5SOS v Paloma Faith Pop Slam!

Get ready, cos two of the biggest pop stars in the universe

are about to go into battle -

the phenomenal 5 Seconds Of Summer,

versus the outstanding Paloma Faith.

There can only be one winner, so stay right here.

I am Amberley Lobo and this is Pop Slam!

Going head-to-head we've got...

# Don't stop

# Cos you know that I like it... #

5 Seconds Of Summer, the supercool Aussie heart-throbs

who have taken over the world with their huge rock tunes.

# ..Don't stop

# Doing what you're doin'... #

But how would they do against the unique...

# Everything is changing... #

..Paloma Faith!

# And I've been here too long... #

She's got unbelievable style,

a totally incredible voice,

and a Brit award for Best Female.

# ..I...I can't do this any more... #

So, whose team are you on - Team 5SOS or Team Paloma?

Can't decide? Well, it's my job to help you out.

I'm going to be diving into the lives of these megastars

to see who has what it takes to win the ultimate prize in pop music -

the Ambo!

There's only one way to win the Ambo

and that's by gaining as many of my Ambo points as possible.

I'll be dishing them out over three slamming rounds of pop-osity...

..where I meet the people

who knew the stars back in the day,

then I check out how hard they've been working,

and, finally, I scrutinise their style,

all before the big moment.

And the winner

of the Ambo is...

This is going to be big, so get involved

and go to the CBBC website

and tell us whose team you're on.

I'm on Team 5 Seconds Of Summer because I love them so much

and I'm going to see them in concert.

My favourite's definitely Luke.

Go, Team 5 Seconds Of Summer.

I want Team Paloma Faith because I just love her music.

She has got the best voice in the world,

and I absolutely love her so much.

And I wish I could be like her.

But, seriously, who do you think is going to win?

I mean Paloma is cool, quirky and has an amazing voice,

and 5SOS are pop punk,

and they're from Australia -

what a perfect combination!

Well, Paloma, 5SOS, you know what we've got to do...

It's time for Pop Slam!

Round one - Pop Potential.

This is all about how our stars made it big.

First up...

# Do do-do do do do do-do... #

..5 Seconds Of Summer.

These guys are fast becoming one of the biggest pop-rock bands

the world has ever seen.

# ..Cos good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught... #

But before all that,

they were just four school kids growing up right here...

in Sydney, Australia!

# ..I swear she lives in that library... #

Well, actually, it was here in Riverstone,

just outside of Sydney.

It's a quiet place, but it's here that a band formed that

was about to make a lot of noise.

So, do you guys actually want to know how 5 Seconds Of Summer

made it massive?

Of course you do! Let's do this.

# ..Not reading books

# She said to me # "Forget what you thought

# "Cos good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught..." #

It all started right here,

at Norwest Christian College

where Michael, Luke and Calum went to school.

# Do do-do do do do do do... #

The three of them loved music

and they loved bands like Blink-182 and Green Day,

so they decided to start a band.

Probs the best idea in the history of best ideas.

Whoa...!

# Well, I don't even like you

# Why do you want to go and make me feel this way... #

The band was born.

And it was Michael who randomly chose the name

5 Seconds Of Summer.

# ..Cos I can feel you watching

# Even when you know that you'll be seen... #

So, the boys had the name and knew how to play...

but that was a problem -

they all played guitars and sang.

5 Seconds Of Summer needed a drummer.

Enter local boy Ashton Irwin...

hashtag love him!

Oh... No spinning.

No SPINNING! NOOOOO...!

The now-complete band started uploading videos of themselves

onto the internet

and, not surprisingly, people were loving them, including me.

I am giving you three Ambo points

for not wasting any time,

and getting your music online.

5SOS were gaining a lot of momentum with their online following,

and they had a tonne of fans

who loved what they were uploading.

But they needed to get out there in the real world,

so on the 3rd of December, 2011,

they came right here to the Annandale Hotel in Sydney

and played their first ever gig as a four-piece band.

And I get to check it out. So excited.

