"She Looks So Perfect"
Single by 5 Seconds of Summer
from the album 5 Seconds of Summer
Released21 February 2014 (2014-02-21)
Recorded2013
Genre
Length3:22
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Jake Sinclair
  • Eric Valentine
5 Seconds of Summer singles chronology
"Out of My Limit"
(2012) 		"She Looks So Perfect"
(2014) 		"Don't Stop"
(2014)
Music video
"She Looks So Perfect" on YouTube

"She Looks So Perfect" is a song by Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, taken from their self-titled debut album, 5 Seconds of Summer (2014). The song was digitally released in Australia on 23 February 2014 and in Europe on 23 March 2014 through Capitol Records and Hi or Hey Records, as their debut single with a major record label.[1] The accompanying music video was released on 24 February 2014. The song peaked at number one in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom.[2] It was certified triple platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 210,000 copies.[3] The song also won "Song of the Year" at the ARIA Music Awards in 2014. Ed Sheeran covered the song on Capital FM.[4]

Background

"She Looks So Perfect" has been described as pop punk,[5][6] power pop[5] and pop rock.[7] It was written by band members Michael Clifford and Ashton Irwin along with Jake Sinclair, who also produced the song, with additional production by Eric Valentine.[8] The single is the leading track on the band's She Looks So Perfect EP, and is the first track on the band's self-titled debut studio album.

Release

An extended play was released and the version for streaming contains five tracks: "She Looks So Perfect", "Heartache on the Big Screen", "The Only Reason", "What I Like About You", and "Disconnected".[9]

A B-side was released in 2016 which contains nine tracks: three "She Looks So Perfect" versions (Acoustic, Ash demo, Mikey demo), "Heartache on the Big Screen", "The Only Reason", "Disconnected", "Wherever You Are", "500 Years of Winter - Pizza Song", and "What I Like About You (Studio Mix)".[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Digital Spy[12]

Lewis Corner of Digital Spy gave the song a mixed review, stating that:

"While their influences clearly nod towards pop-punk godfathers Green Day and Blink-182, 5SOS's official debut 'She Looks So Perfect' is strewn with teen heartthrob clichés. "We worked too damn hard for this just to give it up now," Luke tells his flame over a plucky electric guitar, before the song bursts into a lofty chorus and further promises of diamond rings and plane tickets. It's the age-old tale of a forbidden romantic runaway; trouble is, with this anthem poised to scale the chart, slipping away unnoticed will soon prove slightly more difficult.[12]

The Wire wrote that the song sounds as if it were purposely crafted as power pop to appeal to fans of a boy band, but an "infinitesimally edgier" boy band than One Direction.[5] Billboard called the song "school rock" and described it as a "slick crowd pleaser" performed live for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards show.[13] Rachael McArthur of Renowned for Sound gave a mixed review stating, "The vocals are very polished and boy-bandy and delivered with great enthusiasm." However, McArthur was critical of the lyrics more specifically the line, "I'm so down" during the chorus calling it, "a little annoying."[14] In 2018, the song was ranked twentieth by Billboard in their compilation of the 100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time.[15]

Chart performance

On 1 March 2014, "She Looks So Perfect" debuted at number three on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, being kept off the top spot by Clean Bandit's "Rather Be" and Pharrell Williams' "Happy".[16] The song finally reached number one on its fifth week on the chart, as well as being certified Platinum for sales of 70,000 copies.[17] Likewise, it debuted at number four on the New Zealand Singles Chart and in its fifth week, the song jumped from number nine to number one. The week after, it was certified Gold.[18]

"She Looks So Perfect" debuted at number one on the Irish Singles Chart on 27 March 2014.[19] On 30 March, it debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart with about 94,000 copies sold in first week.[20] It was the fourth UK number one single by a band from Australia and the first since Madison Avenue's "Don't Call Me Baby", topped the chart in May 2000.[21] In its second week, "She Look So Perfect" dropped to tenth place, which is the biggest drop from the top spot since McFly's double single "Baby's Come Back"/"Transylvania", who tie this record with Elvis Presley's re-release "One Night"/"I Got Stung" from 2005 and dropped from number one to number 20 in April 2007.

