Everyone’s A Star Tour - 5SOS’s biggest tour yet
5 Seconds of Summer are an Australian pop-punk band (or boyband if you want to lose your head) who got their big break in 2013 when they were invited to tour with One Direction. Since then the band have accumulated a die hard fan base, a strong backlog of lore and of course, a long list of banger songs.
They released their album ‘Everyone’s A Star’ in November 2025, which they took to the stage in March 2026. The tour both embraces and reflects on the older music that makes fans nostalgic whilst embracing their newer and maturer sound. The production value and conceptuality of the tour is also of the highest level they have ever done.
The UK/EU leg of their tour, which has recently ended, alternated between Haiden Henderson and Master Peace as their first support act and South Arcade as their second. This is where I admit to you that i’ve seen both because I am also (RELATABLY) one of the previously mentioned die hard 5SOS fans so I watched the show in my home town of Manchester in the UK and also travelled to Cologne to see one of their EU shows. In Manchester, we were in seated and in Cologne we actually bought VIP tickets to watch their soundcheck then ended up being pretty much stood on the stage with how close we were.
It was this show that I discovered that the point and shoot camera that I always turned my nose up at, is definitely worth its salt. So luckily not only will we be talking about the Everyone’s A Star tour but you can see what I captured throughout the show. Unfortunately, no photos were taken at the Manchester show so we can’t see Haiden Henderson but I can promise he was just as good on stage as he is on TikTok - plus his guitarist Bella Perron stole the show with energy as electric as her guitar.
Let’s talk about the Cologne Show. We got the ‘Bite the apple’ upgrade (A reference to their song ‘NOT OK’) meaning we got early access into the venue at 4pm and the chance to watch their Q&A/Soundcheck at 4:30pm.
The organisation from the team was top tier - with organisers ensuring they spoke to everyone in the queue to give them a run down of the event and how it worked with timings, ticketing etc.
Soundcheck & Q&A
The Q&A panel even had its own concept, where the fans asking questions were told to introduce themselves as if they were a magazine interviewing during a press conference. They even asked them to make up fake magazine names.
The Q&A was particularly fun. They answered mostly silly questions like what they would do in a zombie apocalypse but they also answered serious questions about what songs were the most special to play.
“We’ve seen grown adults crying to amnesia” Luke states as me and my friend look at each other, knowing that will be us later. “It makes me tear up though” he reiterates “it never used to. On this tour, we’ve worked so hard to make it something special and we’ve sort of given it a whole new meaning - you’ll see when you watch the show.” As someone who had previously watched the show, I knew exactly what he meant. More on that later.
Once they’d finished their Q&A, they played a few acoustic songs together. Even though we were in a huge stadium, there were only around 100 fans watching this section. It felt particularly special and intimate as everyone softly sung along to two of their older songs “Try Hard” and “Beside you.” Afterwards, they told us “This was the chilled out practice session. Later on, we want to see you all going crazy.” To which, we all went crazy.
The highest VIP upgraded people were taken into the circle pit - which was actually inside the stage with a raised platform that circled around them. We were then moved forward and ended up being just behind barrier. We waited for 30 minutes before they started letting general admission in and we watched the stadium slowly fill up.
MASTERPEACE
The first warm up act was Master peace, who performed what I call a masterpiece. Get it? Because of his name?
What I will say is their stage presence was fantastic, walking on the stage as if they were the main act that everyone was there to see.
Peace Okezie is a British musician, winner of the Ivor Novello award for rising star. He started in rap groups and releasing rap versions of famous songs. His own music such as his debut album and EP’s have been described more as indie and synth-pop with slight hints or influences from the British grime scene.
With so much energy and bounce, it’s no wonder he was chosen for the warm up act. His entire band in fact, were fantastic for their crowd warming ability, gen-z humour and relatability. Getting people to sing along and jump up and down even if they didn’t know the songs.
SOUTH ARCADE
Did anyone else have a Berenstein Bears moment about this band or was it just me? I was confidently telling people these were a popular emo band from the 2000’s/early 2010’s. I remember seeing them on line ups with New found glory and The All American Rejects. Only to find out they only formed in 2021? So who am I thinking about?
Anyway, these guys are still great. I went into the shows thinking they were one of the bands I regularly watched play on ‘Kerrang!’ I was even waiting for the famous song that “I’d know when I hear it.”
