Trivia / Five

• Acting in the Dark: The "Let's Dance" video was filmed when Sean had already decided to leave the group, but the others weren't told until two weeks later.
• Breakthrough Hit: "When the Lights Go Out", which was their second single and cracked the US top chart.
• Creator Backlash:
  • Abs doesn't like his solo album Abstract Theory due to Executive Meddling from a former manager causing it to deviate too much from the sound he wanted. A lot of fans, however, liked the album a lot.
  • Abs previously noted that none of the group particularly liked "Don't Fight It Baby", but that they had to record something for the US market to get Invincible released over there. After rejecting several songs that later became hits for other artists, they grudgingly picked it and did the best they could.
• Creator Breakdown:
  • Sean couldn't appear in the video for "Let's Dance", because of his deteriorating mental health from the stress of being in the band (though the public were told he was ill with glandular fever). In the video, a cardboard cutout stands in for him.
  • Abs took the split especially hard, as he didn't want it. He later said it felt like something had been taken from him.
• Follow the Leader: Their music started off extremely inspired by American boyband music, even getting Max Martin and Stargate to produce their tracks. This is especially apparent on their first album where many tracks are indistinguishable from Backstreet Boys or N Sync tracks. It was also intended that they would crossover in the way that The Spice Girls did (they were created by Bob and Chris Herbert as well, who wanted a Spear Counterpart). By the time of their second album they had taken on more rock and disco influences which distinguished them somewhat.
• Money, Dear Boy: The reason why Abz agreed to rejoin the band when they reformed in 2012, as confirmed in an interview with him shortly after his 2014 departure.
• No Export for You: "Rock the Party" was only released as a single in Europe, complete with an animated video. It was released concurrently with "Closer to Me", and on some releases they were a double a-side. In the UK, it was cancelled as "Closer to Me" was felt a more fitting goodbye song, and as a result the "Rock the Party" single remix and its' b-side "Set Me Free" instead got a UK release on Greatest Hits.
• One-Hit Wonder: In the United States, only "When the Lights Go Out" charted well, becoming a top 10 hit back backed by promotion on the Disney Channel. Elsewhere they were more successful, including 3 chart-toppers in the UK, though they were never as popular as Take That! or Westlife, and they eventually faded into obscurity after they broke up.
• Remade for the Export: The band's first two albums were modified for US release, with some tracks removed, some remixed, and a new US radio-friendly track per album "When I Remember When" and "Don't Fight It Baby" respectively, to make the albums more accessible for the US market. The first album is actually a successful example of this, as "When I Remember When" is beloved amongst fans and it also removes some of the obvious filler tracks and is arranged to help the album flow better. In the UK, the record label simply added "Don't Fight It Baby" to the end of Invincible's Special Edition.
• What Could Have Been:
  • There was supposed to be a sixth member, Danny Want, but he was released for unknown reasons prior to the signing of the first record deal.
  • The band had an unusual level of creative freedom which resulted in them making some decisions that could be considered bad for their career:
    • They were offered "Baby One More Time" by Max Martin, but did not like it, so didn't record it. It later became a huge hit for Britney Spears.
    • They were offered "Bye Bye Bye" by Kristian Lundin, but did not like it, so didn't record it. It later became a huge hit for N Sync. The band publicly dissed the song.
    • They called short their potentially lucrative US tour due to exhaustion, which didn't sit well with their record company and resulted in them being underpromoted.
  • The tracks they recorded specifically with the intent of getting US hits - "When I Remember When" and "Don't Fight It Baby" - were not actually released as full singles there, thus rendering their efforts a curio to their existing fans.
  • "Inspector Gadget" was supposed to be on the Disney movie's soundtrack but was not included. Had it been, it would have increased their popularity in the US.
  • Sean leaving the band put paid to a lot of the promotion for Kingsize, resulting in the album being nowhere near as successful as Invincible.
  • The band was going to release "Hear Me Now" as a single, but due to breaking up, it was decided that the ballad "Closer to Me" would be more appropriate as a goodbye song. The track "Rock the Party" was released as a double A-Side, but got hardly any promotion and would have likely been a bigger hit if it was done separately.
  • The band was going to release a "Making of Kingsize" video but didn't due to the breakup.
  • The band's 2006 reunion produced an EP's worth of demo tracks which were considerably rockier in nature. The fact this didn't lead to an album leads to much speculation amongst fans.
  • The fact that J didn't to the band has naturally made people wonder what would happen if he had.
  • Russell Brand auditioned to be in the group.
• Working Title: The working title of Kingsize was XL, and the album had the purple sky artwork that was used for the UK Special Edition. This was changed at the last minute, after said artwork had appeared in magazines (for instance, Top of the Pops magazine). It is likely to have been done to make it easier to search for the album online - searching 'Five XL' online would largely produce results for clothing whereas 'Kingsize' would be more likely to lead to the album. The band at the time noted that they were told late on and were surprised the title was changed.

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