In big Aussie music news, 5 Seconds of Summer returned today with comeback single “NOT OK”.
It’s the first taste of their upcoming sixth studio album, Everyone’s a Star!, which will be the Sydney-born group’s first record with Republic Records.
5SOS’ upcoming sixth studio album, set for release in November, signals their full acceptance of the boy band label that haunted them for years. 5SOS’ members were always adamant about their pop-punk leanings, despite being oft-compared to pure pop groups like One Direction.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, 5SOS opened up about their career journey to this point.
“We had these very clear characters, you could pick us out from a shadow or draw a caricature of us very easily,” frontman Luke Hemmings pondered. “I wanted some of that again. What does that look like now?”
“Being in the pop world in a band, or a boy band, you attach your self-worth to how many people are looking at you,” he continued. “You sort of don’t know who you are without whatever that is, and you can feel disposable.”
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Drummer Ashton Irwin described their new single as an ode to their strong connection with fans. “We can kill our depression together, and we can experience these elevated feelings together,” he said.
This year marked significant changes for the group. They signed with Republic Records, their first major label deal since parting with Interscope in 2021. The intervening period with indie label BMG gave them creative freedom. “We wanted to do it our way, and we wanted to not have the pressure of anybody else’s opinions,” guitarist Michael Clifford told Rolling Stone.
5SOS’ last album, 5SOS5, dropped on September 23rd, 2022 and was yet another hit release. The record hit No. 1 in Australia – their fifth consecutive chart-topper – and reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US.
