Do you consider 5 Seconds of Summer a "boy band"?

IMO boy bands do not normally play instruments, or if they do, individually/casually (ie: Niall Horan). Therefore, I did not perceive 5SoS as a boyband when they debuted. They were, to me, a band, that had a unique, approachable sound. They were a little bit pop punk, but could hang between the pop and alt genres at the time, while playing up the “cute” appeal. There was nothing really groundbreaking about 5SoS other than that after a few years of 1D hysteria, they seemed fresh. These weren’t just cute boys, they were cute boys with guitars. If 1D was your crush in English class who played soccer, 5SoS was your crush in art class who skateboarded. Despite the piercings and hair dye, there was still something about 5SoS that made them feel squeaky clean, and like they belonged more in the teen pop genre than with other alt bands. At a different point in time, they likely would’ve just carried on being known as a band. But because the pop world was thirsty for this edgier flavor of boyband while it was still hot back in 2014, congratulations 5SoS, you are a boyband! I do believe it was a deliberate marketing decision at that time, but as for now where such a label doesn’t really seem advantageous nor detrimental, it doesn’t really seem like something you can backpedal on. I suppose from that perspective, being an “EDM group” probably is following current trends more than being a boyband, never mind a rock or pop punk band. That said, it does also appear to me that their doing this style, as opposed to something rock based, doesn’t help relieve the boyband stigma. It seems to me they still play their four piece set up live, so they haven’t gone EDM entirely, and from that perspective I have hard time still not personally classifying them as just, well, a band. But going by what I’ve been hearing from them on the radio, which has a negligible rock sound, I as a result think of the music as being from a boyband/group.

TLDR; I didn’t think of them as a boyband during the “She Looks So Perfect” due to their rock sound, despite being marketed that way to compete with 1D. Yet now ironically I think of them as more of a boyband, despite boybands not being the hot thing anymore, just because their sound has gotten much deeper into the EDM/pop sphere.

Yeah, that was always the case traditionally, but given how many other contemporary genres have become more loosely defined in recent years (e.g Pop incorporating Trap snares, rock being defined as anything and everything from Imagine Dragons to Metallica), I personally don't believe "boy bands" can still be pigeon-holed on the basis that they don't play instruments. I feel as though it is counter-intuitive to strictly define one sub-genre of music and not others which are just as influential, but that's just my opinion. I do agree that it would have been a deliberate marketing ploy to project 5 Seconds of Summer as a "boy band", given the context of their emergence into the mainstream. That being said, the band have done very little to overrule that perception in the years since then.  


Image aside, the lyrical nature and production of the songs themselves are a truer indicator as to whether a group can qualify as a "boy band". There are bands out there who have a typically older fan base, yet are made up of members who have little to no musical ability. For instance, Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols was a terrible bass player and he didn't even play bass for most of the Never Mind the Bollocks sessions, however that never changed people's perceptions of the group. In fact, the Sex Pistols themselves only formed after their manager recruited each of the members to form a band in 1975; that's really no different to how boy bands such as One Direction or the Bay City Rollers came about. 

Defining a "boy band" purely based on whether the members of the band can play instruments is invalid in the current context and cancels itself out, especially at a time where many contemporary genres (e.g rock, country) have never been as loosely defined as what they are now. 5 Seconds of Summer tick all of the boxes when it comes to fitting the stereotypical "boy band" mould; the fact that they play their instruments shouldn't override all of the other qualities (e.g adolescent lyrical themes, the "pretty boy image") which are just as integral to their music.

Did One Direction ever dance in their music videos though? I honestly can't remember if they ever did.