"She Looks So Perfect" is a song and extended play by Australian

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band

5 Seconds of Summer 5 Seconds of Summer, often shortened to 5SOS, are an Australian pop rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales in 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford (musician), Mic ...

, 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 Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. 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 Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

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 r ...

covered the song on Capital FM.

Background

"She Looks So Perfect" has been described as

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and 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, ...

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 plays as a forward for Mangotsfield United. He has played professionally for Southampton and Hibernian. Career Sinclair joined Southampton at the academy level at the ...

, who also produced the song, with additional production by

Eric Valentine Eric Dodd, known professionally as Eric Valentine, is an American record producer who began his career as drummer and producer in the heavy metal band T-Ride. He subsequently produced albums for artists such as Good Charlotte, Lostprophets ...

. 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 initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

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 music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...
and
Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...
, 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 fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

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

to appeal to fans of a

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

, but an "infinitesimally edgier" boy band than

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

. ''

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 advertis ...

'' 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 print ...

'' 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." In 2018, the song was ranked twentieth by ''

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

Record releases

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

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". A

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

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)".

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 is an English electronic music group formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have achieved four number-one singles and six additional top-ten songs on the UK Official Singles Chart. Since 2016, the group has been a trio comprising foundi ...

's "

Rather Be "Rather Be" is a song by English electronic music group Clean Bandit, featuring vocals by Jess Glynne. It was released on 17 January 2014 as the fourth single from the group's debut studio album, ''New Eyes'' (2014). It also appears on the delu ...

" and

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

' "

Happy Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

". 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 Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), 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 M ...

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 ...

on 27 March 2014. On 30 March, it debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart 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, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

's "

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

", 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 a British pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Da ...

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

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

'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. The EP debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number one on the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

Music video

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

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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.

Awards and nominations

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 *

– additional production, mixing, mastering *Cian Riordan – engineer *Justin Long – assistant recording engineer "Heartache on the Big Screen" *Dan Lancaster – producer, vocal production, recording * Mike Duce – vocal production *Peter Miles – recording *Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering "The Only Reason" *

Steve Robson Steve Robson (born 1969) is an English songwriter and record producer who has sold in excess of 138 million records around the world. He has written and produced 12 No. 1 UK/US singles, 38 No. 1 UK/US albums and a further 41 top 5 UK/US albums ...

– producer, mixing *Sam Miller – mixing *Bunt Stafford-Clark – mastering "Disconnected" *

John Feldmann John William Feldmann (born June 29, 1967) is an American musician and record producer. He serves as the lead singer/guitarist of the punk rock band Goldfinger. Early life Feldmann grew up in Saratoga, California. He started writing songs aro ...

– 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" *

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Extended play

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

Background

Critical reception

Record releases

Chart performance

Music video

Awards and nominations

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Extended play

See also

References