5 Seconds of Summer announce shock split – as it’s revealed they will still release a fifth studio album
Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer have parted ways with their US record label Interscope Records, and their long-term management.
According to Variety, the LA-based pop group – which consists of singer Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin, Michael Clifford and Calum Hood – have separated from Modest Management after almost a decade.
5SOS were signed to Interscope Records in 2019, five years after releasing music through their own label, Hi or Hey Records.
Shock split: 5 Seconds of Summer have announced their split with their US record label and long-term management. L-R: Michael Clifford, Luke Hemmings, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin
The news of their departure from Modest comes as no surprise for fans after the group went against the wishes of their management in June last year to address sexual assault allegations.
‘We are posting this against the advice of our team,’ the band shared from their Twitter account.
‘We, as a band, didn’t feel it was the right time for a tour announcement. We felt it was much more important to address false accusations first, but we were told not to comment. We are done being silent.’
The news of their departure from Modest comes as no surprise for fans, after the group went against the wishes of their management in June last year to address sexual assault allegations
Michael was falsely accused by a fan of touching her inappropriately at a concert in the U.S. seven years ago.
The girl alleged that Michael, now 24, had touched her ‘chest, arms and sides’ during a show at Tinley Park, Illinois, in 2013.
She made the extraordinary claims via an anonymous Twitter account – but after her allegations went viral, she insisted that Michael was totally innocent.
‘We, as a band, didn’t feel it was the right time for a tour announcement. We felt it was much more important to address false accusations first, but we were told not to comment. We are done being silent,’ they wrote in a statement on Twitter
False allegation: 5SOS guitarist Michael Clifford was falsely accused by a fan of touching her inappropriately at a concert in the U.S. seven years ago
Retraction: The woman made the extraordinary claims via an anonymous Twitter account – but after her allegations went viral, she insisted that Michael was totally innocent
In a lengthy follow-up post, the girl – who was 14 at the time of the alleged incident – clarified that it was simply a case of mistaken identity.
She insisted she had been abused by a man at the concert, but it wasn’t Michael. Her actual abuser has since died, she claimed.
It comes as the group returned to social media on Friday morning to announce that a fifth studio album is on the way.
‘We are making a new album,’ Michael, 25, announced during a Twitter live stream alongside his fellow bandmates.
‘It sounds like… a step in the right direction,’ Luke said of fans can expect, unclear if he was referring to the album’s new sound or the band’s new direction.
It’s unclear if their next album will be released through Hi or Hey Records or independently.
Still going strong! Despite parting ways with their management and label, on Friday morning 5SOS announced fans can expect a fifth studio album soon