5 Seconds of Summer Has the Audience in Tears at Helsinki Arena

A girl wiping her eyes as the pop-punk band 5 Seconds of Summer perform at Helsinki Arena in Finland on June 3 2016. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today

5 Seconds of Summer are the tougher than Backstreet Boys but hard like Green Day and maybe as popular among teenaged girls as Justin Bieber.

If there were any guys among the thousands observing the Australian pop-punk group perform on Friday evening at Helsinki Arena, I didn’t see any.

Luke Hemmings singing with moist eyes. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today

What I saw was tears and what I heard was ear-popping screaming. And I guess, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. The teenage hysteria is a catchy epidemic and at times I felt like screaming too. A close-up shot of the lead vocalist Luke Hemmings, 19, was enough to send the spectators into a mass of high-pitched cries of affection.

But can the four-piece sing? Yes, they can.

Luke melting hearts. Picture: Tony Öhberg for Finland Today

Their sound was sleek and vocals clean. Songs like “Vapour” and “Jet Black Heart” sent the crowd into an emotional rollercoaster and during many songs the lights were dark and the mobile phones spotted the arena. Some girls even had glowing bows on top of their heads. I saw a few unicorns too.

This was 5 Seconds of Summer’s first gig in Finland and these girls weren’t going to miss it. No matter what.

“I skipped my graduation party because of this,” said one of the banners held by a young lady and whose smile was lit by the mobile phone of a girl standing next to her.