A New Era for Pop Punk

Unless you've been camping in the remote wilderness for the past year, there's a fairly good chance that you've heard a song by the band 5 Seconds of Summer, whether you know it or not. These four young Australians seem to be everywhere now, including Top 40 radio, which has caused a lot of skepticism over whether they should be taken seriously as a pop punk band.

5SOS formed in Sydney in 2011, and gained a small following through posting covers on YouTube. But their careers took off internationally in 2012, when One Direction asked them to open for them on their Take Me Home Tour. As they were opening for the most popular boy band in the world, the "Directioners" became the majority of their American fan base. And as a result, they were written off by many pop punk fans as just another boy band.

And this sincerely bothers me. First of all, 5SOS was formed under the inspiration of Blink 182, Green Day, All Time Low, and other solid pop rock favorites. They have written with Alex Gaskarth, the Madden brothers from Good Charlotte, and John Feldmann. They were also the first artists to play their own instruments live at the VMAs since Green Day in 2012. Yes, they toured with a boy band and they have a lot of very young fans, but would you turn down an opportunity to do an international stadium tour with one of the biggest names in music?

Now you might be thinking, "but if they're a pop rock band, why are they all over Top 40 radio?" Do you guys remember back in the 2000s when you would frequently see Gerard Way and Pete Wentz share the cover of a teeny bopper magazine with Zac Efron and Jesse McCartney? No? Well let me refresh your memory:

Was that a weird year? Yes, but the point remains the same. Pop punk used to be very mainstream. Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance played on popular radio stations. Everybody I knew listened to Green Day. I'm pretty sure they even played All Time Low at a middle school dance I went to. And yet these bands' genre wasn't questioned.

For years, pop punk has been out of the spotlight, and I have to admit that even I have become sort of a music snob in thinking of my favorite bands as underground music. But with their self-titled album (debuting at number 1 on the Billboard 200 in the US), 5 Seconds of Summer are bringing in a new generation of pop-listening teenagers into our musical bubble. And a lot of people are mad about it, but isn't it a good thing? 5SOS are bringing pop punk back into the spotlight.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we don't get to decide what kinds of people can listen to a certain genre, or write off a great band just because they are popular. You don't have to like them, but don't just dismiss them as another boy band. 5 Seconds of Summer are ushering in a new era for pop punk, and it's time we get off our musical high horses and welcomed the new listeners into the club.