5 Seconds of Summer

That rarest of phenomena, a group with both "boy band" appeal and musical credibility, 5 Seconds of Summer was an Australian band influenced by emo and pop-punk. Guitarists Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford, bassist Calum Hood, and drummer Ashton Irwin (all the members trade off on lead vocals) started playing together in 2011 in Sydney, having all gone to college together. They first started attracting attention via their DIY videos on YouTube, and soon had a publishing contract with Sony. The band released its debut EP, Unplugged, in the summer of 2012. Having grabbed the attention of One Direction's Louis Tomlinson, 5 Seconds of Summer became the opening act for a 2013 One Direction tour, which increased the fledgling act's popularity and led to a successful headlining tour in Australia. By the time Capitol Records released their third EP, She Looks So Perfect, in 2014, there was no stopping 5 Seconds. The record even made it to No. 2 in the U.S. charts, and its title track was a hit single in the U.K., across Europe, and in North America. Going out on another tour with One Direction around the same time didn't hurt the Aussies' momentum either. The band's self-titled debut LP was released in June of the same year, and it went to No. 1 in Australia, the United States, and several European nations. The album brought the band three more international hits: "Don't Stop," "Good Girls," and "Amnesia." The next year, 5 Seconds' follow-up LP, Sounds Good, Feels Good, found similar success, even though it didn't produce as many huge hit singles. The band released its third album, Youngblood in 2018, with a title track that hit the top spot on the Australian charts.