Sunday evening I decided to watch this year’s American Music Awards or AMAs because who spells things out anymore? Every year it seems like the buzz and advertising for these shows get bigger but the hype never matches the awards that are always end up being seen by millions. This year’s AMAs had some solid performances but one really stood out for me because I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.

Jenny McCarthy and her husband “post teen heart throb” Donnie Wahlberg that most likely still gets the ladies that loved him during the New Kids on the Block days going, introduced the current teen-obsession 5SOS (Can someone tell me why they’re called 5 Seconds of Summer?).

With artists like Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, Lil Wayne, Jessie J and many, MANY others performing, 5SOS was not on my radar but Wahlberg’s comment on boy bands dominating back in his time and still killing it really made me think. Out of all the trends in music that get used, thrown away and recycled years later, boy bands never seem to go away.

Even though the general public don’t show them love, these bands always tend to sell like crazy and have a solid career span (with a few members expanding their years by successfully going solo). I would be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t feeling 1D (or One Direction) new single “Steal My Girl” that’s constantly playing on the radio or that I couldn’t at least appreciate that mini boy band reunion Justin Timberlake did for the VMAS last year. Being a true music fan, means being objective and exploring artists beyond what’s popular or what you already know.

Now I may not be a part of 5SOS ‘s demographic because I don’t plan on getting front row tickets to their concert anytime soon, I can admit that they are creating some catchy music and truly have some talent. After seeing their AMA performance of The Romantics classic “What I Like About You” and secretly digging “She Looks So Perfect” I thought what the hell let’s keep this crazy spiral down the 5SOS rabbit hole going and check out their debut album. Here are my thoughts:

Released on July 22nd this year in the states, the self-titled debut album has already sold a half-million copies and spawned four singles. If you’re familiar with “She Looks So Perfect” a song that feels like it was created for the summer time, then you may be able to determine if you’ll like or hate the rest of the album. “5SOS” is full of explosive drum driven tracks that make me nostalgic for the pop punk like Blink 182 or Green Day that ruled the radio waves during my childhood.

After kicking the album off with their lead single, a song that has just as much single potential called “Don’t Stop” starts. “Don’t Stop” a song that is about getting that girl that’s most likely out
of your league makes me think of a teen romantic comedy in a good way. (Everybody wants to take you home tonight but I’m gonna find a way to make you mine.) Since teen girls are 5SOS’s fan base the lyrics aren’t surprising and if that doesn’t turn you away there are some catchy songs that are waiting to be heard on here.

Gotta love that line in “Good Girls”: (“Good girls are bad girls that haven’t been caught line”) very true folks. 5SOS isn’t just about churning out the upbeat pop hits, they slow things down a couple times with tracks like “Amnesia” “Everything I Didn’t Say” and “Never Be” to switch it up.

“Never Be” is my favorite slow track on the album, where the band sings about being young and living before you get old and shit gets real. I’d definitely recommend this album to fans of pop music currently being played on the radio or the pop-punk bands of the past that influenced this group.
I know the stigma to hear music like this is heavy with the millions of teen girls obsessed with these bands who like to send out death threats on twitter and make every award show unfair with the amount of votes they have but don’t miss out on a talented group because of all that. You’ve got one new fan 5 Seconds of Summer but don’t get too excited I won’t tweet like crazy about you or change my profile pic to one of your faces.

Must-Hear Tracks: Never Be, She Looks So Perfect, Don’t Stop, Everything I Didn’t Say, Voodoo Doll, Long Way Home

What do you think of “5 Seconds of Summer”? Let me know in the comments!

Buy on iTunes: HERE