THIS JUST IN: IT’S TRUE, EVERYONE’S A STAR!
Our favorite Australian pop-punk-four-piece 5 Seconds of Summer are BACK with their newest studio album EVERYONE’S A STAR! released on November 14, 2025.
PHOTO BY BRIAN ZIFF
The first two songs on the record, title track “Everyone’s A Star” and lead single “NOT OK” are very fun and kind of chaotic, with a Damon Albarn-slash-Gorillaz-esque vibe in the best possible way. I think it’s obvious within their music that 5SOS has always been heavily influenced by artists they listen to, and this album is no different–which is not a bad thing at all. It’s very cool to hear vocals or a chord progression in a song that reminds me of another artist–the feeling is equivalent to the Leo Dicaprio pointing at the TV screen gif, if you know what I mean.
The next tracks, “Telephone Busy” and “Boyband,” were also singles, and both of them are ranked pretty high for me, with the latter being such an important song on the record. It almost sounds like an unserious track at first, but coming from a band that has been around for well over a decade and has seen many different seasons, they know how it all works now–the fans, the fame, the expectations, etc—highlighted in the lyrics to “Boyband.”
Raised on pop punk and bubblegum / Stay young, love me 'til I get it wrong / Make me the flavor of the week / Now I only feel alive when you're looking at me
“No. 1 Obsession” is the next track, and while the lyrics are lead vocalist Luke Hemmings (who has had me in a chokehold since 2013, by the way) begging for this one person to want him back just as badly as he wants them, it still ties into the flashy boyband theme–terrified to disappear, for fans to not care anymore, all that stuff. To me, the first half of the record almost feels like it’s a party–and the drug of choice is fame and attention.
I can't fall asleep, it's like I'm in a dream / Lucid energy takin' over me / I'm dying for a little bit of your affection / I'd do anything to be the only one that you think of
With the first half feeling like a party, it’s natural for the second half to feel like the consequences of that lifestyle. With “I’m Scared I’ll Never Sleep Again,” bassist and vocalist Calum Hood has a spoken word verse, adding an almost haunting layer to an already haunting song about literally being haunted by someone in your dreams. The next track “istillfeelthesame” is more upbeat, but equally as devastating. It highlights the feeling of helplessness when you can feel something (or in this case, someone) slipping away, things ending–and there’s nothing you can do about it, even while you remain unchanged.
This record definitely speaks to the dangers of fame and stardom and everything that comes with it, and yet, every time I listen to it I feel like I’m listening to one specific story being unfolded. I see a relationship sprouting from an unsustainable party lifestyle of fame and the high from it, leading to the inevitable crash and self-loathing. I don’t know if that was necessarily the intention, but it adds a whole separate layer that way. And with the next tracks “Ghost” and “I’m So Sick of Myself,” that’s exactly what it is–when the lights, music, and that other person are all gone, then what? You’re stuck with just you.
Late at night, we're the same, it shows / You and I, haunted by a similar ghost / Drunk and high when I need you most / You and I, haunted by a similar ghost
Nothin' else, nothin' else, nothin' else helps / I'm so goddamn sick of myself / Wish I could walk a mile out of my shoes / Of a man, of a man, I was a shell / Till there was you
With the next track “Evolve,” it’s very much giving relapse. While more of a catchy, upbeat track, it’s about wanting the party life, clinging to it desperately even as he knows it’s terrible for him. Honestly, the self awareness is simultaneously the best and most devastating part of it all.
But I wanna have fun / I wanna get high / I wanna get drunk / When you gonna grow up? / I wanna do drugs / I wanna make love / I wanna get fucked / When you gonna grow up?
I know that I lost all, lost all control / I know that I got to, I got to evolve / I know that I lost all, lost all control / To love you, I got to evolve
The last two tracks of the standard version of the album, “The Rocks” and “Jawbreaker,” go hand in hand in my opinion–like sister songs. In the first song, he’s still reeling from this lost relationship, trying to kick the bad habits. Then there’s “Jawbreaker,” which is the slower of the two, and what I think is my personal favorite of the duo. In this he finds someone while speaking to how he didn’t realize he needed them until he had them, which is something we’ve all experienced in some capacity–or will eventually.
Can't kick my way up out of the ditch / Can't kill my mind, it's at it again / Like, no one ever felt like this / A lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, but it sticks / And it hurts to look outside of myself / I search the world for somebody else (Woah) / 'Cause I can't take, take this feelin' alone / It's like, like, like, like, like nobody knows
And then I saw you / Oh, my American jawbreaker / Somethin' from my TV screen / Oh, my, my honey, you're a heart shaker / Swingin' from the mezzanine / Oh / Now, I can't pretend / That my heart's on house arrest / All the darker parts of me are cavin' in / Jumpin' off the fence / And it's feeling likе the bent / This is evеrythin' I didn't know I wanted
Regardless of intention, this album made me feel like I was watching a movie or reading the bands diary—it’s a very personal ride, and it almost feels like they’re breaking the fourth wall to tell you what fame is really like. This record is definitely one of my favorites of 2025, and the best part is that the band will be touring the album on the EVERYONE’S A STAR! World Tour beginning in March 2026 and running until the end of the year, so don’t miss your chance to see it (and them) live!
