Young band hits the big time
By Tatat Bunnag
Photographs courtesy of Universal Music Thailand
Did you know
Last year, One Direction had the biggest-selling album in the UK.
5 Seconds of Summer are about to take the world by storm, following in the footsteps of young superstars like One Direction.
Hailing from Sydney, Australia, 5 Seconds of Summer were formed in 2011 by four school friends — Luke Hemmings (lead vocals and guitar), Michael Clifford (guitar), Calum Hood (bass) and Ashton Irwin (drums) — who shared a love of pop-punk and rock music.
The friends got together and started writing songs, playing gigs and posting cover songs on YouTube. Less than three years later, 5 Seconds of Summer have become one of the busiest boy bands on the planet, with a global fan base consisting of more than two million Facebook followers and a world tour supporting One Direction.
With the group’s new single “She Looks So Perfect” getting lots of radio airplay in Thailand, Student Weekly caught up with drummer Ashton for a phone interview about 5 Seconds of Summer, their latest hit and their tour with One Direction.
Student Weekly: You guys were first discovered when you uploaded a clip of your band performing Chris Brown and Justin Bieber’s popular hit, “Next to You.” What inspired you to start posting videos on YouTube?
Ashton: That clip was actually from before I joined the band. I think Luke just did it for fun. He started uploading videos to YouTube, and they quickly started getting thousands of hits. But it really took off when they covered “Next to You.”
Student Weekly: Can you tell us about your latest single, “She Looks So Perfect”?
Ashton: It’s a fun song about being in love with a girl and making a mixtape for her. The video for the song is pretty crazy. We shot it last month at Long Beach in California. There’s a line about underwear in the song, so director Frank Borin came up with the idea to have everybody in a restaurant strip off their clothes and dance. [Laughs.] It was really fun.
Student Weekly: Do you have any news about your upcoming album?
Ashton: The album should come out towards the end of this year. It has a lot of energy and we really hope our fans like it. We’re really proud of it so far. In the meantime, you can listen to “She Looks So Perfect,” which is a good preview of what the album will sound like.
Student Weekly: What was it like touring the world with One Direction?
Ashton: It was amazing! We all had a great time. We still can’t believe how far we’ve come since playing our first show a few years ago. We have to thank our fans for continuing to support us and for getting us to where we are today.
Student Weekly: What are some of the bands that inspire your music?
Ashton: Our main influences are rock and pop punk bands like Blink 182, Boys Like Girls, Green Day, Busted and All Time Low. All of us have been listening to a lot of different types of music.
Student Weekly: Can local fans expect to see 5 Seconds of Summer perform in Thailand anytime soon?
Ashton: Yes, we will come to Thailand very soon for a concert. For our live experience, you can expect a rock show with guitar solos and lots of energy. I’d like to thank all our Thai fans, and we hope to see you soon!
Vocabulary
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hail from (phrasal v): to cine from or have been born in a particular place
global (adj): covering or affecting the whole world
mixtape (n): a compilation of different songs recorded onto an audio format such as cassette tape, compact disc, MP3 player, etc.
strip (v): to take off all or most of your clothes
inspire (v): to give somebody the idea for something, especially something artistic or imaginativeIdioms
take something by storm: to be extremely successful very quickly in a particular place or among particular people
in the meantime: in the period of time between two times or events