BAND PLAYS

LYRICS INDISTINCT

This is footage of the boys performing

at that first gig at the Annandale.

Oh, yes! This is the very stage where the 5 Seconds Of Summer boys

performed their very first gig as a band.

Now, I know it might look pretty small,

but from here they went on to play

in some of the biggest venues across the world.

This was a stomping first performance as a four-piece.

Two Ambo points coming your way, boys!

Playing the Annandale was all well and good,

but the boys wanted more.

# ..Fine at all

# I remember the day you told me you were leaving

# I remember the make-up running down your face... #

To take it to the next level, they needed help.

Enter, Adam Wilkinson - their first ever manager.

He's the guy who made them into a global phenomenon. Huh!

Wouldn't it be nice if he was here

in this beautiful spot to chat with me? Shame.

Jokes! He totally is! I'm so excited.

# ..Like the way it felt to fall asleep next to you...#

Adam, firstly, thank you so much for bringing us 5SOS.

But take us back to the beginning. How did it all start?

I was working in a recording studio at the time

and the guys came through on a little tour.

There was just something about them, you know,

there was this weird nervous energy between them.

And they had the good looks, they had everything there.

I hadn't heard their music at that point, but something just clicked.

Did you have a sort of special sense that you thought these guys

-could go on to do something amazing.

-Absolutely.

At that point, I didn't think they'd be as big as they are now,

but they definitely had it.

# ..If what we had was real

# How could you be fine?

# Cos I'm not fine at all

# I remember the day you told me you was leaving... #

So, you were with the guys for two years,

do you have any fun stories from that time?

Look, probably my favourite story is on one of our tours,

I thought, it's probably time for the guys

to start having their own hotel rooms, so...

Wait, hold up, were they sharing?

They were sharing up to that point. They were sharing two in a room.

I thought it's probably time for them to have their own rooms.

So we booked the hotel, we checked into the hotel,

went to check on them about an hour later,

and they'd put all their beds

into one room and they were all sharing in the one room together.

-Aw!

-They all wanted to be together.

They're really, you know, a great bunch of friends, obviously?

Absolutely. They're best mates. So...

# ..If the day I woke up with you right beside me... #

Say 5 Seconds Of Summer have gone from a small band

to one of the biggest bands in the world. Are you proud of them?

Oh, unbelievably so.

You know, to see them playing to 16 people,

to the O2 Arena, has just been absolutely unbelievable.

They're really hard-working guys and really good people,

you know, and I couldn't be prouder of them.

# ..The day you told me you were leaving

# I remember the make-up running down your face... #

Adam is awesome!

Boys, have two Ambo points

for landing a manager to help you get to the top.

# ..Cos I'm not fine at all. #

Their fan base was growing and growing,

but 5SOS were really catapulted into stardom

when a few of their fans tweeted about them.

And when I say fans, I'm talking Louis and Niall.

You know, One Direction.

SCREAMING

# Whoo! #

That's right, those 1D boys loved 5SOS from the beginning

and when they started talking about them online,

everyone knew about their awesomeness.

Have four Ambo points

for being so good that even One Direction love you.

# That's what I like about you

# You hold me tight. #

Soon the boys would be bigger than they ever could have dreams,

but more about that later.

Now, let's head back over to the UK

to see how Paloma Faith made it massive.

# She's gone

# And I'm picking up the pieces... #

Today, she is one of the UK's most sassy and stylish pop stars.

But before she hit the big time,

Paloma Faith was living right here in Stoke Newington, North London.

# ..In her shadow is it me you see?

# Cos all that's left is you and I

# And I'm picking up the pieces she left behind... #

This is the very street that Paloma grew up on.

And back then, she didn't even know she could sing.

This is the story of how a shy schoolgirl

went on to become one of the biggest characters in pop.

# Ooh! #

It's hard to believe, but Paloma was actually really shy at school.

But all that started to change when at aged seven,

she got offered a role in a school play

called Dinosaurs And All That Rubbish.

And she caught the performance bug big time.

