User:5SOS001/sandbox

5 Seconds of Summer
5 Seconds of Summer on their 2014 UK tour.
Background information
Also known as	5SOS
Origin	Sydney, Australia Liverpool, England
Genres	Pop Punk, Pop Rock
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Capitol Records
Members	Luke Hemmings Calum Hood Michael Clifford Ashton Irwin
Website	www.5SOS.com

5 Seconds of Summer are a British-Australian pop punk and pop rock band formed in 2011 consisting of members Luke Hemmings (lead vocals), Calum Hood (bass, vocals), Michael Clifford (guitar, vocals) and Ashton Irwin (drums, vocals). The group originated as a YouTube band, uploading covers of popular songs to the video sharing website. They began to gain a small fanbase in 2012 that expanded when British boyband One Direction invited them to open their "Take Me Home Tour".

In November 2012, the group released their debut single "Out Of My Limit" through their own record label Hi or Hey Records exclusively in Australia and New Zealand which failed to chart with their first extended play "Somewhere New" following in December 2012 which peaked at #36 in New Zealand. Throughout 2013, the group supported One Direction on their tour whilst also performing their own shows.

In 2014, the group released their worldwide debut single "She Looks So Perfect" which hit #1 in five countries including Australia, the UK and Ireland. Their follow-up single "Don't Stop" was also successful, hitting the UK and Australian top ten whilst also topping the Irish and New Zealand single charts. Both singles hit the top fifty of the Billboard Hot 100 whilst the "She Looks So Perfect" extended play hit #1 in Canada and #2 on the Billboard 200 albums. Their eponymous debut studio album is due for release on June 30th.

History

Origin & Debut (2011-2012)

5 Seconds Of Summer began in December 2011 when Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood and Michael Clifford, who all attended Norwest Christian College, began to upload videos of them performing covers of popular songs together on Hemmings' YouTube channel. Hemmings uploaded six solo tracks to the channel, beginning with Mike Posner's "Please Don't Go" in February 2011. In June 2011, Hemmings, Hood and Clifford uploaded the first 5 Seconds Of Summer performance onto the channel which was a cover of Blink 182's "I Miss You". They continued to upload videos, Chris Brown's "Next To You" acheived over 1 million hits on the site. In December 2011, Ashton Irwin joined the group and uploaded a cover of Wheatus track "Teenage Dirtbag" which has over 2 million hits.

The group attracted the attention of major record labels and publishers, all four members of the group signing deals with Sony/ATV Publishing. Despite having no promotion apart from social media sites Facebook and Twitter, and without the backing of a record label, the group's debut extended play "Unplugged" reached #3 on Australia's iTunes chart whilst also peaking within the top twenty in New Zealand and Sweden. Their international following increased when One Direction member Louis Tomlinson posted a link to their YouTube video "Gotta Get Out" whilst stating that he had been a fan of the group for a while. The group also attracted more promotion by One Direction when Niall Horan tweeted a link to the video for their debut single "Out Of My Limit".

Touring (2012-2014)

In March 2012, the group underwent their first headline tour "5SOS Tour", playing five dates in Australia. Their second tour, "Twenty Twelve Tour" saw the group perform a further four shows across Australia. Throughout October and November 2012, the group supported American pop punk band Hot Chelle Ray on the Australian and New Zealand dates of their "Whatever World Tour". They played their first headline show in New Zealand on November 2nd 2012.

In December 2012, the group moved to London to begin work on their debut album where they wrote with with various artists including McFly, Roy Stride of Scouting for Girls, Nick Hodgson of Kaiser Chiefs, Jamie Scott, Jake Gosling, Steve Robson and James Bourne of Busted. Their second EP "Something New" was released in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at #36 in New Zealand.

Between February and April 2013, the group supported One Direction on the UK and Irish dates of their "Take Me Home Tour". They took a brief break from the tour to embark on their own six date "Pants Down" tour of Australia. They rejoined One Direction for the US, Australian and New Zealand dates of the tour.

In February 2014, the group went on their first headline UK tour "She Looks So Perfect Tour", a seven date tour of England and Scotland before heading going on the "5 Days, 5 Countries Tour" which saw the group perform shows in Sweden, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Throughout April 2014, the group headlined their first US tour "Stars, Stripes & Maple Syrup Tour" which was a ten date tour in the US and Canada. They returned to Australia in April 2014 for the seven date "There's No Place Like Home Tour".

From May until October 2014, the group will support One Direction for a second time, opening the "Where We Are Stadium Tour".

5 Seconds Of Summer (2014-Present)

The band's debut international single "She Looks So Perfect" was released on March 23rd 2014. It debuted at #1 in the UK and also hit #1 in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland. In the US, the single peaked at #24 whilst over in Canada it stalled at #25. Despite the single version peaking in the mid-20s, the "She Looks So Perfect" EP reaching #2 and #1 in Canada respectively. EP tracks "Heartache On The Big Screen", "The Only Reason" and "What I Like About You" all charted in the lower 100s in the UK, peaking at #123, #143 and #137. In May 2014, the group released "Good Girls", "Kiss Me Kiss Me" and "Everything I Didn't Know" were released as promotional singles with varying success. A month later, their second official single "Don't Stop" was released and peaked at #1 in New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland whilst hitting #2 in the UK and #3 in Australia. It hit #47 and #43 in the US and Canada. As with the previous single, three tracks from the EP also charted in the UK and Ireland with "Wrapped Around Your Finger" at #119, "Rejects" at #108 and "Try Hard" at #80.

"5 Seconds Of Summer" was released as the group's debut studio album on June 30th 2014 through Capital Records and their own record label Hi Or Hey Records. The album reached #1 in fourteen countries including Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, Ireland and Scotland whilst hitting the top ten in a further thirteen including hitting #2 in the UK.

The third single from the album "Amnesia" was first made available on June 30th upon album release and has so far peaked at #7 in Australia and #6 in New Zealand. It's also become their best-charting single to date in the US and Canada, peaking at #16 and #19 respectively. It is due for official release on September 7th 2014.

The group have announced their first major headline tour for 2015. The "Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour"