- 2025-04-03
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MUSIC
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5 Seconds of Summer's Michael Clifford Releases Debut Solo Single “cool”
Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer's guitarist Michael Clifford released his first-ever solo single entitled “cool” on April 2, 2025.
The song will appear on his upcoming debut solo album “Sidequest”, which is set to be released later this year via his new label Hopeless Records.
Michael Clifford is the third member of 5 Seconds of Summer to launch a solo project.
To date, 5 Seconds of Summer members, lead singer Luke Hemmings has released his debut solo album “When Facing the Things We Turn Away From” and drummer Ashton Irwin has released two solo albums “Blood On The Drums” and “Superbloom”.
The band bassist Callum Hood joined in the song as co-writer.
The track was written by Andrew Maxwell Goldstein, Callum Hood, Elijah Noll, Marcus Lomax, and Michael Clifford. Produced by JT Daly, Andrew Goldstein, and Michael Clifford.- Michael Clifford said of the song, “This song speaks for itself, and my hope is that when fans hear the lyrics, they'll understand me and hopefully themselves a little better.”
He continued, “I've been deliberating on this music long enough, so I can't wait for everybody to hear it- and 'cool' is just the beginning of what's to come. I want this project to make people smile. I'm just out here doing a bunch of sidequests. Now that I'm a dad, everything other than that feels like a sidequest!” -
The accompanying music video was directed by Bobby Hanaford.
Director Bobby Hanaford said of the video, “It's rare you get to work with an artist who is willing to play a bit of the fool and turn a mirror on themselves. The funny thing is, that this type of vulnerability is what resonates most with the audience. The moment I heard 'cool', I realised Michael was already there and really letting his guard down. He was using the critic in his head to take us on this journey of insecurity that every person can relate to. It was a quick process seeing a video that matched it and it was a great collaboration with Michael going deeper into that idea and bringing it to life. The whole project is a breath of fresh air, especially in an industry that is often more concerned with looking 'cool' than being authentic.”
Photo by Amy Lee - source : Apple Music
