the spark that made people fall for you, and you can reclaim the labels people tried to put on you, even the ones you once rejected, and make your own meaning for them.
EVERYONE’S A STAR! isn’t just 5SOS’s most mature album. It might be their freest. And the funniest part? By embracing the title they used to run from, Luke, Michael, Calum, and Ashton never sounded more like themselves.
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Gatz.
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