# The city lead me out one night

# Through lonely streets and neon light

# Searching

# Again... #

A few years later, Paloma started going to

the now-closed Islington Green School.

She loved it there and got amazing grades,

as well as developing her love for dancing, singing and performing.

Have three Ambo points

for overcoming your shyness, Paloma.

Paloma left school with straight As,

but she never really knew what she wanted to do.

She had a bunch of random jobs, an actor, dancer, model,

magician's assistant, and you'll never believe this,

she had a job as a ghost on a ghost train.

Say what?!

Now, prepare yourselves

to ride Carnesky's Ghost Train.

It all sounds a bit too spooky for my liking,

so I've tracked down Marisa who use of direct Paloma on the ghost train

to find out more.

Now, Marisa, I am super jealous,

cos you got to work with Paloma for two whole years.

Paint me a picture. What was it like?

Well, she used to sing as she danced inside the ride.

She was in this very dark, scary haunted-house ride

in a beautiful vintage dress with all ghostly doves landing on her.

And, every so often, you could hear her singing over the soundtrack,

this beautiful voice coming across.

# ..And although it was the shortest time

# I'll never forget it... #

So were you surprised to see Paloma

doing all those amazing things that she does now?

I think we all knew that Paloma was special.

She's a really normal girl from London,

she went to a normal school,

and it was through sheer willpower

and talent and professionalism

and commitment that she succeeded.

# It was best when we left it

# Now I'll never forget it... #

We're all very proud of her

and it's such a joy to have been part of that story.

All of us are very proud of her.

That is one random job.

And I love a bit of randomness!

Have two Ambo points.

# ..In this love affair. #

While Paloma was spooking around the ghost train,

she developed a kooky fashion sense.

And it's this that got her noticed by a band

who were looking for a singer.

They asked her to join them and she said no.

I'm kidding, she totally said yes.

And it was when Paloma was performing with these guys

that she got spotted by a record label

and was asked to perform at an industry showcase,

a very tough crowd to please.

Paloma had to perform in front of a bigwig from Epic Records.

I'm a record label bigwig.

Talk about pressure. It was her chance to impress,

but it didn't quite go to plan.

Now, I wasn't there at the time,

but I imagine it went a little something like this.

Hi. Hi, everybody. My name is Paloma and this is one of my songs.

SHE CLEARS HER THROAT

SHE HITS A HIGH NOTE

# ..And she's gone and I'm picking up the pieces!

# I watched you cry But you can't see me...

# You can't see that I'm the one sitting by your...

# You can't see that I'm the one standing by your... #

Look, mate, I'm trying to do my thing. That is well rude.

Can you please get off your phone and stop texting.

I'm a record label bigwig, I put my phone down for nobody.

Righto, well, I'm off, guv'nor.

And...send.

Ohh, big time awks.

Not the best way to make it in showbiz,

but Paloma did make a big impression,

and a few months later that very same exec

gave her a call and offered her a record deal.

# Go, Paloma! #

# You left me for another lady. #

I reckon getting a record deal,

even after storming out of your own audition,

deserves three Ambo points.

Paloma was off the ghost train and on the road to chart success

and released some killer tracks,

including this bad boy which slammed into the charts in 2009.

Have another two Ambo points.

# ..Her name was New York, New York

# And she took his heart away... #

And that brings us to the end of round one.

Let's check out the scores.

Ohh, it's close!

5SOS and Paloma Faith

have both shown some strong pop potential,

but the boys just have the edge going into round two.

We've seen how our stars made it,

now let's see how hard they've been working.

It's time for round two.

Round two, pop success.

This is all about what our stars

have been up to to make sure that they stay at the top of the charts.

First up, 5SOS.

# Simmer down

# Simmer down

# They say we're too young now to amount to anything now... #

5 Seconds Of Summer

really put in the hours at the start of their career

and got very big very quickly.

# ..She looks so perfect standing there

# In my American Apparel underwear... #

When they released She Looks So Perfect in early-2014,

it got to number one here in Australia.

And it got to number one right here in New Zealand.

And, of course, right here in the good old UK.

