I went to see 5SOS and The Chainsmokers recently and it was interesting to say the least. I’ve been a fan of 5 Seconds of Summer, aka 5SOS, for over five years now and I’ve been to all of their headlining tours so far. One thing the 5SOS boys know how to do best is put on an epic live show. They pour their hearts and souls into writing songs that transfer to an even better live performance. 5SOS are always pushing themselves as artists; they strive to reach wider audiences and genre boundaries with their sound. That’s why it was so important to them to work and tour with The Chainsmokers because they’re two groups at polar opposite ends of the spectrum.
That holds true now that I’ve experienced the concert for myself. 5SOS put on a great show as they always do; their stage presence and energy is unlike any other artist. And that’s with them playing their own instruments, they move around the stage like they own it and interact with the crowd. 5SOS truly love what they do and never fail to show their love and appreciation for the fans that always come to their shows and buy merch. But since this tour is not their own it was interesting to see how they did things a little differently to appeal to a wider audience while staying true to themselves.
It was almost a shock to the system after 5SOS went off stage and The Chainsmokers came on—it went from an instrumental pop/rock band concert to a loud EDM rage party. It was so much louder than 5SOS’ set was (the bass was literally vibrating my pants), but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although I’ve been to a few concerts in my day, The Chainsmokers set was different from all of them. Besides a few songs, “Takeaway” with Lennon Stella and “Who Do You Love” with 5SOS, most of their set was just them mixing their hits together on a turntable. So it felt more like a party instead of a concert, but that’s okay. The visual effects and props were interesting and cool. 5SOS don’t fly around the arena or dance around giant metal balls because they play instruments so it kind of brought me back to my days of seeing Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber in concert.
After experiencing the World War Joy for myself, even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of the tour to begin with, I can see why 5SOS wanted to collaborate and tour with The Chainsmokers. They are totally different groups, which gave them the opportunity to push boundaries as artists to experiment with their sound and reach a wider audience—and it worked. 5SOS’ evolution as a band to get to this point wouldn’t have been possible if they didn’t take the time they did to make Youngblood.
Doing this tour was a good career move for 5SOS and I can’t wait for what’s next.