"She Looks So Perfect" entered on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 12 April 2014. On 24 May 2014, six weeks after their debut, "She Looks So Perfect" reached number 37. A week later, the track reached its peak position at number 32, becoming the band's first top 40 single.[22] As of December 2014, the single has sold 925,000 copies in the US.[23]

Music video

The official music video was directed by Frank Borin. It was released to YouTube on 24 February 2014. It features the band singing, while men and women start dancing and removing clothing at stores and classrooms. As of June 2023, the video has accumulated over 315 million views on YouTube.[24]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for "She Looks So Perfect"
Year Organization Award Result Ref(s)
2014 World Music Awards World's Best Song Nominated [25]
World's Best Video Nominated
2014 iHeartRadio MMVAs International Video of the Year – Group Nominated [26]
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice Music Single – Group Nominated [27]
2014 MTV Video Music Awards Artist to Watch Nominated [28]
2014 ARIA Music Awards Song of the Year Won [29]
2014 Rockbjörnen Best Foreign Song Nominated [30]
2015 APRA Awards Most Played Australian Work Nominated [31]
Pop Work of the Year Nominated

Track listing

CD single – part one and US tour EP
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."She Looks So Perfect"
  • Sinclair
  • Eric Valentine[a]
3:22
2."Heartache On the Big Screen"
  • Irwin
  • Clifford
  • Luke Hemmings
  • Calum Hood
  • Dan Lancaster
  • Mike Duce
  • Lancaster
  • Duce[b]
3:24
3."The Only Reason"
Robson3:22
4."Disconnected"
Feldmann3:31
CD single – part two
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."She Looks So Perfect" (Ash Demo Vocal)
  • Irwin
  • Clifford
  • Sinclair
Sinclair3:23
2."She Looks So Perfect" (Mikey Demo Vocal)
  • Irwin
  • Clifford
  • Sinclair
Sinclair3:24
3."What I Like About You"
Feldmann2:33
Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD single inserts.

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[3] 5× Platinum 350,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[62] Platinum 60,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[63] Platinum 80,000*
Italy (FIMI)[64] Gold 15,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] Platinum 15,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[66] Gold 5,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[67] Platinum 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[69] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[70] Gold 1,300,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Australia[citation needed] 21 February 2014
New Zealand[citation needed]
United Kingdom[citation needed] 23 March 2014
United States[citation needed] 2 April 2014

See also

References

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  2. ^ Smike, Richard (12 April 2014). "5 Seconds of Summer: Just Don't Call Them The New One Direction". Billboard: The International Newsweekly of Music, Video and Home Entertainment.
  3. ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2021 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Ed Sheeran Covers 5SOS' 'She Looks So Perfect'". Capital FM. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Cosman, Ben (25 April 2014). "Are We Sure That 5 Seconds of Summer Song Isn't a Parody?". The Wire. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  6. ^ Sherman, Maria. "Everything You Need to Know About 5 Seconds of Summer". Fuse.tv. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  7. ^ Smirke, Richard (8 April 2014). "5 Seconds of Summer Goes Global - But They're Not The Next One Direction". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Works Search". Australasian Performing Right Association. Retrieved 1 March 2014. Note: enter "5 Seconds of Summer*" as 'Performer' then click 'Search'.
  9. ^ "She Looks So Perfect". Spotify. January 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
  10. ^ "She Looks So Perfect (B-Sides) - 5 Seconds of Summer". Amazon. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
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  12. ^ a b Corner, Lewis (19 March 2014). "5 Seconds of Summer: 'She Looks So Perfect' - Single review". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  13. ^ Payne, Chris (18 May 2014). "5 Seconds of Summer Rocks Billboard Music Awards With 'She Looks So Perfect'". Billboard.
  14. ^ Rachael McArthur. "Single Review: 5 Seconds Of Summer – She Looks So Perfect". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  15. ^ "The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time : Critics Picks:Big Time Rush, "She Looks So Perfect"". Billboard.
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