If you close your eyes and hear that fuzzy, distorted bassline kick in, your brain probably does one of two things. You either start looking for a basketball or you immediately feel like you’re at a year 2000 school disco with too much hair gel. It’s unavoidable. The everybody get up lyrics from Five’s breakout hit "Everybody Get Up" weren't just a call to action; they were the mission statement for a specific brand of British lad-band energy that arguably peaked right then and there.
Let's be real. Most boy band tracks from that era were sugary. They were about "I Want It That Way" or "Bye Bye Bye." But Five? They were a bit messier. A bit louder. They sampled Joan Jett’s "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and made it feel like a stadium anthem for people who didn't actually like rock music.
The Anatomy of the Hook: More Than Just Four Words
It’s easy to dismiss the song as simple. It’s catchy, sure. But why do those specific lyrics stick? The song doesn't waste time. It starts with that "1, 2, 3, 4" count-in and then crashes into the main hook.
The structure of the everybody get up lyrics relies on a very old-school hip-hop technique: the call and response. When J, Richie, Scott, Abz, and Sean (the "Five" in question) bark those lines, they aren't singing at you. They are commanding the room. It’s aggressive pop. It’s essentially the musical equivalent of a Red Bull.
Honestly, the verses are where things get weirdly specific. You've got lines like "Keep it moving, got it going on" which is standard 90s filler. But then they pivot into that rapid-fire delivery. It was a time when pop stars had to pretend they could rap, and Five actually leaned into it harder than most. They weren't trying to be Backstreet Boys. They were trying to be Beastie Boys-lite.
Why the Joan Jett Sample Changed Everything
You can't talk about the lyrics without talking about that riff. By sampling "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," songwriters Herbie Crichlow and Alan Merrill (who wrote the original) created a bridge between generations. It's a clever trick. Older listeners recognize the grit of the guitar, while the younger audience just thinks it’s a bop.
This wasn't some quiet, subtle sample. It was front and center. It gave the everybody get up lyrics a weight that other pop songs lacked. Most 1998 pop songs sounded thin—lots of synths and tinny drums. This sounded like it could blow a speaker.
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Breaking Down the Verse: "Check it out now"
The lyrics aren't deep. Let's not pretend they are. But they are rhythmic.
"Five bad boys with the power to rock you / Blow your mind, nice and loud step inside..."
It's braggy. It’s arrogant. And it worked perfectly for the "Bad Boy" image the label (RCA) was pushing. While Westlife was sitting on stools singing about seasons in the sun, Five was jumping off things. The lyrics reflect that movement. The internal rhymes—"rock you," "shock you," "stop you"—are designed for maximum earworm potential.
If you look at the middle eight, things get even more chaotic. "Bring it on, bring it on!" It’s basically a locker-room chant set to a high-production beat. It’s designed for the stage. Five’s choreographer at the time, the legendary Kim Gavin, knew exactly what he was doing by pairing those lyrics with high-energy movement.
The Mystery of the "Sixth" Member?
There’s a common misconception that Simon Cowell created Five. While he was heavily involved through his Syco label (under the BMG/RCA umbrella), the group was actually put together by the same father-son team that created the Spice Girls: Chris and Bob Herbert.
They wanted something "harder." They didn't want the "polished" look. The everybody get up lyrics reflect that rougher edge. Even the way the lines are delivered—often shouted rather than sung in harmony—was a conscious choice to differentiate them from the "pretty" vocal groups of the time.
How the Song Impacted 2000s Pop Culture
"Everybody Get Up" didn't just live on the radio. It became the soundtrack to movies and sporting events. It’s one of those rare songs that transcends the "boy band" ghetto.
- The Sports Anthem: Go to any NBA game or a local football match, and you’ll likely hear that riff. It’s a Pavlovian trigger for excitement.
- The Movie Soundtrack: It showed up in films like Smart House (that weird Disney Channel movie) and countless others because it perfectly encapsulates "party energy" without being offensive.
- The Nostalgia Factor: Today, it’s a staple of "90s nights." It’s the song that gets the people who claim to hate pop music onto the dance floor because, well, they know the words. Everyone knows the words.
Technical Skill vs. Vibe
Was Five the most talented vocal group? Probably not. Even they would tell you that. Scott Robinson has been open in interviews about the grueling schedule and the fact that they weren't always "perfect" singers. But the everybody get up lyrics didn't require perfection. They required charisma.
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Abz Love’s delivery, specifically, had a certain "don't care" attitude that made the track feel more authentic than the over-rehearsed groups coming out of the US at the time. There’s a grit in the vocal take that feels like it was recorded in a hot, sweaty room, not a sterile studio.
Comparing Five to Their Peers
If you look at the charts in 1998 and 1999, the competition was fierce. You had Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" and S Club 7's "Bring It All Back."
Most of those songs were about "me" or "you." They were internal.
"Everybody Get Up" was about us.
It was an invitation.
The lyrics didn't ask you to feel an emotion; they told you to perform an action. This is a subtle but massive difference in pop songwriting. It’s why the song feels more like a "track" than a "ballad." It’s functional music.
The Legacy of the "Get Up" Command
Why do we still talk about these lyrics? Because the late 90s was the last era of "monoculture." Everybody watched the same music videos on MTV and Top of the Pops. When Five told "everybody" to get up, a huge chunk of the planet actually heard them.
The song reached Number 2 in the UK and smashed the Top 10 across Europe and Oceania. In the US, it was their calling card. It’s a time capsule of a moment when pop music was allowed to be a little bit aggressive and a lot of bit fun.
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Common Misheard Lyrics
Interestingly, for a song so simple, people still get it wrong.
- The "Five Bad Boys" line: People often hear "Five big boys" or "Five fat boys" (unlikely for a boy band).
- The "Power to rock you": Sometimes heard as "Power to walk you."
- The "Individuality" line: People often mumble through the faster parts of the verse because the syncopation is actually quite tricky to mimic perfectly.
Actionable Steps for Your Next 90s Throwback
If you’re looking to dive back into the world of Five or want to use "Everybody Get Up" for a project, here is how to handle the track:
- Check the BPM: The song sits at roughly 88-90 BPM. It’s surprisingly slow for a "high energy" song, which is why it has that heavy, rhythmic swing. If you're DJing, don't speed it up too much or you lose the "stomp" factor.
- Karaoke Tip: Don't try to sing it. You have to shout it. If you try to stay on pitch during the "Everybody Get Up" chorus, you'll sound like you're in a choir. Lean into the rasp.
- Visual Context: If you're analyzing the music video, look for the "underground" aesthetic. The dark colors and warehouse setting were a direct response to the bright, pastel colors of groups like Backstreet Boys. It was a "counter-culture" pop move.
- Sample Hunting: Go back and listen to the original Joan Jett track, then listen to the Five version. Notice how they didn't just loop the riff; they layered it with a heavy 808 kick drum to make it hit harder in a club environment.
The everybody get up lyrics might not be Shakespeare, but they are a masterclass in how to write a hook that refuses to die. They capture a specific, frenetic energy that dominated the turn of the millennium. It was a time of baggy pants, spiked hair, and the belief that a good guitar riff could fix anything.
To get the most out of this nostalgia trip, listen to the extended "12-inch" mix of the track. It allows the instrumentation to breathe and shows just how much work went into the production beyond just the catchy vocal lines. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or someone who just heard it at a wedding last weekend, there’s no denying the power of those four simple words.