In fact, they are only the fourth Australian group ever

to top the UK singles charts.

That is an incredibly successful first release.

Have three Ambo points.

# I tell myself it don't mean a thing... #

5SOS aren't the only ones who have enjoyed mega stardom.

Since being signed, Paloma has had a lot of chart success.

But she didn't get a number one anywhere until...

she came here to Australia in early-2014 and released...

# Only love can hurt like this! #

And it shot straight to number one.

What can I say? Us Aussies have good taste. Bonzer!

# Your kisses burn into my skin... #

Take two Ambo points for a Aussie number one.

# Only love can hurt like this! #

But Paloma didn't give up on her home country.

Just a few months later, she finally got her first UK number

one with this killer tune.

# Everything is changing

# And I've been here for too long... #

Have I never three Ambo points for teaming up with Sigma

and topping the charts back in good old Blighty.

But Paloma's not the only one who's had some awesome chart success.

One, two, three, four!

SCREAMING

5SOS have been mega successful.

And with mega success comes a mega fan base.

Seriously, people go wild for these guys and who could blame them.

-BOTH:

-5 Seconds Of Summer!

# Back in high school

# We used to take it slow... #

Their fans are really important to the boys,

so to give a bit back and to say thanks for all the support,

they launched an event called Derp Con.

Derp Con! Whoo!

The boys ran a competition

where they flew 60 lucky fans and their friends

to see their gig in LA.

Not only that, they also put them up in a hotel

and hung out with them backstage.

Now, that is an awesome comp.

-Michael...!

-THEY SOB

-And he was really...!

-THEY CRY

Working hard to give back to their fans, I like it!

Take two Ambo points.

CHEERING

But it hasn't all been super fun times for the almighty 5SOS.

While they were on the road with a little band,

you might have heard of them, One Direction,

Calum had a slight wardrobe malfunction.

I didn't say, I wasn't there,

but I imagine it went a little something like this.

"Hey! What's up? My name is Cal! Let's do this!

"# Don't stop doing what you're doing! # And jump!"

-CLOTH RIPS

-"Oh, crikey!

"I've gone and done it, I've split my pants!

"Bruce! Bruce, we have a rock emergency."

"Duh! What's up?" "I just need some more tape."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Sure, yeah. There you go, Cal."

"More! More!" "Calum, your pants can't take any more tape!"

"More, Bruce!" "OK." "Thanks, mate." "All right, see ya.

# Don't stop doing what you're doing... #

"And jump. And jump."

That's right, Calum split his pants and had to tape them up

just so he could keep on rocking. Now, that is what I call dedication.

Nice one. You can take another Ambo point

for performing through a wardrobe disaster.

But what about Paloma's performances?

Paloma has some awesome songs, awesome videos,

but not only that, she also has had some pretty awesome performances.

How awesome? Check this out.

In summer 2014, Paloma Faith

was joined at Royal Albert Hall by a 42-piece orchestra.

# Well, you ask for money

# It's always something... #

They performed some special versions of Paloma's songs

as part of the BBC Proms.

And I've come to meet the legendary Guy Barker,

who conducted that very performance.

Now, Guy, that performance looked magical. What was it like?

Oh, it was amazing. If you imagine there was about 83 of us on stage

and 6,000 people in the audience.

And all 6,000 people were dancing in front of us,

so it was just an amazing atmosphere.

# ..Won't you shake me

# Come on and work this... #

And what was it like working with her for the Proms?

Oh, it's great. She's always great to work for.

She's incredibly creative,

she's incredibly musical,

she's a wonderfully talented lady,

but she's also such a lovely human being.

And she's got such a great sense of humour,

it's always a joy working with her.

# ..Got trouble with my baby

# Got trouble with my baby. #

I am going to dish out three Ambo points to Paloma

for working the pub crowd and the classical lot

by putting on such an epic performance.

And that brings us to the end of round two.

5SOS and Paloma have been working pretty hard,

but Paloma has just pushed one Ambo point ahead.

If you don't agree, you know what to do,

hit the CBBC website and have your say.

