What are 5SOS’s top 10 Spotify streaming hits?
5 Seconds of Summer, better known as 5SOS, has skyrocketed in popularity after the success of their 2018 single “Youngblood,” which toppled the charts by hitting number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. They released subsequent hits, like their collaboration with The Chainsmokers “Who Do You Love” and the Charlie Puth co-written tune “Easier.” 5SOS recently unleashed their latest single “Teeth,” which is predicted to have another huge commercial impact. These days, it seems as though most artists’ success comes from not radio or hard-copy sales but rather online streaming through apps and services such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and more.
Focusing on Spotify in particular, the band has racked up some colossal digits on their discography, with their album Youngblood reaching over 1.2 billion streams and their self-titled debut following close behind. But today, I specifically want to look at which songs have reeled in the most streams in every aspect. We’re going to go over all the notable numbers, so stick around!
Concerning their studio albums, as of September 10th, 2019, their most recent record Youngblood has garnered a massive total of 1,249,837,149 streams. Their 2015 sophomore effort Sounds Good, Feels Good boasts 500,893,905 streams. And 5 Seconds of Summer, the band’s debut LP, has gained 930,321,685 streams (not including the acoustic version of “Don’t Stop,” which is on the album on Spotify). It’s no doubt Youngblood has been their most streamed record to date, and it’s quite impressive considering the album has only been out for a little over a year compared to the five years since their debut.
But what about individual songs? Well, it’s a more complicated answer than you might initially think. Based on individual tracks alone, the list looks like this:
- “Youngblood” – 758,919,690 streams
- “Who Do You Love (w/ The Chainsmokers)” – 232,217,438 streams
- “Amnesia” – 221,976,764 streams
- “She Looks So Perfect” – 221,406,279 streams
- “Want You Back” – 124,711,908 streams
- “Easier” – 123,346,506 streams
- “Lie to Me (ft. Julia Michaels)” – 100,023,683 streams
- “She’s Kinda Hot” – 99,496,435 streams
- “Don’t Stop” – 75,225,890 streams
- “Good Girls” – 66,834,901 streams
HOWEVER. (Period.) If we were to look at ALL versions of each song, including original studio versions, live versions, acoustic versions, remixes, features, vocal demos, and alternative versions, the list goes a little differently…
- “Youngblood” – 777,229,317 streams
- “Who Do You Love (w/ The Chainsmokers)” – 241,240,317 streams
- “She Looks So Perfect” – 235,260,671 streams
- “Amnesia” – 233,523,195 streams
- “Lie to Me” – 157,840,475 streams
- “Easier” – 137,726,159 streams
- “Want You Back” – 132,931,172 streams
- “She’s Kinda Hot” – 102,183,500 streams
- “Don’t Stop” – 98,311,964 streams
- “Good Girls” – 86,641,499 streams
Why is this? Well, for starters, 5SOS has released two live albums, so the streams from the live versions comes into play. Then the band released many EPs during the era of their first two albums, and these EPs would typically include acoustic versions, vocal demos, other live versions, and alternate versions. (Like the alternative version of “She’s Kinda Hot,” the demos of “She Looks So Perfect,” or the single version of “Good Girls,” for instance.)
In later years, the band rolled out more dance-oriented remixes for their newer singles, like “Want You Back,” “Youngblood,” and “Easier.” In 2018, 5SOS did something out of the ordinary for their career by releasing a version of “Lie to Me” featuring another artist, who happened to be one of pop’s biggest female stars Julia Michaels. 5SOS has been featured on other artists’ songs before (“Take What You Want” by One Ok Rock), but they never featured someone else on one of their own tunes. This, as well as the studio acoustic version and the Spotify-exclusive acoustic version, boosted “Lie to Me” greatly.
One discrepancy I will point out is that the Don’t Stop EP is not available on Spotify, so “Don’t Stop” did not earn bonus points for the Calum Hood vocal demo. (And that means there were no streaming numbers apparent for “Try Hard,” “Wrapped Around Your Finger,” “Rejects,” or “If You Don’t Know.”)
In my opinion, the definitive list for 5SOS’s most streamed songs is the latter, the one that includes all versions. This gives you a more holistic picture of 5SOS’s top hits. I personally prefer the acoustic version of “Don’t Stop” over the original, so why shouldn’t those streams matter when evaluating the song’s overall popularity? Or the millions of listeners who boosted “Lie to Me” through the acoustic version and the Julia Michaels edition? Not to mention the four different iterations of “Easier” or “Youngblood,” or the six different iterations of “She Looks So Perfect,” better yet! Official charts count remixes and such, yet many mainstream listeners unfortunately may only look to Spotify streaming performance to gauge a song’s acclaim.
But do numbers really even matter? Popularity does not always equate to artistic achievement. Some of 5SOS’s best songs (in my opinion) are some of their most underrated, like Target-exclusive bonus tracks or tunes that were only released on certain EPs, most of which are not even on Spotify. (By the way, click here to see our list of 5SOS’s most underrated songs!) What truly matters at the end of the day is the artist’s expression and creative endeavors, not the amount of plays or the highest peak on the charts.
So there you have it, the top 10 most streamed songs on Spotify by 5 Seconds of Summer. 5SOS is my absolute favorite band and I am beyond proud of all the accomplishments they’ve scored over the years. It’s been amazing seeing them grow from a small cover band on YouTube to the enormous worldwide household name they are now. Give their new single “Teeth” a listen here:
Be sure to let us know down in the comments below what you think of this list and what your personal favorite 5SOS songs are!
Also, in case you were wondering, if my math is correct, I believe their next top overall songs are “Jet Black Heart” (63,933,387 streams), “Valentine” (61,122,921 streams), “Beside You” (49,758,398 streams), “Heartbreak Girl” (47,759,078 streams), and “Ghost of You” (41,722,245 streams).
