#like I take Harry styles for example and even some 5sos members since that’s where I’ve experienced it like

[spideyhexx]

if he changes his bio it's over for me it's so cute and millennial

it needs to stay

[bisluthq]

https://www.tumblr.com/bisluthq/776378760813510656/why-do-you-think-5sos-flopped-musically-i-think

One of your Australian anons here - I live in Sydney and hate the monarchy but support Harry and Meg lol 🫶

Ok so a few things to consider - boy bands typically have a short shelf life. 1D were obviously a phenomenon of themselves, but the next biggest boy band at the time were The Wanted, they offered an edgier alternative to 1D’s “clean” image but they had like 2 songs do well. Boy bands have had their moments in time - very popular in the 90s for example, but their primary target audience is typically teenage girls who outgrow them, then go see them at their 20 year reunion concerts for the nostalgia. Boyzone, Take That, Nsync, Westlife, backstreet boys, etc were all HUGE (the British ones didn’t seem to make it big in America to my knowledge though), but typically they made a few albums then someone went solo or the band took a hiatus for a couple years to a decade or more because they’re the sort of act that is marketed so heavily and burns out so fast because their image and constant presence is just as important, sometimes more as the music. Some of them have continued to release new music, but they don’t make the same impact on radio or charts anymore. Some of them tour every few years with no new material. They have fans and made a legacy, but they’re still a pop act that’s only going to be hot for a few years until the trends change, unless they’re someone like Taylor, Beyonce or Justin Biebs who will always debut in the top 10 and always have devoted fans.

So all things considered, as a pop-rock act, they had their bigger hits like she looks so perfect and Youngblood, and then as expected didn’t make as much noise from following albums, but still had decent commercial success with their follow ups. They haven’t released anything since 2022, so we’ll see where their next album lands, but just following the pattern, you wouldn’t expect them to top the charts for months like Harry styles will with his next album.

But they were never a traditional boy band and more of a “vocal group” (to use awards terminology lol). They didn’t dance or do “cute” little photo shoots, they played their instruments as a quote unquote real band. They just all sang. And boy bands have traditionally been very manufactured, especially in the early days of their career when the members don’t typically write their songs. They have songwriting teams to make the music that will woo teenage girls’ hearts and tell them you don’t know you’re beautiful but you’re the only one for me and I never thought I could love until I met you and I will fight for you and us! Like that’s the manual lol. And the typical clean cut image has even been studied and (forgive the phrasing, I don’t mean it in a gender binary way, just repeating how it was said) the more traditionally “feminine” the boys present/ act, the less intimidating they are to GIRLS, and the clean cut image, no swearing, very innocent themes in their songs, no drugs in music or them seen doing them, even a lack of tattoos in the early years - they offer GIRLS a chance to have a very safe first celeb crush/ obsession. And so many boys who started out clean cut like Biebs, 1D and the similar acts before them ALL HAD GAY RUMOURS because they didn’t present hyper masculine and like rockstars who are talking about groupies in interviews and making out with fans on the stage. Parents might find it annoying and especially the parents of super fans because why is their kid crying over a poster (tbh all super fan teens are difficult to live with at times lol). So compare that to having your first crush be on Zayn when he made his first solo album - he’s already covered in tattoos, dressing like a rockstar and not a boy next door, had facial hair, singing about drugs and sex explicitly - very different to the Zayn in the first 2 1D albums - it’s a different experience and also influences what GIRLS think a man is/ should be. — I don’t have puritan values or think tattoos are anything extreme btw lol, I used Zayn as the example because he and Harry did the best solo and are both covered in tats but Harry goes around in bright coloured, bedazzled outfits and pearl necklaces. He’s not “cool”, he’s FUN! And is still non threatening in his subject matter or how his personal life is perceived. I wish I could remember the podcast it was on, because I think the gossip and social commentary of it all is right up our alley lol.

Anyway, 5SOS were never that. They were writing their songs and weren’t making a deliberate effort to appeal to girls - they just did. They were more alternative than a boy band because they were more influenced by rock than pop, they had brightly coloured hair and piercings because they were into emo but weren’t making emo music. If you want to see an Aussie band that 5SOS were being compared to at the time, look up Short Stack - sway sway baby. Short stack were one of the only emo bands from here that charted and weren’t kept just to MySpace and YouTube. The trends changing from emo to pop being the dominant sound was right when 5SOS were starting out, so they had the perfect sound for people who liked the happier sounding emo music, and the emo aesthetic without committing to it full time.

What gets played on mainstream radio has always been very similar to the USA and uk charts. In recent years it’s really hard for aussies to get on radio and only chart because of tiktok now. So whatever was popular in the USA was popular here. I’m forgetting why I wrote that, but the mainstream scene here has never been that different to mainstream USA or uk where the other acts were huge - but we were first to embrace ABBA and lady Gaga, so as much as we’re proud of our pub rock scene, we go feral for the newest, campiest pop sounds lmao. But anyway, it’s not like they were part of a group of similar sounding artists and the only ones to make it out of Australia.

The band were absolutely chewed up and spat out though. When they opened for 1D in America they were teenagers and made no money. Didn’t have the luxuries 1D were given, and had to write and record an album on the road, which isn’t unusual to do on a big tour, but they were teenagers burning out. I don’t remember the details of it, but it’s one of the reasons some members of 5SOS & 1D clashed hard was because of the shitty deal 5SOS had, even though it wasn’t 1D’s fault, and 1D’s managers or label or whatever were making more than the band.

Also, they seem to be album artists more than single artists. They’ve only had a few “hits” but their albums do well and stay in the charts for a while.

So there’s some Aussie history for you and a bit on my opinion about the band. I definitely wouldn’t call them flops though. But I would like to clarify that they aren’t the most internationally successful act from Aus… the Wiggles are still one of our best 🤣🤣 (and AC/DC, Kylie, inxs, sia lol)

thanks for this!