"She Looks So Perfect" is a song by Australian

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

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 Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

and Hi or Hey Records, as their debut single with a major record label. The accompanying music video was released on 24 February 2014. The song peaked at number one in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It was certified triple platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

for selling 210,000 copies. The song also won "Song of the Year" at the

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

in 2014.

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

covered the song on Capital FM.

Background

"She Looks So Perfect" has been described as

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, an ...

and

. It was written by band members Michael Clifford and Ashton Irwin along with

Jake Sinclair Jake Tony Sinclair (born 29 November 1994) is an English footballer who has played professionally for Southampton and Hibernian. He is currently a striker for Mangotsfield United. Career Sinclair joined Southampton at the academy level at ...

, who also produced the song, with additional production by Eric Valentine. 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

Lewis Corner of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

gave the song a mixed review, stating that:

"While their influences clearly nod towards pop-punk godfathers
Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...
and
Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...
, 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.

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'' wrote that the song sounds as if it were purposely crafted as

to appeal to fans of a

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

, but an "infinitesimally edgier" boy band than

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' called the song "school rock" and described it as a "slick crowd pleaser" performed live for the 2014 ''Billboard'' Music Awards show. Rachael McArthur of ''

Renowned for Sound ''Renowned for Sound'' is an Australian online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a pri ...

'' gave a mixed review stating, "The vocals are very polished and boy-bandy and delivered with great enthusiasm." However was critical of the lyrics more specifically the line, "I'm so down" during the chorus calling it, "a little annoying." In 2018, the song was ranked twentieth by ''

'' in their compilation of the 100 Greatest Boyband Songs of All Time.

Chart performance

On 1 March 2014, "She Looks So Perfect" debuted at number three on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, being kept off the top spot by

Clean Bandit Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...

's " Rather Be" and

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom h ...

' "

Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sin ...

". 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. Likewise, it debuted at number four on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

and in its fifth week, the song jumped from number nine to number one. The week after, it was certified Gold. "She Looks So Perfect" debuted at number one on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

on 27 March 2014. On 30 March, it debuted at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

with about 94,000 copies sold in first week. It was the fourth UK number one single by a band from Australia and the first since

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Str ...

's "

Don't Call Me Baby "Don't Call Me Baby" is a song by Australian house music duo Madison Avenue, taken as the first single from their only studio album, '' The Polyester Embassy'' (2000). Written by Cheyne Coates, Andy Van Dorsselaer, Duane Morrison, and Giuseppe ...

", topped the chart in May 2000. In its second week, "She Look So Perfect" dropped to tenth place, which is the biggest drop from the top spot since

McFly McFly are an English pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the '' Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Danny Jones (lead vocals, har ...

's double single "Baby's Come Back"/"Transylvania", who tie this record with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

'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. As of December 2014, the single has sold 925,000 copies in the US.

Music video

The official music video was directed by Frank Borin. It was released to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

on 24 February 2014. It features the band singing, while men and women start dancing and removing clothing at stores and classrooms. As of May 2021, the video has logged over 287 million views on YouTube.

Extended play

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".

B-side

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)".

Track listing

;Notes * signifies an additional producer * signifies a vocal producer

Personnel

*Luke Hemmings – rhythm guitar, lead vocals *Michael Clifford – lead guitar, backing vocals *Calum Hood – bass guitar, lead vocals *Ashton Irwin – drums, backing vocals "She Looks So Perfect" *

– producer, engineer, background vocals, guitar, programming * Eric Valentine – additional production, mixing, mastering *Cian Riordan – engineer *Justin Long – assistant recording engineer "Heartache on the Big Screen" *Dan Lancester – producer, vocal production, recording * Mike Duce – vocal production *Peter Miles – recording *Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering "The Only Reason" * Steve Robson – producer, mixing *Sam Miller – mixing *Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering "Disconnected" * John Feldmann – producer, mixing, recording *Zakk Cervini – additional engineering, programming *Ago Teppand – additional engineering, programming *Colin Cunningham – additional engineering, programming *Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering "What I Like About You" * John Feldmann – producer, mixing, recording *Zakk Cervini – additional engineering, programming *Ago Teppand – additional engineering, programming *Colin Cunningham – additional engineering, programming *Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering Photography *Tom van Schelven Art direction and design *Richard Andrews

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2014 singles 2014 songs 5 Seconds of Summer songs ARIA Award-winning songs Capitol Records singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Power pop songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by Eric Valentine Song recordings produced by Jake Sinclair (musician) Songs written by Jake Sinclair (musician) Songs written by Ashton Irwin Songs written by Michael Clifford (musician) UK Singles Chart number-one singles