'Always Gonna Want You Back' One Editor's Deep Dive Into Her 5SOS Obsession

The last thing I want to do is make this cheesy, over-the-top declaration for my love of 5 Seconds of Summer

Of course, that’s probably what it’s about to be, considering I initially wanted to title this piece "What It's Like to Fall in Love With a Band.” But writing this on the release day of 5SOS' Youngblood, their third album and the one the band has emphasized to no end how important and "them" it is, I kinda have to. Because falling in love with a band is practically the same as falling for a significant other: You don’t even realize it’s happening, and before you know it, you’re all in.

I first discovered 5SOS in 2014 at my old job at a pop music site, learning just enough about the band to be ~in the know~ (and knowing never, ever to post a picture of one member representing the whole group). 

But it was randomly watching their cover of blink-182's "I Miss You" at work one day that I was immediately struck by the power of Luke’s voice and those dead-on harmonies with Michael. (Full disclosure: My all-time favorite band is all about harmonies, so I’m a total sucker for some harmonizin’.) I watched this video on repeat for literal hours before diving into their entire YouTube catalogue, especially their stripped-down covers (“Jasey Rae” forever, bye). 

It was then that the realization hit me: I was falling hard and fast for this band’s music — their debut album, their own arrangements of their favorite cover songs — and I couldn’t put the brakes on even if I wanted to. I needed LiveSOS for Christmas, I needed to go to as many shows as I possibly could, and I needed it all right freaking now. 

I needed the stupid-ass, ecstatic grin on my face that I got from listening to their music, and especially — and this was really the key for me — going to as many shows on tour as I could possibly drive to. (The magic for me with any artist, and particularly 5SOS, is always in their live show.) 

Fast forward one year, one album, and seven “Sounds Live Feels Live” shows later, and I was completely hooked: “Waste the Night” live was my salve; the opening/closing of “Outerspace/Carry On” killed me dead. At the time, I thought Sounds Good Feels Good was the pinnacle of 5SOS: While their debut leaned more pop, SGFG delved more into the punk-pop-rock band they always wanted to be; the Green Days (“Permanent Vacation”) and Good Charlottes (“Money”) that they looked up to as teens in Australia.

So once I knew they were “going in a new direction” with their third album, I was admittedly nervous as all hell. I knew they worked with an EDM producer. Could this band that I loved, this band whose music brought me out of some incredibly difficult times, even for just a few hours, be evolving their sound into something that was more produced, more EDM-sounding? Something that I wouldn’t (or couldn’t) grow with?

The first time I heard “Want You Back” was like a floodgate of emotion. The sound was undeniably different; it featured heavy production and Luke falsetto and some serious ‘80s vibes. But it was effing beautiful. It was everything they said their new era was going to sound like and more. The trust — another step in that whole “falling in love” process — was cemented.

And as the band waited three solid years to release new music, they did it right: They didn’t rush into songs immediately after coming off of years of world tours. Instead they spent time living their lives, maturing, and growing into this new era — going into this era beyond proud of what they’ve accomplished with this new record.

With every new song they play live (“Lie to Me,” “Moving Along,” and “Talk Fast,” especially — the “5SOS III” tour nearly destroyed me) I fall even deeper down the 5SOS rabbit hole; thanks to the more mature lyrical content; songs I can not only relate to in my own life, but tracks that show that the guys have clearly evolved as adults and as a band.

Youngblood, you beautiful 18 songs of pure bliss, I am ready AF to hear you in your entirety. And on one last fangirl note: I’m screaming already. 

Photo: Getty Images


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