And along with their look, the new album EVERYONE’S A STAR! represents that change. An eclectic mix of pop, grunge and shoegaze, Luke, Calum, Michael and Ashton have branched out into a new world of their own, full of meteoric bangers that signal the start of something captivating. 

And with their new album EVERYONE’S A STAR! releasing this Friday (14 November), we caught up with the boys and chatted through each track on the album in an exclusive interview.

Track 1: Everyone’s A Star!

Luke: “Everyone’s A Star! is the title track because it’s the best song. So we thought maybe lead with a good one and then progressively get worse throughout the album!”

Track 2: NOT OK 

Ashton: “Jason Evigan had a drum loop and I was like; this is pretty hot. 

“NOT OK stood out instantly when we’d finished it. We were looking for something which was nasty up-tempo rock. It just so happens Jason is extremely good with synthesizers as well. So that sonic sound revealed itself after we’d all tracked on it and it ended up being our lead single.”

Track 3: Telephone Busy  

Calum: “We wrote a lot of the tracks in Nashville. It’s kind of the first time we’ve ever done a camp-esque session. We went there (Nashville) with some of our favourite writers and producers and hunkered down, writing as many songs as we could. 

“Ashton moved into the house and made a studio in the living room. I don’t know what happened in the 10 hours that Ashton was in that room, but everyone came back and he had Telephone Busy and I was like, this is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Track 4: Boyband 

Michael: “I think Boyband for us was about reclaiming the phrase boyband. Boyband was a very dirty word and to some, it still is. I think we were really intrigued by the idea of why that is. For a long time we let it become a word that would offend us and I think as we got older, we found the idea of being called a boyband a good thing we were like oh man you know people have sort of stopped calling us a boyband, how can we make them do it again.

“We can be whatever we want. And if you want to use it as a dirty word, fine. But let’s make it benefit us and let’s make it do something for us and take power in the things that are sometimes thrown against you. 

“It doesn’t matter to us if you call us a boyband or not. But if you do call us a boyband, we want to be the best. We want to be the best boyband of all time. So why not full send it and just go for the stars?”

Track 5: No.1 Obsession

Luke: “Yes, the song that started it all. No.1 Obsession was the first song on the album that led to the other songs in somewhat of a domino effect. That “make me your number one obsession” was a great line, and we’ve used it, we’ve rinsed it. It’s like the north star and the pinnacle of having a line like that in the chorus for the rest of the ones to follow. The song rips! It’s not a single but it’s gonna make itself a single, so watch out for it!”

Track 6: I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep 

(The band speaking to Calum) – “Calum’s sensitivity is exposed through the spoken word, and that’s a refreshing melodic palette for 5 Seconds of Summer. You always sing so bright and happy. But really, this time you sound pensive and reflective. It finally showcases the albums sensitivity, it’s a beautiful song.”

Track 7: istillfeelthesame 

Calum: “This is actually one of my favourites. You can print this. This could also be one that goes TikTok viral. It’s what I view as a modern ballad for 5SOS. There’s not too many about, there’s probably one kind of orthodox ballad, but this one, this one feels like a ballad and the lyrics stand on their own thematically. I feel they’re kind of dark, but also a little sexy.” 

Track 8: Ghost 

Luke: “This was a bit of an odd ball on the album, but it remains because of its intense, visual lyrics. It still matches up with everything else and the sonic of it is really interesting and I love this song. The end of it is so rad. It’s gonna be fun live, so hopefully it gets a couple streams so we can play it live and fulfil my dreams. Because if it doesn’t, then it’ll never get played live!”

Track 9: Sick of Myself 

Michael: “Sick of Myself was one that was important to have on the record. The guitars specifically are panned left and right in sort of an old school Rolling Stone style. We kept a lot of that stuff on their such as the guitar tracks with tons of mistakes and s**t that we did first take. It was about thinking what is something we can do that is raw and honest.”

Track 10: Evolve

Ashton: “When I walked into the studio, Ash and Jason Evigan had the bass line and the drum groove, I’m pretty sure. And all the lyrics were done, and the full production was there. 

“I remember leaving the studio and thinking, that was so much fun. It felt writing the song was a by-product of everyone just having a good time and being creative. 

“The song is one of my favourites conceptually because it’s really empowering for our fan base. Most of our fan base is female and it’s just talking about how stupid dudes are which I’m reminded of every day and in the bridge, there is an excerpt of this scientist talking about the scientific research behind how guys mature um slower than women and I think it’s cool that we could write a song about that.”

Track 11: The Rocks  

Ashton: “This is a fun one to talk about. So, you guys remember She Looks So Perfect back in the day? We revisited our production and writing partner, Jake Sinclair. And we said, Jake, we’d love to get back in with you. We’re trying to make more rock again.

“We’re trying to experiment with different kind of sonics right now. We made this song to an 8-track tape machine, and we were terrified of how the demo sounded because it was so raw. It was the first structure and was done on a drum kit in my head to begin with. And then we tracked bass and guitar on top of it and then layered maybe two or three vocal tracks. And I hoped that added up to eight tracks! We also added a tambourine track as well. The demo floated around and we were really worried about how it sounded. But the song really came together in the production realm after spending multiple weeks on it. It’s one of the most emo songs on our album and it’s a song that I really wish we had had forever. It makes me believe in 5sos and it goes right to my heart when I hear it so I’m really happy this made it on the album.”

Track 12: Jawbreaker  

Michael: “I love this song because it closes really well and I think our fans are going to love it. I just love jawbreaker even as a word to kind of identify this campaign for me. All the things that we are doing on this album very much embody that word and that that sort of feeling so I f**k with it, it’s a good song man.”

5SOS EVERYONE'S A STAR ALBUM COVER NOT OK

5 Seconds of Summer’s album EVERYONE’S A STAR! is released Friday 14 November 

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