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).
5SOS have cemented themselves as an upbeat pop rock band with some darker moments as well. The monumental hit “She Looks So Perfect” undoubtedly put the four-piece on the map with its international success and summertime charm, and the heartfelt “Amnesia” proved their more emotional side. Before that worldwide fame, 5SOS originally started out uploading humble covers to YouTube, everything from Mike Posner and Ed Sheeran to All Time Low and A Day to Remember. The unit had a rock edge to them but a pop sensibility and boy band image that made them easily accessible to a large mainstream audience, capturing fans on both ends of the spectrum. Due to their mainly female fanbase and energetic, poppy songwriting, 5SOS was faced with the issue of breaking out of that boy band label. They play their own instruments, write their own songs, and their work is dominated by distorted guitars and crisp drumming, all things that set them apart from the typical boy band mold.
Their self-titled debut album was unleashed in 2014 on the cusp of the boys transitioning from their teenage years into early adulthood, so 2015’s Sounds Good, Feels Good exhibited remarkable growth and maturation in both lyrical content and musicianship, even if releasing just one year after its predecessor. However, many critics judged the band for relying too heavily on their influences, like Green Day, blink-182, and All Time Low, among others. A number of their songs have actually been co-written with their icons, like Alex Gaskarth, Deryck Whibley, Roy Stride, and the Madden brothers, and John Feldmann has produced all of their projects to date. In their entire discography of ~70 songs, only 2 have no credited input from the boys: “Amnesia” and “Girls Talk Boys.” After releasing the latter for the 2016 Ghostbusters movie, their listeners were curious to see what direction the group would be heading in for their third LP. “Girls Talk Boys” was groovy, funky, and irresistibly catchy, but it didn’t exactly sound like a 5SOS song. It was not a bad track by any means, but it certainly put the band at a crossroads for where they could carry their upcoming style. Of course, “Girls Talk Boys” could have just been a departure from their usual timbre to fit the bill of the movie soundtrack considering the Ghostbusters theme song is known for its funky groove.
From such an impressive catalog, Carl Falk and Rami could have just helped 5SOS write the biggest song(s) of their career for all we know. 5SOS could be moving in a more pop direction from the looks of it, but Falk claims his favorite instrument is the guitar and he tries to “always have guitar on [his] songs, almost like a trademark.” Maybe 5SOS and Falk are a match made in heaven. 5SOS will more than likely not give up their instruments any time soon, and with a guitar-savvy songwriter, this next album could have some of their best and most successful material to date. (Sounds Good, Feels Good did not warrant the mainstream attention that its antecedent received, so the record label may possibly be compensating for that by pairing the boys with Falk and Rami.) From all this information, fans can probably expect some songs similar to their debut and numerous cuts from their sophomore effort: buoyant pop rock with catchy melodies and radio-ready hooks. The boys will more than likely stick to their strings, so there’s not much to fret. (No pun intended.) We can trust 5SOS to deliver another outstanding album, possibly even their best to date. For those of us who appreciate the band’s rockier side, it may seem like the end of the world to see them working with such pop-oriented songwriters, but I’m fairly positive we won’t see them giving up their rock vantage at this point in their career, if ever. Of course, we have not seen what other songwriters have contributed to the project and the destined style the band has in mind, so much of this is quite early to call. Nonetheless, the future looks extremely bright for the Australian four-piece and we can assuredly remain optimistic and excited for this upcoming full-length, and keep in mind that this is all plainly speculation.
Like many of the songs on this list, 
Ah, finally! A track from their sophomore release, Sounds Good, Feels Good! And hey, it’s not a bonus track! 
Finally into the Top 10 underrated tracks. An unofficially released song, 
Remember this EP? Well, you should. 
While 
The She Looks So Perfect EP was the group’s first major label debut, offering the biggest hit in their discography to date. (“She Looks So Perfect”) But 
