Australian Sensation 5 Seconds Of Summer Looks For One Direction: To 8 Mile
DETROIT (CBS Detroit) The first CD he bought was Eminem's iconic "8 Mile," so a swing through Detroit was heaven for Michael Clifford of break-out band 5 Seconds of Summer.
Opening for One Direction at the Detroit show Friday, they stopped into 987 AMP Radio beforehand to play live for a bevy of young female fans, who filled the parking lot.
"I really want to see 8 Mile," Clifford said, laughing with bandmates Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin on their first visit to metro Detroit. "Where is it from here?" Hood asked.
(5 Seconds of Summer visited CBS Radio in Detroit for a 98.7 AMP Radio Switch Party and in between songs they answered questions from fans. Michael Clifford mentioned his first album was by Eminem and the whole band joined in on an off-the-cuff cover of "Lose Yourself." video: 98.7 AMP Radio)
It was just a few miles away -- but a world away from where the trio started in Australia before they posted a few YouTube videos and became an overnight sensation, transported from average school boys into pop stars touring with one of the biggest boy bands in the world.
"It's all come together like really suddenly, like none of us were expecting this to happen. Now we're in America, in Detroit, you know, it's weird, but yeah, it's been awesome so far," Clifford said, adding they started by "messing around at first, not really thinking what would happen, and like here we are now."
The schoolmates, who formed the band in 2011, have 5 million views on You Tube with posts like a cover version of Justin Bieber and Chris Brown's "Next to You."
Are they in it for the girls? "Definitely not," Hood said, adding, "We love writing our own music and ... Mike is a really good live performer." "You're a really good live performer!" Clifford chimed in.
It's that kind of friendly camaraderie that drew fan Allie Derosia, 16, who said she loves they're genuine, funny and "just stupid teenage boys" that she feels she can relate to.
"While they're in the United States, we took advantage of it," she said, adding, "Their (songs) are just really catchy and they're just fun to mess around and dance with. They're just really cool and down to earth."
Which one is the cutest? "I don't know, all four," Derosia said, laughing.
An album is expected next year -- "sometime," Clifford said, adding the songs they write themselves are mostly about girls. "We try to mix it up, mix it up every now and again, but mostly girls," Hood added.