As my friend says ‘This is very much you.’ What she means by that is ‘These guys are pretty heavy.' Which they are for 5SOS supports. With 5SOS being on the more socially acceptable, pop side of ‘Pop-punk’, a lot of people used them as a bit of a gateway for the emo/pop-punk and or even heavier music. You could see exactly where those people were in the audience, moshing and headbanging. Then there were the confused people that expected more pop but were still getting into the vibe. It was actually great to watch.
South Arcade are an English rock band from Oxford. Their first gig was in a garage so it’s really quite cool that I got to watch them at not one but two huge arena stadiums.
I LOVE ‘Blood Run Warm’ and it sounded phenomenal live. Harmony Cavelle’s vocals are, in my personal opinion, so much stronger live. She sounds different to how she does on the records.
Oh, I forgot to mention what type of fan I was. You probably already know but I was the one that listened to 5SOS, wore striped shirts as an underlayer and wrapped flannel around my waist. So, yes, I was exactly like the other girls. I was also… drumroll… one of those emos. IT WAS NEVER A PHASE MOM.
Therefore, I knew exactly what to do when South Arcade were dropping their more heavier riffs. It was my time to shine. They were truly fantastic live.
I would genuinely go and see them again if they came to the UK on a headline tour.
Then it was the main event.
ACT 1 - The Peak
The show started with a short video in a humorous documentary style fashion. The video is personalised for each performance, showing live footage of the crowd and using text on the screen that shares the date and location. It states that the group are the biggest boyband in the world and ends with ‘This would be their last concert’
The text on screen reads “Act I, The Peak” as it shows a live video of the band performing the opening lines of their new single “Not OK” They then proceeded to RISE OUT OF THE TOP OF THE LIMOUSINE THAT WAS ON STAGE. As one does on a casual Tuesday. Don’t worry though, Ashtons drums were already there ready to go.
Of course the crowd, me, went absolutely wild. Plus, the song ‘Not OK’ was a perfect excuse to jump jump jump jump so we absolutely did (The screen told us to.) We were then followed up by banger after BANGER - which I did expect for 5SOS as I don’t think they have any skip songs. There, I said it.
Their newer songs feel specially designed for live music because I honestly felt like a pogo stick just jumping to the rhythm - the music was in me. They played straight into ‘No. 1 Obsession’ followed by ‘Teeth.’ Correct me if I’m wrong music nerds but I believe they added more distortion on those guitars for the pre chorus and it HIT.
ACT 2 - The Fall
Another video appeared on screen. Again, documenting how big the band had gotten in a humorous way, sharing nostalgic clips from 2012 and onwards. “It’s just us and the Beatles and Jesus, you know” Luke quips. Michael ends the clip saying “It felt like it was going to carry on forever” as the words “Act II, The Fall” appear on the screen.
We are then treated to the infamous ‘Easier’ transitioning into ‘More’ in all of its glory. This particular section is longer than the others, though it does have a short break in the middle for a powerpoint. Of course.
The thing that a lot of people love about the band is the boys personalities. Watching them joke and laugh together is a highlight of a lot of their earlier shows and videos and what drew a lot of fans in. As they get more famous, there is more need for high production values plus they have a lot more songs they need to cover in a short time. They need a structured set with timed intervals and breaks. Both the comedic videos and this one powerpoint are their way of using that structure to be able to give their personality to the fans.
Here’s my meeting minutes and reflections on the 5SOS powerpoint “How to have the best rock show” as a person who has never played or planned a rock show in their life:
In attendance: Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and like, a lot of fans.
Agenda 1: Pump Up the crowd
Action Items: Scream and shout and shake it all about. The band presented statistics of current crowd engagement followed by proposed crowd engagement.
Decisions and conclusions: Crowd is thoroughly pumped
Agenda 2: Speak in Lore
Action items: Engage in witty banter with bandmates about nostalgic moments to create a sense of connection with the crowd.
Decisions and conclusions: Parasocial norms are ON
Agenda 3: Know Local pop culture
Action items: Research the highlights and landmarks of the local area to engage with the audience about their home
Decisions and conclusions: 5SOS are no longer uncultured and can now say ‘I love to engage with the local culture when I travel’ in really pretentious British accents.
