As 5 Seconds of Summer’s self-proclaimed #1 fan, I’ve followed them through every reinvention, but their latest album – “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” – marks one of their most striking shifts yet. Since their 2012 debut as scrappy pop-punk newcomers, the band has experimented with countless sounds, with each era pushing them further from where they started. Now, with years of experience behind them, they’ve crafted an album that feels purposeful – one that shows not just who they’ve become, but what they want their listeners to understand and feel.
Through the years, fans have gotten glimpses of who the members of 5 Seconds of Summer want to become as artists, especially across their albums “Sounds Good Feels Good,” “Youngblood,” “CALM” and “5SOS5.” Each album captured a different aspect of their evolving identity, and “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” feels like the moment where all those threads finally came together. The fun, upbeat and childish feel that you hear in songs like “NOT OK” brings back the craziness heard in their album “Sounds Good Feels Good.” It specifically calls back to track two of the album, “She’s Kinda Hot.” It brings the energy that just “makes you want to jump.” “Youngblood” hinted at their shift toward more mature pop productions and featured emotional lyricism paired with layered songwriting that was lacking in their earlier music. “CALM” pushed deeper into darker tones and experimental structures while “5SOS5” showed the band embracing vulnerability, refining their sound into something both polished and personal.
In “EVERYONE’S A STAR!,” you can hear pieces of each era woven into something new. The fun of “Sounds Good Feels Good,” the seductive energy of “Youngblood,” the moody approach of “CALM” and the honesty of “5SOS5” all show up in their new album in a way that feels intentional rather than nostalgic. It’s almost as if, throughout their previous albums, the band had been hinting at this exact direction: testing sounds, strengthening their writing and figuring out how to balance their pop-rock roots with their more modern influences. This album feels like the payoff, where all the experimentation finally adds up to a fully realized version of who they’ve been trying to be all along.
On this album, the band digs into the media’s long-standing narrative about who they’re supposed to be. While they’re clearly pushing themselves forward artistically, the media often tries to pull them back, framing them through the same boyish lens they had a decade ago. One of the most consistent parts of 5 Seconds of Summer’s identity is their almost comical frustration with being labeled a “boyband” – a title they’ve never aligned with. They’ve always wanted to be recognized for their artistry rather than their appearance or the stereotypes that come with that label. This tension comes to a head on the fourth track, “Boyband,” where they directly confront and take apart the expectations that have followed them since the start.
Starting in March, 5 Seconds of Summer will embark on their “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” World Tour, kicking things off with a run of dates across Europe. From there, they will continue traveling through major cities around the globe, bringing the new era of their music worldwide. The tour will come full circle as the band closes out their final three shows in their home country of Australia.
