In 2011, the pop-punk scene gained a new addition when Five Seconds Of Summer was born. It all started when Luke Hemmings began posting covers to YouTube in February 2011.
Michael Clifford and his friend Calum Hood proposed the idea of forming a band to Luke, and poof 5SOS was born. After posting group covers online, Michael recruited Ashton Irwin to be their drummer by sending him a Facebook message. They had their first official gig at the Annandale Hotel, which is a pub in Sydney, Australia.
Michael actually came up with the band name completely randomly. He was jotting down potential names and when he came up with Five Seconds of Summer. It didn’t mean anything to him at the time, other than him thinking it sounded cool, but he made the Facebook page without telling the rest of the band. What Michael didn’t know was that this very band would capture the hearts of fans nationwide.
In 2012, the band signed to Sony/ ATV Music Publishing and released their debut EP Unplugged later that year. They skyrocketed to fame when One Direction member Louis Tomlinson discovered the band on YouTube and invited them to open for One Direction’s Take Me Home Tour in 2013 (and later went back on tour with them for the Where We Are Tour. Capitol Records signed them in 2013, and they released She Looks So Perfect, which was their debut single under a major label. Their debut self-titled album reached the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Charts, which is a big deal for any artist, but especially an Australian group.
The band went on to have a very successful career, and by 2025 have released five studio albums, three live albums, a variety of EP’s, singles, and music videos. They’ve completed several headlining tours like Rock Out with Your Socks Tour, Sounds Live Feels Live Tour, 5SOS3 Tour, Meet You There Tour, Take My Hand Tour, and The Five Seconds of Summer Show: World Tour 2023.
Over time, they proved that they aren’t a boyband, they are a pop-rock band. It might’ve taken a while, but with each release their music has only gotten stronger and more mature. There were no more cookie-cutter lyrics, and they were finally putting out music they were proud of. It’s not that they aren’t proud of their old work because they acknowledge they wouldn’t be where they are without it, but they don’t love certain songs that fans are obsessed with (Heartbreak Girl and Don’t Stop I’m looking at you two). Their global reach and streaming success has helped them evolve as artists, songwriters, and musicians. Their musical evolution has only been a testament to the fact that they create music that’s both emotional and authentic, which contributes to their storytelling ability.
As of April 2025, all four members have endeavored on solo projects, but Five Seconds of Summer isn’t going anywhere.
Historically, we’ve seen iconic bands breakup over solo pursuits, like Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Police, One Direction, The Jackson 5, *NSYNC, and so many more. Now, it isn’t just the solo aspirations that have contributed to the dissemination of these bands. A band can break up for a number of reasons like financial tensions, creative differences, and personal conflicts. In most artist’s contracts there is a key member clause. This clause helps determine how the band will move forward if a “key member” leaves and outlines the consequences due to the loss. Depending on the contract, the key member could either continue their work as a solo artist and sign to the label keeping their name and music, the rest of the band could either dissolve, also get signed, and continue to operate under a new name or whatever the label decides for them. This clause is necessary because it helps avoid a major legal battle and a financial nightmare.
The details of 5SOS’s contract aren’t publicly known, but we know that they are now signed independently through BMG Rights Management. It was not an easy road getting there. The parted ways with Interscope and Modest Management in 2021. Their first three albums were released under Capitol and moved to Interscope to release Calm in 2020. After they left Modest, they were managed by YM&U in February 2021 and ended seven months later. YM&U sued the band and their manager Benjamin Evans, and their touring group for $2.5 million for alleged unpaid commission. Their attorney sent YM&U a letter stating the band would not pay them for the lucrative deals that were made on behalf of the band. The lawsuit was later settled. Needless to say, their contract with BMG seems more artist friendly which would allow them to grow as artists and take more control on the business side of their career. When they signed to BMG; Thomas Scherer, BMG President Repertoire & Marketing (LA and NY) said “with their high level of success and global appeal, BMG is the perfect partner for a band of this magnitude and what they want to accomplish. Ash, Michael, Luke, and Calum are now in the driver’s seat as both entrepreneurs and creators. We will be working together as partners every step of the way to bring them to the next level they so very much deserve”.
Ashton was the first member to go solo. He released his debut solo album Superbloom on October 23, 2020. Irwin took the global covid-19 pandemic to work on his first solo album, and even believes that for the first time in his life he was able to create music with a message he wants to share. He told NME that the album was written “about things that have happened to me, that I know have happened to a lot of others. It’s all about self-acceptance. I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney and a lot of this is just me coming to terms with who I actually am. With this record, instead of playing characters and writing about things that I think people want to hear, I’m writing what I need to hear.” Exploring writing vulnerable song lyrics wasn’t new to him, especially since some of the most popular 5SOS songs in the fandom are the most complex (and that I can confirm). I have Superbloom on vinyl, and I remember the first time I listened it just made so much sense to me. Everything down to the artwork just screams Ashton. He later released his second album Blood On The Drums, which was released in two parts. Side 1 The Thorns was released on June 12, 2024, and Side 2 The Roses was released on July 17, 2024. As the drummer of 5SOS, the title of this album definitely serves as an ode to his career as a professional drummer, and he even says it’s a metaphor for how much he’s given to his music. Whereas Superbloom is more personal, Blood On The Drums takes a more outward approach intertwining universal themes with personal stories.
Luke’s turn to go solo was next. He released his debut album When Facing the Things We Turn Away From in August 2021. This album was also a result of the pandemic. Hemmings took that time to create an album to revisit his past self. The band was always on the road and when the world suddenly stopped, Hemmings says he was never in one place for that long (that wasn’t home). Originally Luke wasn’t aiming to create a whole album, but as he continued to write songs it became clear that this was the direction these lyrics were heading. Hemmings told Rolling Stone “All the lyrics on the album are just trying to understand everything and trying to find my truth and the way I want to live my life from here on in, because I had such a unique time to look back and reflect on what happened. The sort of journey I’ve had, I mean, 15 to 25 is a huge learning curve anyway, it’s very much ‘boy to man’, even scientifically that’s ‘boy to man’.” He released his second album “boy” on April 26, 2024. I went to his Nostalgia For A Time That Never Existed Tour and it was genuinely everything I could’ve hoped for. I’ve seen 5SOS twice (Take My Hand Tour and The Five Seconds of Summer Show: World Tour 2023), but Luke really just blew me away. That was his first solo tour, and Luke from 5SOS is very different from Luke Hemmings. It was like I was watching a different artist on the Brooklyn Paramount stage, and that’s truly a testament to his work as a solo artist.
Michael released his debut single Cool on April 2, 2025, and also announced that he signed to Hopeless Records as a solo artist, which is an independent label known for their punk rock, pop-pop, post-hardcore, and alternative rock artists. This new single is only the beginning for Clifford, and he’s set to release his debut album SIDEQUEST under the label.
Calum was the last member to release solo music, but honestly it was worth the wait. On April 10, 2025, Hood’s debut single Don’t Forget You Love Me dropped, which is the debut single from his upcoming album ORDER chaos ORDER (which is dropping on June 13,2025). I knew something was brewing the second I saw Calum become more active on social media, especially TikTok. Since the song’s release, I can confidently say I’ve had it on repeat, and I probably make up the majority of the streams. Calum describes the theme of the album by saying “There are things I’ve never been able to sing about in the band—my upbringing, my family, the places life has taken me. This album is about laying those things to rest and allowing listeners to connect in their own way.”
When Ashton released Superbloom, fans went crazy. In reality, he paved a way for Luke, Michael, and Calum to feel more comfortable going down that path. Luke told Rolling Stone “I think I’m happy that I’m very blessed that I’m in a band where Ashton [Irwin], our drummer in 5SOS did his own album, and now I’m doing my own. The intent behind the album is very sincere in that it’s a creative outlet, and I love being in the band and that was very clear to the band. I’ve tried to make the narrative behind it be very clear, because it’s the truth; I love being in this band, and creatively it does fulfil me, but I just needed to make this music to understand myself. It was just a need that I had, and to have a fanbase that will understand that it’s just so rad”. He continued “Even having you point it out just then, it’s such a cool thing that people who have been with the band for almost ten years, can see me or someone else doing a solo thing and not have it mean the end of the band. It’s a new thing to love about the band. It’s rad that you can see, even from these two albums, where the band’s music might come from. The influences of myself and of Ashton – Calum and Michael have their own influences – coming together helps make the band. It might sound so simple, but I guess when you break it up into separate bodies of work, it becomes this really interesting story overall, and quite unique to us.”
As a longtime 5SOS fan, it’s clear that each piece of solo work just represents each member so well. In order to bloom, you have to grow. By working on their individual projects, it will only help them grow as songwriters and musicians. If they ever felt constrained, they now have their own outlet for musical expression. Five Seconds of Summer isn’t going anywhere if anything they’re going straight to the top. This creative expression and individualization are beneficial for the long-term goals of the band.
By Alexa LaMalfa