Agenda 4: Give the people what they want
Action Items: Share graphs and statistics regarding audience engagement with their old music.
Conclusions: 5SOS to play ‘She’s Kinda Hot’ as the crowd go wild.
Notes
Um, This was actually perfect, no notes. The band were able to be humorous, cause nostalgia and even engage with local culture to make their fans feel special. I guess that was a note but no more notes.
After ‘She’s kinda hot’ they proceeded to play 3 of their newer songs. The audience completely contradicted a point they made about having less audience engagement for their newer songs because the audience went just as crazy. Likely because their newest album was one of the longest gaps between music we’ve had, so people were excited to hear it and definitely not disappointed by its sound. Slightly more mature without missing their signature sound. They also utilise each others strengths more, each getting more time to sing. The album feels like they’ve come together even stronger and there’s a lot of themes and moments in the show that prove that.
Which leads me to…
ACT 3 - The Yearning
This video segment opens with ‘Live at The Sauce’ which is their media channel that shares behind the scenes, setlist reveals, fan interactions and more. It is most often used as a parody news account where they share humorous news updates. The video shows fake ‘press videos’ of the band in various states of injury, arguing with paparazzi and getting in fights.
A text then appears on the screen stating ‘Act III, The Yearning.’
Screaming, crying, throwing up thats literally all I can say about this section. It was just song after song of me cathartically screaming the words to their more dramatic, sad ballads. The yearning is their best state I promise. Bring yearning back i’ve been saying this.
Sorry, you’re telling me you’re going to play ‘Bad Omens’ ‘Ghost of you’ and ‘I’m scared I’ll never sleep again’ in straight succession. And I have to keep my makeup on?
ACT 4 - The Breakup
The screen comes on again showing clips of the aftermath of the bands ‘Breakup’ followed by “Act IV, The Breakup”
This section in particular I LOVE that they’ve added as i’ve never seen any other band do this. They individually played a song from their solo projects. However, and this is the absolute kicker that ruined our makeup, they all stood around each other. Not in the spotlight, just in the shadows quietly helping each other out by playing instruments and adding to the beautiful music they’ve already created.
I, personally, went FERAL for Michael’s solo music as his album Sidequest is probably my most played album ever. It may seem a bit rogue but it's a no skip album and hits all the right spots.
ACT 5 - The Rise
This section is an intimate and sweet revival video set a good amount of time after their ‘Breakup.’ They’re walking in a park talking about where they went wrong and what their next steps are. “We’re learning to be 5SOS again” Michael states, videos on the screen showing old footage of the band. “It started here. 4 kids in Sydney, Australia just playing music together.”
Finally, the screen goes blank as the opening notes of ‘Amnesia’ begin playing. The screen then states “Act V, The Rise”
Honestly, did someone cut onions in here?
Going back to what Luke said in souncheck about Amnesia meaning more to them now because of the context of the show. This is why. The silly and funny videos were an exaggeration of their own story. They’re coming back to themselves and who they are, learning what made them so special in the first place. The show was absolutely littered with nuggets of this idea. The fourth act showed their silent support of their solo projects but act five was showing their journey into falling in love with the band again. It’s truly a special moment and I completely agree with Luke that it makes one of their earlier hits ‘Amnesia’ feel so profound.
This entire section is filled with only older music. Songs like ‘Waste the night’ were particularly joyful and euphoric after this realisation. The band were sharing their experience of coming back to themselves and in a secondhand way, it brought us, the fans back to ourselves. Everyone in that room, whether they were aware of it or not, were singing from the part of themselves that just loved music and wanted to see a band of boys be fun. For a second, I was back in 2015 with my flannel top wrapped around my waist, just a kid really.
They play ‘She looks so perfect’ and leave the stage. The band are gone for so long that everyone looks around them. Where are they? Are they even going to do an encore? What’s going on?
ENCORE
The noise gets louder and louder as the boys of 5SOS walk from the back of the venue through the crowd to get to the stage. The TV turns on to see them singing the first verse of ‘Everyone’s A Star’ surrounded by their screaming fans, setting off confetti cannons. After that song, they play ‘Youngblood’ as they send off giant inflatable balls into the crowd.
Then, just like that, the show is over.
