Forget girls, 5 Seconds of Summer just want Aussie locals to say “Nice song!”
BEFORE Australia’s teen rockers from 5 Seconds of Summer rejoin One Direction on tour, they reveal what they want with their fame.
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THE No. 1 hits, the sold-out concerts, the millions of girls who love them around the world are evidence Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer could be one of our biggest musical exports.
Yet as Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, Michael Clifford and Ashton Irwin prepare to perform at their first awards show in Las Vegas tomorrow, they are still waiting for the ultimate sign they have made it.
The biggest measure of success for 5SOS will be a shout-out from the folks back home in Sydney’s northwest suburbs.
“When someone at the local shopping centre says ‘Nice song?’ that will be the sign because no one from where we are from will compliment you. You might get a backhanded compliment,” drummer Irwin said.
Frontman Hemmings said he indulges in “home pride” when his father mentions hearing their latest singles She Looks So Perfect and Don’t Stop played on the stereos in various shops and business near their childhood homes.
DEBUT ALBUM: 5SOS reveal more about their first record
“I reckon people’s attitude to us is a challenge that motivates you to show them what this band can do,” he said.
The band have been impressing millions of pop fans around the world, and now the critics, since being hand-picked by their mates in One Direction to open on their Take Me Home world tour last year.
They will rejoin the British boy band in Europe next month on their stadium tour.
1D’s Liam Payne said he was “jealous” of the band’s musicianship which has given them a point of difference from the other pop acts on the charts.
“They are so massive now. They are f ... ing great musicians. I am a bit jealous of them. I am working on learning to play now but I wish I had put the time in like they did when they were kids,” Payne said.
“They are supporting us in Europe and it’s huge getting to play stadiums at their age. It couldn’t happen to a nicer band.”
The admiration is mutual. The 5SOS lads know those shows, even if they were only on stage for a handful of songs, introduced them to the world’s most powerful music fan — the teenage girl.
Those social media mavens spread the buzz about 5SOS so quickly on that tour that only a few concerts into the American leg, the four Australian lads were getting mobbed every time they left their hotel.
The legion of fans are also their best publicists, quickly shooting down any critic who erroneously refers to 5SOS as a ‘boy band”.
The difference between boy bands and pop rock bands are the former don’t play their instruments and write their own songs.
5SOS had played only 16 gigs before that tour and have now notched up more than 200, with each show announced selling out within minutes.
“Going back to what Liam said, the only reason we are a good live band is because they gave us the opportunity to be. They made it happen,” Irwin said.
5SOS estimate they have written more than 100 songs since they started posting covers on YouTube about two and a half years ago yet only a clutch of them will make the cut on the self-titled debut record which is released on June 27.
It went to No. 1 instantly on iTunes in more than 20 countries this week on pre-orders alone, before fans have even heard any music apart from the singles.
They will attempt to please all their fans, whether in Germany, Japan, America, Britain or back home, with special editions of the record which will also help soak up some of those extra songs.
Trying to please everyone often confuses the four lads.
“It’s becoming a lot to think about. We are trying to do this in three or four continents and it’s intense trying to stay on top of it all,” Irwin said.
But they always stay on top of the gratitude. Saying thank you to their fans is probably the most important thing they do every day on the road.
All four members of 5SOS are single because they are rarely in one place for more than 24 hours, so those millions of girls who buy their music and declare their undying devotion via social media or signs at their gigs remain supremely optimistic that they have a shot at their idols.
“When your whole career is based around other people supporting you, being grateful about everything they have done for you is the most important thing, other than the music,” guitarist Clifford said.
5 Seconds of Summer perform at the Billboard Music Awards Monday from 10am on Channel V.
Luke Hemmings
Lead singer, 17
Recent Tweet: “This is definitely all a big practical joke that everyone is in on, no one likes our band.”
The serious one
Occasionally does phone interviews while wearing no pants.
Calum Hood
Bassist, 18
Recent Tweet: “Forgot how much it hurts to leave family.”
The quiet one
Gave up playing representative soccer for music.
Ashton Irwin
Drummer, 19
Recent Tweet: “We have the afternoon off, so I’m sitting on the couch in my underwear eating various fruits.”
The chatty one
A multi-instrumentalist who wasn’t impressed with the 5SOS YouTube covers before he joined the band.
Michael Clifford
Guitarist, 18
Recent Tweet: ‘This is too auto tuned’ ITS NOT AUTOTUNE ITS A HARMONY”
The outrageous one
Changes hair colour on a regular basis.
Originally published as Forget girls, 5 Seconds of Summer just want Aussie locals to say “Nice song!”
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