The early 2000s were full of pop-punk bands, but by the 2010s people were ready for a new sound. Luckily, four Australian mates Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood, and Ashton Irwin came in hot, ready to fill that need.

Those four boys were are the members that make up the modern boy band, 5 Seconds of Summer, sometimes shortened to 5SOS. They came on the scene just in time and are the classic Youtube to the big time glow-up story. With some help from One Direction, the four mates went from having a few fans to being a global sensation in less than 3 years.

Unplugged and Somewhere New

Like we said, the band started by posting covers of popular songs on YouTube, which thousands of people do every day. Unlike the masses, the band, which formed in 2011, got noticed within a year and put out their first EP by 2012.

Their first EP, Unplugged, did well enough, but they weren’t yet ready to put out a studio album. They needed to spend some more time developing as a band. And in 2013, they got that when worldwide sensation One Direction asked 5SOS to open for them on tour. It was that exposure that led them to sign with Capitol Records that same year.

5 Seconds to Success

For a band that got together in 2011, they’ve moved into the spotlight pretty fast. It only took them two years to score an opening gig for one of the biggest boy bands of the 21st century. After that, it was only another year and a half until they put out their debut studio album. Pretty impressive for a bunch of friends who met in a small town back home. And the band is just getting started!