Somewhere between 2012 and 2025, the word boyband became acceptable for 5 Seconds of Summer. The Australian alt-pop four-piece finally gave in to the moniker that they spent years denying in favor of being a real band — choosing instead to embrace it, along with a deep cultural critique in their new album “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” 

It’s 5SOS’s sixth studio album as a band, and it has had almost that many genre shifts. Originally gaining popularity as a pop-punk group, its claim to fame will always be opening for One Direction in 2014. 5SOS attempted to be everything One Direction wasn’t — edgy, rock, emo and most definitely not a boyband. But the group has found the key to long-term success that One Direction missed, and that’s a hiatus that actually ends. “EVERYONE’S A STAR” feels like a return to 5SOS’s roots of being angsty teenagers — this time with nuanced lyricism, matured vocals and unique tracking. 

Each member of the band spent the three years between this release and their last album, “5SOS5,” working on individual projects. It shows. Front man Luke Hemmings leaned towards melancholy dream pop, while drummer Ashton Irwin pushed psychedelic hardcore rock. Bassist Calum Hood explored his inner indie-pop and guitarist Michael Clifford pulled from the band’s punk roots. When the band came back together, each had honed their individual craft. On this project, it created a truly unique blend of genres, storytelling and emotion. 

Each track seems to be the omnipotent older sibling of a previous song, holding a nostalgic wistfulness as the drums build or bass throbs. “I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again” is the return to the “Youngblood” sleep-deprived emotional reflection of Hemmings. Backed by Hood’s confident verses, he croons “Every bed is cold without your body in it / Everywhere I go, my skin is crawling / What if I can’t close my eyes without you in my head? / I’m scared I’ll never sleep again.” It’s a perfect representation of the haunting turmoil that an ended relationship brings. The track explores layered chords that echo a movie soundtrack, while further emphasizing the lyrical gold Hemmings creates. It continues into “Ghost,” a sister track of previous release, “Ghost of You.” The evolution of grief between these two shows maturation, as the tortured edge of each vocal remains, but this one is calmer. The sound is almost hypnotic as he sings “​​Late at night, we’re the same, it shows / You and I, haunted by a similar ghost / Drunk and high when I need you most.”

The album’s unequivocal theme is the complicated past of fame, no doubt brought to the surface by the death of fellow artist Liam Payne. There’s a vulnerability in reclaiming this old narrative of a boyband, when it’s typically meant that there’s a large female fanbase and therefore not as high-quality music. The band mocks it in “Boyband,” singing “Boy in a boyband, imaginary boyfriend / Irritates the metal heads, it’s your favourite.”  The underlying trauma of being a Hollywood darling runs deep in this track, as they continue “Boy in a boyband, make that monkey dance / Let me see you clap your hands, it’s your favourite.” It’s an acknowledgement of their former selves — and the very dark internal roller coaster that comes with it — while also mocking the absurdity of show business and constant production.  

The theme of a dancing monkey is two-fold with the lyrics, “I know you can make me / A man from a monkey” in “Evolve.” The bridge of this track furthers the mocking tone of boyband haters, with an interlude of a monotonous robotic voice saying, “During development, girls brains tend to mature about one to two years earlier than boys’.” While 5SOS’s fan base is majority women, it’s still unexpected for the hypocrisy to be acknowledged on a larger scale. Female band fans have been dismissed since the boyband’s inception with The Beatles. Accompanied by a driving kick beat, “Evolve” answers the constant belittling of girls enjoying music, literally calling them smarter and more evolved. Rather than being swallowed up by the abundance of infatuation, the band champions it. 

While maintaining their rock roots, 5SOS finally settles into a mature sound. It’s the perfect mixture of psychedelic and techno, embracing experimentation. The raw honesty of “EVERYONE’S A STAR!” examines the band’s own strengths and weaknesses under a microscope, a risk that paid off. Boyband or not, 5 Seconds of Summer’s transformation would make any fan proud — but most especially the girls who were there from the beginning. 

Contact Julia Diorio at [email protected].