5 Seconds of Summer

===2011–2012: Origin and debut===
5 Seconds of Summer began in 2011 when [[Luke Hemmings]], [[Michael Clifford]], and [[Calum Hood]], who all attended Norwest Christian College, started posting videos of themselves performing covers of popular songs together on Luke's YouTube channel. Luke's first video, a cover of Mike Posner's [[Please Don’t Go]], was posted on the 3rd February in 2011. Their cover of Chris Brown's [[Next To You]] received over 600,000 hits.<sup><ref>[http://musicfeeds.com.au/features/meet-5-seconds-of-summer-your-hosts-for-this-evenings-entertainment musicfeeds.com.au] - Meet 5 Seconds Of Summer</ref></sup> In December 2011, they were joined by drummer [[Ashton Irwin]],<sup><ref>[http://www.liveguide.com.au/Tours/768360/5_Seconds_of_Summer_Australian_Tour liveguide.com.au] - 5 Seconds of Summer Australian Tour</ref></sup> and the four-man lineup was completed.<sup><ref>[http://www.theaureview.com/interviews/the-au-interview-5-seconds-of-summer-sydney theaureview.com] - the Au interview - 5 Seconds of Summer</ref></sup>

The band attracted interest from major music labels and publishers and signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV Music Publishing.<sup><ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/smells-like-teen-spirit-20120730-2397m.html theage.com.au] - Smells Like Teen Spirit</ref></sup> Despite having no promotion apart from on Facebook and Twitter, their first music release, an EP entitled [[Unplugged (EP)|Unplugged]], reached number 3 on the iTunes chart in Australia and the Top 20 in both New Zealand and Sweden.

Their international following significantly increased when [[One Direction]] member Louis Tomlinson posted the link to the YouTube video of their song [[Gotta Get Out]], stating that he'd been a fan of 5 Seconds of Summer "for a while".

5 Seconds of Summer spent the second half of 2012 writing and developing their sound with Christian Lo Russo and Joel Chapman of Australian band Amy Meredith, with whom they wrote two songs ([[Beside You]] and [[Unpredictable]]) that was featured on their second EP [[Somewhere New]].<sup><ref>[[https://books.google.com/books?id=m9edBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT48&lpg=PT48 Biography] - 5 Seconds of Summer: The Unauthorized Biography</ref></sup> The EP was also co-produced by Joel Chapman.

5 Seconds of Summer released their first single [[Out of My Limit]] on 19 November 2012, whose video clip received over 100,000 views within the first 24 hours.<sup><ref>[http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/sydney-teen-band-5-seconds-of-summer-is-getting-hot-in-the-uk/story-fndo317g-1226519114708 heraldsun.com] - Sydney teen band 5 Seconds of Summer is getting hot in the UK</ref></sup> The band were once again the subject of interest for One Direction when Niall Horan posted a tweet of the link to 5SOS’ first single ''Out of My Limit''.

In December 2012, the boys embarked on a songwriting trip to London where they wrote with various artists including McFly,<sup><ref>[http://poyntersource.com/5-seconds-of-summer-says-mcfly-are-an-influence-on-their-music/ poyntersource.com] - 5 Seconds of Summer are Writing with McFly</ref></sup> Roy Stride of Scouting for Girls, Nick Hodgson of Kaiser Chiefs,<sup><ref>[http://5sos-official.tumblr.com/post/42136684569/hey-guys-weve-been-writing-heaps-for-the-past 5sos-official.tumblr.com] - 5 Seconds of Summer Tumblr</ref></sup> Jamie Scott,<sup><ref>[http://www.hillsnews.com.au/story/1304158/local-boys-to-play-support-for-one-direction-tour/ hillsnews.com.au] - Local boys to play support for One Direction tour</ref></sup> Jake Gosling, Steve Robson and James Bourne of Busted.<sup><ref>[http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/things-are-hotting-up-for-5-seconds-of-summer/story-e6frewz0-1226579803306 dailytelegrah.com.au] - Things are hotting up for 5 Seconds of Summer</ref></sup>