The year was 2014. It was summer and I was on the internet because what else was a teenager supposed to do with their summer? Those were the good old days.
One Direction was still together making albums, pop music hadn't become complete trash and I heard all of these people that I follow on twitter talking about 5 Seconds of Summer.
Of course, I had to investigate.
As I do with any artists before I decide to stan, I google them to find out where they came from, who they're associated with and then I watch some interviews they've done on YouTube. And obviously, I listen to their music. Once I found out they toured with One Direction I was like, "Oh, OK, yesss."
But then I listened to their music and I was like, "Wow, catchy. So good, very good."
Oh, but then I got to the interviews and I think that's where I really fell in love with them. They're such a fun band. The accents plus the antics made for a great combination.
Fast forward four years and so much has changed.
I'm not in high school anymore. I've watched Luke Hemmings grow up. They're still making great tunes. But two things haven't changed:
The fact that I love 5SOS and how every publication ever referred to them as a boy band.
There's nothing wrong with boy bands. I love a good boy band, obviously. But 5 Seconds of Summer is not a boy band. To me, a boy band describes a group of young guys who sing harmonies, may have matching clothes, may do choreography but most importantly, that don't play instruments. Musically, 5SOS does all of their own stunts, meaning they play all of their own instruments and do all of the vocals.
We wouldn't consider Bring Me The Horizon a boy band now, would we? No.
And I'm not saying they're the same but when they first broke nobody, hopefully, saw them as a boy band. Neither is 5SOS. They play instruments and sing... just like every other band. And yes I know they toured with One Direction, but that still doesn't make them a boy band.
5 Seconds of Summer released an album in June.
They became the first band to have their first three albums debut at Number 1 on the Billboard albums chart. They beat out The Carters to achieve this. This is a huge victory for them! And I was so proud! But in the year 2018, I still see them being referred to as a boy band. Even when discussing such a huge achievement.
"Youngblood" is an amazing album and I'm so proud of them for making it.
It's both nothing and everything you'd expect from them. At first, listening to it sounds a little more pop-driven than I had anticipated, but it's addictive and has the kind of layers a 2018 pop-rock album should possess. It will most likely be my article as one of the best albums of the year. But please remember for the next time you discuss 5 Seconds of Summer, they aren't a boy band.
They're just a band of funny dudes from Australia.
