5 Seconds of Summer brings their Everyone's a Star tour to Europe.

First stop: Antwerp's AFAS Dome

On 7 April 5 Seconds of Summer performed to a massive crowd on their Everyone's a Star! Tour at AFAS Dome in Antwerp, Belgium. They were the biggest band in the world at the time... fresh off their hit album 'Everyone's a Star!'. It would be their final performance.

With those words, the Australian band opened the European leg of their tour, just the start of an unforgettable night. I have been following 5SOS for over a decade, and there is something I can say with absolute certainty: they know how to put on a good show. But last night at AFAS Dome, I experienced a whole new version of the band and I was so happy to see how far they have come. This is their biggest tour ever: huge venues, huge stage with a limo on it, huge crowds, but still the same energetic, fun, down-to-earth boys from Australia.

They gave us way more than a concert full of hits, they created a whole experience and made sure every single detail had been carefully curated. The visuals on the screens perfectly matched the vibe of every song, the set list was a great representation of their journey as a band and the evolution of their music, the inside jokes with fans showed their connection with their audience and how much they appreciate their support. You could tell they had put so much thought into every single aspect of the show, to give the audience the best experience possible.

Following this new era’s aesthetic, the concert was structured in a documentary-style narrative, divided into different acts, each introduced by a short interview-like video that focused on a step of their journey (or dare I say, how the media has been portraying them). They kicked off with hits from their most recent album, 'NOT OK', 'No. 1 Obsession', 'istillfeelthesame', before moving into some of their most iconic songs: 'Teeth', 'Easier' and 'More'.

The night was full of memorable moments: they had a mock award ceremony, bringing a fan on stage to present them with the 'Biggest Boyband of the Year' award, they did a fun slideshow presentation on how to have the best rock show (‘because we are very professional and came prepared for tonight’) and they even introduced a new section to their show: 'The Secret Song presented by 5Sauce', which led to the band singing the surprise song fans had voted for prior to the show, in our case, 'Try Hard' (a rare occurrence).

During 'The Breakup' act, we got to hear each member sing one of their solo songs, bringing together for the first time both the music they've created as a band and each of their individual styles in one place. Right after that, they took us all back to 2014: the venue lit up for an acoustic version of 'Amnesia', before 'Voodoo Doll' and 'English Love Affair' brought the energy back with a (probably nostalgic) crowd who didn't stop jumping and singing along.

To close the night, one last video reminded fans that 'Every great story has a final chapter, and this was supposed to be ours, but we are not done yet'. With that, the band walked through the crowd back onto the stage for the encore and had everyone jumping and singing one last time, to 'Everyone's a Star' and, of course, 'Youngblood'.

Everyone's a star at a 5SOS concert, but last night, 4 stars were shining brighter than ever on that stage. And as they said themselves, I hope this is not their final chapter, because their music and energy on stage are something that everyone deserves to witness.

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