5 Seconds of Summer, who are often referred to as 5SOS, are an Australian pop-rock band from Sydney. Forming in late 2011, the group consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Luke Hemmings, guitarist Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood, and drummer Ashton Irwin. For a long time, people have been debating whether or not they are a boy band. It heavily has to do with the fact that they are “relatable” in the fangirl world and boy band fandom.
While opening for the band, One Direction, on their tours in 2013 and 2014, they burst into stardom. This catapulted their exposure to the media and fans from all over the world. The 5SOS and One Direction boys had a fun relationship in public and basically ended up sharing fandoms. Due to this affiliation and having mainly a female fanbase, the media labeled 5 Seconds of Summer as a boy band.
The 5SOS boys have regularly spoken out about this label and tried to define themselves in their own way. While they seemed to like everything a young boy band would be, they were not wearing matching outfits, doing intense choreography, or playing typical “boy band music.” At the time, they were a newer vibe of a band that the world had not seen in a while. They played their own instruments, were rock-oriented, and were not defined as bubblegum pop heartthrob music, which was very different compared to One Direction. Luke, Michael, Calum, and Ashton have experimented with sound quite a bit and have stated in the past that they got their inspiration from rock-oriented people such as Blink 182, My Chemical Romance, and Green Day.
5SOS and their fandom were a prominent part of the 2014 “soft grunge, Tumblr” culture. From the band tees to flannels around your waist, it defined them as a band. That year, their first single, “She Looks So Perfect,” hit the top of the charts and was playing literally everywhere. Because this went viral, their fandom grew even larger and they began to form their own culture around their band. It was 100% young teenage girl fandom culture for a pop punk band from Australia. Billboard stated, “What 5 Seconds of Summer have accomplished in a very short amount of time is an exponential growth in popularity often only accessible to bands knighted by the “boy band” term. It is a level of success that is unique to that genre: cute boys and ravenous young female fans.”
The thing that sets them apart from other rock bands is that 5SOS devulgarized popular bands that we know of, such as Nirvana. Their music fit the typical “boy band” crowd and they did well at pertaining to the youth without politicizing it. 5SOS was that band that could be seen on the covers of popular teenage magazines, but also could be getting press in the rock-oriented world at the same time. Guitarist, Michael Clifford, said that they could see themselves as the leaders of the new pop-punk wave, they just wanted to bring back guitars. When they rose to popularity, it was a great opportunity for them to bring the pop-punk wave into the mainstream. Instead of feeding into the idea that they are a “boy band” just for the numbers and popularity, they got to make the type of music that they wanted while also being successful. This gave their fans so much room to belong to something new.
Overall, 5 Seconds of Summer are a great mix made for the “boy band” audience with their sensitive songwriting and having a good relationship with one another, while also being edgy and rock-inspired. They are very well suited for their superstardom because of the way they have created their fandom and band culture.
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