She Looks So Perfect
2014 single by 5 Seconds of Summer
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"She Looks So Perfect" is a song and extended play by Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, taken from their self-titled debut album (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 8× platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling 560,000 equivalent units.[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]
| "She Looks So Perfect" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Single by 5 Seconds of Summer | ||||
| from the album 5 Seconds of Summer | ||||
| Released | 23 February 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:22 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
| |||
| 5 Seconds of Summer singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "She Looks So Perfect" on YouTube | ||||
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.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [9] |
| Digital Spy | [10] |
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.[10]
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.[11] 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."[12] In 2018, the song was ranked twentieth by Billboard in their compilation of the 100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time.[13]
Record releases
An extended play was released on 21 March 2014, containing five tracks: "She Looks So Perfect", "Heartache on the Big Screen", "The Only Reason", "What I Like About You", and "Disconnected".[14]
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".[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]
"She Looks So Perfect" debuted at number one on the Irish Singles Chart on 27 March 2014.[18] On 30 March, it debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart with about 94,000 copies sold in first week.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] As of December 2014, the single has sold 925,000 copies in the US.[22]
The EP debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 and number one on the Canadian Albums Chart.[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 in an alley, while men and women start dancing and removing clothing at stores, classrooms, a prison and a diner. As of June 2023, the video has accumulated over 315 million views on YouTube.[24]
Awards and nominations
| 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
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She Looks So Perfect" |
|
| 3:22 |
| 2. | "Heartache On the Big Screen" |
|
| 3:24 |
| 3. | "The Only Reason" |
| Robson | 3:22 |
| 4. | "Disconnected" |
| Feldmann | 3:31 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "She Looks So Perfect" (Ash Demo Vocal) |
| Sinclair | 3:23 |
| 2. | "She Looks So Perfect" (Mikey Demo Vocal) |
| Sinclair | 3:24 |
| 3. | "What I Like About You" | Feldmann | 2:33 |
|
|
- Notes
Personnel
"She Looks So Perfect"
"Heartache on the Big Screen"
"The Only Reason"
|
"Disconnected"
"What I Like About You"
Photography
Art direction and design
|
Credits adapted from CD single inserts.
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[3] | 8× Platinum | 560,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[68] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[69] | Platinum | 80,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[70] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[71] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[72] | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[73] | Gold | 5,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[74] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF)[75] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[76] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[77] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[78] | Gold | 1,300,000† |
|
* Sales 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 |
Extended play
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 21 March 2014 | Digital download | Capitol Records |
| New Zealand | |||
| United Kingdom | |||
| United States | 1 April 2014 |