words by Chloe Williams

Our favourite boyband is back and we are not ok, pun intended. With the release of new music, free performances in West Hollywood and unexpected album announcements, we have immediately been given everything we could have wished for.

The last time we saw 5 Seconds of Summer, we were bathing in red and yellow confetti, watching humorous skits and being attacked by a huge blow-up dice. “The 5 Seconds of Summer Show” ended in late 2023, celebrating the band’s 10th year anniversary and introducing a whole new level of fun to their music and live shows. This tour followed the “Take My Hand Tour” that took 5SOS5 on the run, originally for “CALM” in 2020, but postponed and rebranded due to Covid-19. 

While it wasn’t the end, “The 5 Seconds of Summer Show” did feel like a version of a finale. Nostalgia took us all hostage, and everyone was having the best time of their lives, on and off stage. The following year in 2024, we saw the single “Lighter” be released, ending this version of 5SOS. The timing for a ‘break’ seemed appropriate from a fan perspective, with the band’s personal lives demanding more attention due to recent events and announcements. During their time out, band members Ashton Irwin, Calum Hood, Michael Clifford and Luke Hemmings also focused on solo music careers, with Hood and Clifford releasing their debut albums “ORDER chaos ORDER” and “SIDEQUEST”. This enabled each band member to develop their own personal style, eventually building up to the next group album we now know to be “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” The new era has arrived with a very distinctive energy of passion and boldness, style and expression, and we need more of it. 

Before diving into “NOT OK”, the marketing team deserves a round of applause. If you have been a fan of the band for a while, you will know of their early days in the music industry and the definitive fact that 5 Seconds of Summer was a pop-rock band. Did that make them more appealing, or more superior? We don’t really know, but that is how their brains were working in 2015 while rocking skinny jeans. However, you can now turn all that around; ‘your favourite boy band posters’ started appearing at locations all around the world earlier this week, and it is clear the boys are wholeheartedly diving into this entire image. Pop music and recklessness, youth and exhilaration; what more could we need in 2025? Since everyone is obsessed with turning back time, the choice to dive into what people have always attempted to categorise them as is perfect, and the boys won’t take no for an answer.  5SOS might not be the 18-year olds they once were, but now they understand the music world, the strategy of it all, and are ready to give it their everything. 

“NOT OK” follows a talkative, energetic anthem that has obvious Gorillaz inspirations, speaking with distortion and imperfection. It is clear they are not here to distract or get audiences attached to some build-up, they are here to engage us with a sense of speed and imminence. As an introduction into this next era, it is definitely making a statement, and it is unlike anything they have done before. You name it and you hear it: contorted guitar solos, layers upon layers of voices and instruments, an almost digital feel with various effects, and sounds of alarms to top it all off. The conversational lyrics have an informal approach that may be a theme throughout the album, taking inspiration from their early days of truth and, sometimes, ease. It is pop, it is punk, and it is anything and everything in between. Replenish their very strong Australian accents and typical dress sense and this might’ve been something you could imagine during the “Sounds Good Feels Good” era, or perhaps more reminiscent of their loud songs on “Youngblood (Deluxe)” such as “Meet You There” and “Babylon”. It’s the perfect combo for new music, something familiar if you listen closely, but still managing to venture out into the complete unknown. 

As we look at the lyrics, the rhyming and repetition bounces off each other, creating a persistent and unyielding beat. “A shadow side” is revealed, a side that has finally been brought back to the spotlight after so many years being pushed down or altered. A side that is unavoidable and even more applicable, yet ironic, to the boy band itself. “Where did the good boy go? Killed by desire” could be a hit to the music industry, their past, and their futures and dreams for what is to come. Overall, if “NOT OK” is trying to prepare us for what is next, I don’t know if we are ready; various other single releases, the album release on November 14th and an upcoming tour will give us exactly what we need. 

A free pop-up event at Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood saw the band play unreleased songs from the upcoming album, including “Star”, “Boyband”, “Telephone Busy” and “No.1 Obsession”. We have won in every way, and we barely know it yet. Not only new songs, the boys of 5 Seconds of Summer rocked up to the event in a pink Y2K themed pink limousine, performing on a star elevated platform surrounded by black-and-white checkered print. And their looks? Well, let’s just say the band have taken their album cover quite literally, matching the feel of the outfits to a key. Think spikey, gelled hair, coloured hair for Michael (if you know, you know), leather jackets, eyeshadow and metal chains- that is the re-cap of both the event and, hopefully, the entire album roll-out. 

We couldn’t be more excited, and it’s as if 5 Seconds of Summer could read our minds here at STARFREAK magazine. Our biggest question to you all is whether you are a star or a freak, and it seems that the boys of 5SOS say “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” Though we’re not going to lie, we are getting some freak vibes from what we have seen so far. Listen to “NOT OK” now on all streaming platforms, and pre-save the album while you can. This entire era for their sixth studio album is going to be something you don’t want to miss, and that’s a promise.

photo credits: @5sos Andy DeLuca