5SOS: Luke Hemmings says his solo career happened by mistake

Luke Hemmings is set to drop his debut solo album on Friday.

And the 5 Seconds of Summer frontman has now revealed his decision to release music independently happened almost by mistake.

‘I started writing songs on my own and trying to push myself in that way, and then I stumbled into it being a separate project,’ he told Rollacoaster.

‘I think at the start of writing it was less intense topics, and then once I broke the seal I was more comfortable writing about harder things, and going through family history,’ he explained.

Luke said being in lockdown had inspired him to produce the album and ‘decipher’ the past decade of his life. 

‘The whole album basically revolves around trying to decipher the last ten years and all the things that are put on the back burner,’ he said.

New direction: ‘I started writing songs on my own and trying to push myself in that way, and then I stumbled into it being a separate project,’ he told Rollacoaster

Introvert: Luke said being in lockdown had inspired him to ‘decipher the last 10 years of my life’

‘I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that, not even from a touring standpoint, but I feel like everyone had to take stock of their lives and be like, “Am I happy doing this?”

‘I’ve been in the band since I was 15, and then we toured a lot in the last 10 years, so I hadn’t been in the same city for this long since I was 15,’ he continued.

‘It was definitely a forced stillness and I think the only way for me to figure out all of what happened was to write music. That’s kind of my love language.’ 

Success story: 5SOS formed in western Sydney in 2011. They have produced hits including Want You Back, Lie to Me and Youngblood. Pictured on December 11, 2019, in Philadelphia

Overloaded: Speaking of the theme of his upcoming record, Luke said: ‘You’re reflecting on your youth and all of the madness and craziness. It’s like you’re forgetting so many pieces of your life – not from vices or anything – but from the sheer volume’

Luke admitted he was inspired by The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers to release music without his bandmates.

‘I love being in the band and I love being the fourth member of 5SOS, but someone I’ve seen do something separate well is Brandon Flowers from The Killers,’ he said.

‘I love that he has a place where he can go. As a career I like that a lot; it just seems like a creative place that he can keep going back to.’

She said yes! Luke’s solo album comes after the ARIA Award-winning singer recently proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Sierra Deaton. 

Luke’s solo album comes after the ARIA Award-winning singer recently proposed to his longtime girlfriend, Sierra Deaton.  

Meanwhile, he’s not the first member of the band to go solo, as drummer Ashton Irwin released his LP Superbloom in October. 

Luke’s album When Facing the Things We Turn Away From is out August 13 

Going solo: Ashton Irwin (second from left) was the first 5SOS member to release a solo album