Coronavirus: 5 Seconds of Summer drummer Ashton Irwin says he is 'starting to get sick', and fans are worried
Ashton Irwin, singer-songwriter and drummer for the Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer says he's not feeling too well.
5SOS have been gearing up for the release of their upcoming fourth studio album 'CALM', which is precisely the feeling the band hopes fans will take away from it. But a fun little fact is that it is also an acronym for the four band members' names — Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings, and Michael Clifford.
Their plans for the release and subsequent performances and tours have naturally been significantly impacted by the spread of the coronavirus, and Irwin decided to send out a message on Twitter to update fans on what has been going on with him, as well as the album.
"Hey out there, everybody...I just wanted to say hello. I wanted to address the obvious," Irwin begins, before informing fans that he isn't too well at the moment himself. He says, "The world seems quite chaotic at the moment and lots of people are sick. And lots of people are really struggling at the moment. I'm starting to get sick. Which I'm sure a lot of you are starting to have symptoms as well."
But Irwin remains positive, adding "Luckily enough I am young and hopefully my immune system will be able to fight this off."
Speaking about the album, he said, "I want to speak about our album that comes out on Friday 27th of March. This is the weirdest release we have ever had and I'm sure that a lot of you have realized that we can't come and see you, we can't come and play shows. But I just wanted to remind you guys that our album is out on Friday and I'm very excited for that and that brings me a lot of joy at this point in time and I'm sure if you're a fan of our group it will bring you a lot of joy as well this Friday."
'CALM' was created over a period of two years with the members taking time to self-reflect on their journey over the last nine years, going from being children to being young men. It is thus a very introspective record, one the band has said is also an homage to their fans who have stood by them the whole time. "There's a lot of brilliant songs, there's a lot of hours gone into that music," says Irwin.
Wrapping up his message, he added, "We love you all out there and I'm wishing you all the best of health. If you're already sick, speedy recovery. I miss you all, I miss my family, miss my friends...just want you to know that I'm thinking about you all the time and hopefully we can still stay connected, as we have in the past. Lots of love. Talk to you soon."
Irwin posted his message to Twitter with the caption, "I used to be so good at talking to my phone, I don’t know what happened, but here’s a message for you guys. I love ya as always. Stay well, best you can!" poking fun at his own recorded message.
Fans were obviously left worried and heartbroken upon hearing the news that Irwin was experiencing some symptoms.
"I'm actually having a panic attack because Ashton said he's getting sick I know he's young and he'll probably be fine, but 5sos literally means everything to me. They've helped me through so much and I hate the thought of not having them around," tweeted one fan. Another said they're ready to fight the virus to keep Irwin safe, tweeting "ASHTON IS GETTING SICK bitch imma fight MISS RONA if you try anything PERIOD"
One fan took the moment to say how proud they were of Irwin, stating "ashton fletcher irwin deserves EVERYTHING! LIKE HE SPREADS SO MUCH POSITIVITY AND IS SO OPEN MINDED AND HE HAS SUCH A GOOD OUTLOOK ON EVERYTHING! HE TAKES SUCH GOOD CARE OF US AND EVERYONE HE LOVES AND EVERYONE SHOULD BE PROUD OF HIM" and many others sent him messages of positivity and love including this user who said, "ashton is that friend that always makes sure his friends feel loved and always tries to include everyone. yet somehow he might still end up feeling lonely at the end of the day, and maybe he doesnt have someone to love him the way he loves others. so heres me saying i love you <3."
The band has been extremely excited about putting this album out, and have stated they hope the album brings people some solace in these trying times. Just last week, Irwin tweeted:"We are just over a week out from releasing our 4th studio album. With the world being the way it is right now, I hope this album brings you joy, escape, lots of love and absolute enjoyment."