The Grown-Up Guide to Your New Favorite Boy Band, 5 Seconds of Summer

The easiest way to describe 5 Seconds of Summer is that they are the Australian "alternative" version of One Direction. The boys play their own instruments, wear skintight jeans, and have piercings, and at least one of them has colorfully dyed hair. However, despite their punkish look, their sound is unmistakably pop. Their lyrics are uplifting, supportive, and focused on romance — it's very clear that these guys are marketing themselves toward teen girls despite the fact that they don't want to be seen as a "boy band" and think of themselves as a rock-pop band. However, this group makes previous rock-pop bands (and their admitted influences) like Sum 41, Fall Out Boy, and Good Charlotte look like hardcore punks in comparison, but that is totally OK.

The video for their first single, "She Looks So Perfect," is really the best introduction to the group. Watch it above.

They are (from left to right):

• Luke Hemmings — lead vocals and guitar
• Ashton Irwin — drums and vocals
• Calum Hood — bass guitar and vocals
• Michael Clifford — guitar and vocals

The band has risen to fame through a well-tread teen idol path. Like Justin Bieber, the group first gained popularity on YouTube doing cover songs. Eventually they caught the eye of One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, who tweeted out a link to their cover of "Gotta Get Out," declaring himself a fan. Naturally, that sparked a huge interest in the group, and the boys were offered the coveted opening-act slot on One Direction's Take Me Home tour in 2013, exposing them to millions of boy-band-loving teens. The two bands were a good fit, as One Direction brought 5 Seconds of Summer along for its 2014 Where We Are tour and the band started landing high-profile gigs at various award shows, including the VMAs. Once the Where We Are Tour wrapped up earlier this month, 5 Seconds of Summer was getting mainstream attention.

The boys are a perfect mix of adorable, approachable, and a little bit of danger. The band has an extremely active social media presence, following fans, tweeting with them, and sharing plenty of photos on Instagram. They also keep things interesting by tweeting a lot of naked pictures of themselves. (Don't worry, they're more PG-13 rather than X-rated.) Just imagine if members of *NSYNC were sharing photos of their bare bums back in the day!

Unlike Justin Bieber's "Beliebers" or One Direction's "Directioners," 5 Seconds of Summer's fans don't really have an official fandom name. They're too cool for something like that! (But, really, what kind of name could you make out of "5SOS" anyway?)