“I’ve always been aware of 5 Seconds of Summer. They’re one of those bands whose music has been around me for years, from their early pop-rock days to the more polished sound of Youngblood and the experimentation of CALM and 5SOS5. So going into EVERYONE’S A STAR!, I was mostly curious to see where they would take things next.
And honestly, I wasn’t expecting this.
This feels like 5SOS having fun with their identity while still acknowledging everything that came before. There’s a lot more electronic and dance influence here, but the band’s personality hasn’t disappeared. If anything, the experimentation makes them feel more confident. “Boyband” is especially fun because of how self-aware it is, while “Evolve” and “Telephone Busy” show just how comfortable they are playing around with different sounds.
I also really like how the album balances the fun with more vulnerable moments. It doesn’t feel like they’re trying to prove that they’ve outgrown their past; it feels more like they’re saying, “We’ve been doing this for a long time, and now we get to decide what 5SOS sounds like.” That confidence is probably my favorite thing about the record.
What surprised me most is how easy this album is to enjoy. I’m familiar enough with 5SOS to recognize the evolution, but I don’t need to be a longtime superfan to appreciate what they’re doing here. It feels energetic, playful and genuinely alive.
There are moments where I wish some of the production were a little less polished because I love when the band’s instruments are more prominent, but that’s a relatively small complaint. The experimentation is what makes this era interesting.
Overall, EVERYONE’S A STAR! feels like 5SOS refusing to stay in one box. They started as the young pop-rock band everyone knew, evolved into something much more ambitious, and now seem completely comfortable experimenting with their sound.”
