The Australian pop band discuss their new album ‘Everyone’s A Star!’, having to prove themselves, and their “most ambitious” tour yet
For decades, the ‘boyband’ label has been met with apprehension by the musicians holding the title; the Backstreet Boys defiantly called themselves a “male vocal group”, while *NSYNC hated how reductive the label was. But after 10 years in the spotlight and five albums, 5 Seconds Of Summer are finally ready to reclaim the ‘boyband’ title on new album ‘Everyone’s A Star!’
Speaking to NME over Zoom just two days ahead of ‘Everyone’s A Star!’’s release, Michael Clifford explains: “The fun part of being a boyband is for us to redefine what it is because when we were starting out, we would play in pubs and do all of the things that typical bands would do and the key thing that we figured out is that being a boyband isn’t a bad thing.”
The road to acceptance hasn’t been easy for 5SOS; back in 2015, NME awarded them the title of Worst Band in the World three years in a row. It’s since become something they’ve taken in their stride, with Ashton Irwin acknowledging that it’s “foolish to allow any emotional damage to happen in the world of pop”.
Instead, they’re focusing on being “bulletproof” and “larger than life” characters on ‘Everyone’s A Star!’, and they’re ready to bring their “most ambitious” tour across the world in 2026. Check out NME’s chat with 5SOS below, where they discuss comparisons to The Beatles, how their solo careers have affected working together as a band, and their “8 Mile moment”
‘Everyone’s A Star!’ feels very different from your previous output – what made you want to go in a different direction?
Luke Hemmings: “We love flipping things on their head and every album keeps people guessing. It makes it more interesting for us. We wrote a song called ‘No. 1 Obsession’ and that lyrically and sonically was so 5SOS. That title too, playing with people’s perception and our perception of our career and the tonality and irony of it made us feel like old 5SOS but with lots of wisdom behind it.”
Ashton Irwin: “There are a lot of factors. It’s compiling 15 years of writing songs, playing live and experiencing the business that we’re in. It’s also the mind-altering experience of iPhones and that ever-expanding nature of technology that we’re all in right now. That changes everything from the group up, from lyricism and the way it all looks and feels.
“We were unsigned, multiple people in the band were having children, we hadn’t been on tour in two years. A lot of life changes, energetic shifts and awareness shifts were applied to the music. We had to really fight for this to exist, really really hard.”
What would you define as the ethos of ‘Everyone’s A Star!’?
Irwin: “It’s redefining our conversation with the public and our fans, and evolving as performers and entertainers but also trying to master 5 Seconds Of Summer’s nature. The ethos of it is really recapturing our rock roots but also making sure we’re remaining outstanding in our approach to lyricism and release strategy.”
Calum Hood: “It was also rediscovering the fire in the belly of 5SOS, especially from the last record and reintroducing that into what we do. Also who is 5 Seconds Of Summer in the modern music age? We’ve been many different versions of the band and it’s kind of figuring out who we want to be now. I’m really glad that it feels, in its energy, very Australian. It feels very working-class, it feels like where we’re from.”
What made you want to reclaim the term ‘boyband’?
Hemmings: “We started in a garage as a rock/pop-punk band, so it felt like it was being used in a derogatory sense. We just wanted to sound great live and write great songs, so it felt like kind of a dig. This whole album is like having a conversation about our experience in this industry with the audience and poking fun at ourselves and taking the piss, for lack of better terms. So it felt like if we call ourselves a boyband, then you can’t hurt us with it.”
Hood: “We’ve been kind of a strange amalgamation of what creates a band. It kind of confused people that we play instruments and we all sing and that was enough reason for them to try and label or pigeonhole us. Back then, I personally felt it was a little belittling, but luckily we had such a strong sense of identity of who we were, that now we are able to look back at our early years and articulate it in a way that we can reclaim the power of what that is. We’re writing that narrative for ourselves and it’s felt really good and it’s really resonated amongst our fanbase.”
It seems some boybands don’t necessarily fit the stereotypes that come with the label. The Beatles were one of the first acts to be called a boyband… what sets a boyband apart from a band?
Clifford: “NME, you can quote that. I think the fun part of being a boyband is for us to redefine what it is because when we were starting out, we would play in pubs and do all of the things that typical bands would do and the key thing that we figured out is that being a boyband isn’t a bad thing. It’s such an important part of our lives that we had predominantly a young female fanbase. This is the best fucking fanbase in the world. We’ve played to a room of men before, and it sucks really bad. We had the best case scenario.”
Hemmings: “Young women define culture. They tell you what’s cool.”
5 Seconds Of Summer’s sixth album ‘Everyone’s A Star!’ is out now via Republic Records. They will tour the UK, Europe, North America and Australia in 2026