We found out how our pop royalty made it big

and how successful they've been.

It's now time to see how glam they've become in round three.

Round three, pop style.

This is all about our celebrities' lives.

Clothes, cars, pets, or whatever else they splash their cash on.

First up, 5SOS.

When it comes to fashion, I think the 5SOS boys have nailed it.

They keep it pretty punky, nice and laid-back

and love nothing more than rocking out in jeans and a vest.

# All the things that you read in a magazine

# I'm not saying I want to be Charlie Sheen... #

That's some great style, boys.

Have two Ambo points for one rocked-out look.

But if we're talking fashion,

we've got to talk Paloma.

# I was standing... #

When it comes to style, let's be honest,

Paloma really does blow the competition clean out of the water.

# And they could never tear us apart. #

Paloma is always dressed up to the nines

and loves to go all out with her looks.

She can do quirky, outrageous,

colourful, vintage, Hollywood,

and, of course, loves to accessorise with super funky hair and hats.

Take four Ambo points

for having some of the best pop style around.

And while Paloma's got some epic fashion style...

my Pop Slam! research has shown

that 5SOS have got some pretty impressive romantic style.

Those 5 Seconds Of Summer boys might be total pop-punk legends,

but they also have a sensitive side.

Hold the phone and listen up,

cos I'm going to show you exactly what a perfect date

with Luke from 5SOS would look like.

And a warning, this information might make you fall in love with him

more than you already do.

SCREAMING

# Whoo! #

Luke's idea of a perfect date

-would be hanging out at his favourite Sydney beach.

-Yeah!

Probably playing some footy.

HE GROANS

Having a romantic walk by the sea.

Telling each other some hilarious stories.

SHE LAUGHS

Ow!

Ow.

SHE LAUGHS

And, of course, buildings some sandcastles.

Coo-ee!

SHE LAUGHS

Argh!

Argh!

'Then, after hanging on the beach,

'he brings his lucky date right here

'to pick up some of his favourite ice cream.'

Yeah!

HE SIGHS

Soz, Luke, the Lobo doesn't share.

But that is some great romantic style nonetheless.

Take two Ambo points.

SCREAMING

CHEERING

Paloma has an outrageous style and when she's kicking back at home,

she also likes to get creative in the kitchen.

But sometimes her cooking skills don't go down so well.

She had a massive pop fail

when she took a lamb dish to Alan Carr's place

and gave him and Adele, who was also there, food poisoning.

What?! Awkward!

# Help me

# How were you going to do love this way? #

You can't go around poisoning celebrities.

I'm taking off an Ambo point for that one.

# I want to get lost and drive for ever... #

But 5SOS aren't having any food-based problems.

# ..Taking the long way home... #

The boys from 5SOS love nothing more

than the most Australian food known to man, Vegemite!

And as an Australian myself, I must say it is awesome.

Get in my belly!

Oh, yeah!

-MUFFLED:

-That's another Ambo...

Sorry, that's another Ambo point to 5SOS

for having great Aussie taste.

And that brings us to the end of round three.

# We're taking the long way home. #

Guys, this Pop Slam! has been increds,

but all good things must come to an end,

and it's time to get down to business

and find out who has won the Ambo.

But after we take a look back at what we've learnt.

5SOS have gone from a sleepy Sydney suburb

to being one of the biggest bands in the world.

But Paloma has done some spectacular performances

and always looks and sounds totally amazing.

This Pop Slam! could quite literally go either way.

Oh, yes. Take a good look. Calum, hands off.

This could soon be yours.

It's the moment we've all been waiting for.

The Ambo points have been counted and independently verified by me.

And the winner of the Ambo is...

Oh, no, wait! It's 5SOS!

Paloma, I am so sorry.

Guys, congratulations! Let's see some more of you in action.

# She looks so perfect standing there

# In my American Apparel underwear

# And I know now

# That I'm so down. #

That Pop Slam! was off the hook!

Make double sure you tune in next time

to see more of your favourite pop stars

battle it out to win the Ambo.

# That I'm so down. #