It started on a weekend in May. Your favourite boyband 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER headed to Roig Arena fuelled by paella and agua de Valencia, after a thrilling show in Madrid the night before.
Before buying the tickets, my friend who saw them in 2023 told me “they’re the most fun band I’ve ever seen live”, and that was all I needed to hear. I was set to travel to London to catch them with her, but was floored by sickness before I could even get on the plane. Although bummed out at the time, I am so happy I waited, because my first 5SOS show ended up being in Valencia, my home city, where they paid tribute to the city like no one else could – every cultural reference felt personal in a way that a show somewhere else simply wouldn’t have.
I went in blind. Or at least, as blind as I could manage, which was nearly impossible given that the internet was doing its job. 5SOS were chronically online during the tour, their social media buzzing with content every night, and the fans matched that energy perfectly, flooding every corner of the internet with concert videos and all sorts of spoilers. The maximalist aesthetic of this era was impossible to escape too, not that I was complaining. Love a themed gig. Arriving at the venue, there were thousands of beautiful girls dressed up like stars, glitter on and prepared for the exciting night ahead.
Rather than just a performance, the show unfolded as a satirical documentary: a narrative that highlighted moments of their career while reclaiming the term boyband and telling the story of the Rise and Fall of the Biggest Boyband in the World.
“What was it like to be in the biggest boyband in the world?” is asked to HEMMINGS as the opening skit sets the scene.
LUKE, MICHAEL, CALUM and ASHTON appear on screen inside their iconic limousine, singing the first lines of NOT OK over a paella and making a toast with their spoons; taking the culinary pride and joy of the city very seriously. The zebra-print ceiling of the vehicle opens and 5SOS emerge on stage just seconds before the “JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP” part of the song hits, and I swear I have never heard a louder crowd or felt a floor vibrate so hard in my life.
Catching our breaths for just a moment, they launched straight into Nº1 Obsession; fans in the inner pit, front stage, general admission, seats and nosebleeds all colliding to scream every single word. “Make me your number one obsession.” they said, and we obeyed. We are going to be obsessed over this night for a very long time.
Early career clips intertwined with interview-style footage set the scene before the setlist cuts into Easier, one of the classics from their 2020 release Calm. The song moves effortlessly into More, sending a chill down the spine. MICHAEL CLIFFORD and LUKE HEMMINGS coming together at the front of the stage, their electric guitars melting into each other. I don’t think I’ve ever screamed louder in my entire life.
Finishing this segment with She’s Kinda Hot was a gift for the OG fans. Suddenly we were back in our flannel checkered shirts and 2015 Tumblr girl chokers, and for a moment, we were all one and time disappeared.
5SOS included a lovely memorable segment into their set: The Boyband Awards, brought a fan on stage to hand the trophy to the band as they scooped Boyband of the Year. Their goofy personalities and excitement were written all over their faces as they accepted it, making it impossible not to smile and hype them up. Boyband followed, the perfect culmination to the moment, before Telephone Busy turned the room into a proper party. Launching into Evolve on the drums, ASHTON appeared out of nowhere at the front of the stage – giving me a full heart attack – with the rest of the band joining him for what was probably the most joyful performance of the whole set. The power of IRWIN behind the kit is something else entirely, pulling the whole crowd to move to the beat.
One thing about 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER is they are chronic yearners, and this act was the proof. Ghost of You had the entire arena lit up through phone flashlights; a moment of complete stillness and collective emotion that moved more than a few people to tears. Bad Omens followed and gave everyone an existential crisis, the whole room screaming “that’s what you do when you love somebody”, before I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again from the new album closed out the chapter – and honestly, I was starting to feel like I’d never sleep again either.
Arguably my favourite skit of the night. Watching the band in front of a TV learning the news that 5SOS was breaking up, before jumping straight into the solo section, was glorious, self-aware comedy; because you know how much these four genuinely love each other.
This is where the musicianship of each member becomes apparent. LUKE as a frontman is magnetic; never still for a second, his vocals flooding the stage so no corner of the room ever feels forgotten. MICHAEL, goofy and warm in a way that makes an arena feel like a small room, shines during his performance of Enough. CALUM keeps his cool during Don’t Forget You Love Me, pulling your attention with his impeccable vocals and performance. And ASHTON bringing all his energy showing how much of himself he puts into every single thing he does.
During the SoloSOS section of the show, you could feel how each of those individual journeys has fed back into what they are together, supporting each other while letting each one shine, which was one of the most beautiful things about the whole night.
Bringing all four back together at the front for Amnesia was the perfect collision of everything that came before. Hearing their voices together again, complementing and elevating each other in one of their most nostalgic songs, was something I won’t forget.
The EU tour also gave us exciting moments to keep us on our toes, like the vote for the Secret Song. The Valencia winner was You Don’t Go to Parties, played for the first time on this tour after an almost unbroken streak of Start Over taking the vote every night. Madrid had gotten Don’t Stop the night before, and I’ll be honest, I voted for Start Over too – but this was a pleasant surprise that did not disappoint.
Going back to where it all began, the band spoke about returning to “what made us connect with the fans in the first place”: ASHTON‘s bandana back on, CALUM bringing back his punk jump in full force. English Love Affair and Jet Black Heart followed, the arena falling quiet during the latter to let CLIFFORD‘s emotional vocals take over and fill the air. Soon after, She Looks So Perfect had us jumping up and down like our lives depended on it, transporting everyone to a simpler time as star-shaped confetti rained down. A very full circle moment for anyone who had been there from the beginning.
After the final chords faded, the four went back into the limo and disappeared backstage as the room filled with noise, everyone begging for one more song. Minutes later, LUKE, MICHAEL, CALUM and ASHTON entered from the back of the venue doing their celebrity boyband crowd walk, accompanied by flamenco dancer Sara Navarro and the Spanish guitar intro of Everyone’s a Star by David Stewart. Taking back the stage, the visuals lit everything up and the lyrics appeared on screen, making every single person in that room feel like a star indeed.
Youngblood closed the night, everybody singing along and tapping their feet, fighting for their lives to keep screaming until the very last second and give them the sendoff they deserved.
The standout moment of the whole evening, though? The Valencia presentation. In PowerPoint style, the band shared the highlights of their day in the city: visiting the Torres de Serrano, serving LUKE the paella of his dreams, downing 15 “agua de Valensssias” and heading to the beach; before bringing in a photo of a young ASHTON described by MICHAEL as “a lesbian farmer doing community service.” Just marvellous.
Valencia also gave us some viral moments along the way, like the iconic “Someone call the bassist” exchange between LUKE and CALUM that has since been seen from every possible angle, and rightly so.
This tour is one for the books. The narrative, the setlist, the musicianship, the fan service, the intimacy within an arena setting, the aesthetic, the Daily Sauce account reporting live from the floor every night. The EAS tour is going to live rent free in our heads for a very long time, and it proves that shows of this calibre can be absolutely affordable too – but that’s a conversation for another time.
5SOS head to North America next on the biggest world tour of their career. If you get the chance to catch them live, go. Just go. The Biggest Boyband in the World are at the top of their game, and this is only getting started.
