
5 Seconds Of Summer's Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings, and Ashton Irwin
Photo: The Recording Academy
5 Seconds Of Summer Transition From YouTube To Chart Toppers
Australian pop/rock band 5 Seconds Of Summer recently participated in an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview to discuss how they built a fan base through YouTube and transitioned from the Web to live performances.
"We were building a fan base but we sort of wanted to be like a live band known for our live performances," said drummer Ashton Irwin. "So that was the biggest job — transferring a YouTube audience to people who [will] actually come down to [our] show."
5 Seconds Of Summer — comprising Michael Clifford (guitar), Luke Hemmings (lead vocals), Calum Hood (bass), and Irwin — formed in Sydney in 2011. The band gained recognition by posting YouTube videos of cover songs by artists such as Adele and Chris Brown. Their YouTube channel — which has more than 1.4 million subscribers— helped the quartet garner a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. In 2012 they released two EPs, Unplugged and Somewhere New, before joining One Direction on an international tour in 2013. In April 5 Seconds Of Summer released their third EP, She Looks So Perfect, which rose to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hit title track.
The group's self-titled debut studio album was released in June, topping the Billboard 200. The album features 12 tracks, including the Billboard Hot 100 hits "Amnesia," "Don't Stop" and "Everything I Didn't Say." The group ranked No. 2 on Billboard's 2014 21 Under 21 list.
5 Seconds Of Summer are currently in the midst of an international tour with dates scheduled through September 2015.