Hi-5 (Australian band)

Hi-5 were formed in 1998 in Sydney, Australia as a children's musical group.[1] Television producer Helena Harris, who had worked on Bananas in Pyjamas, co-created Hi-5 as a concept for a new television show.[2] She and co-producer Posie Graeme-Evans developed the series as preschool entertainment, blending educational theories with a pop music appeal, using music and movement to capture the attention of children.[3][4][5][6] The band's work was designed to have multiple layers and cater for a wide range of ages in the audience, while being primarily aimed at those aged 2–8.[7][8][9] Featuring five performers, the cast were intended to act as older siblings of the audience, rather than adults teaching children.[3][10] Harris has stated that Hi-5 was primarily a television series, but the music itself had the ability to stand alone.[7] The name of the group was derived from the high five gesture.[11]

Harris stated that her inspiration for Hi-5 came partly from living in England, where she realised she could develop a show with universal appeal, with accessible themes such as family and animals.[7] She strove to incorporate items of current interest to keep children engaged, and modelled the style of the group on the fast-paced nature of contemporary music videos.[3][12] Harris also recalled watching pop group, the Spice Girls, who she believed were dancing moves of a standard which preschoolers could replicate.[2][13] The creators saw the need for "life-affirming" television for rapidly maturing preschoolers, and found that most children learned from shows which incorporated movement and song.[4]

After auditions for the group in June 1998[5] (narrowing down around 300 people to only five),[14] the television pilot for Hi-5 was produced in mid 1998,[15] with the original cast consisting of Kellie Crawford (née Hoggart), Kathleen de Leon Jones, Nathan Foley, Tim Harding and Charli Robinson, who were aged between 18 and 24 at the time of filming.[8] After being commissioned and filmed, the series first aired in April 1999.[16][17] The corresponding debut album, Jump and Jive with Hi-5, was released in September by Sony Music and reached No. 33 on the ARIA Albums Chart.[18][19] The group toured around Sydney in their first year.[8]

Kellie Crawford and puppet character Chatterbox, January 2006

Hi-5 won the 2000 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program, and ARIA Award for Best Children's Album for Jump and Jive with Hi-5.[20][21] Hi-5 continued to film one television series and record one music album each year, with their releases consistently receiving album accreditations; Celebrate was certified as gold, while Jump and Jive with Hi-5, Boom Boom Beat and It's a Hi-5 Christmas went platinum, and It's a Party received double platinum status.[22][23][24] Four of their albums reached the top 10 on the ARIA Albums Chart, It's a Party (No. 4, July 2000), Boom Boom Beat (No. 3, August 2001), It's a Hi-5 Christmas (No. 4, December 2001) and Hi-5 Hits (No. 10, July 2003).[19] Hi-5 also toured nationally every year, with sell-out concerts in venues such as the Sydney Opera House.[4][25] The quintet's production of Hi-5 Alive won the 2002 Helpmann Award for Best Presentation for Children, while their Space Magic production was nominated in the same category in 2006.[26][27] In 2001, the members stated that they did not expect that Hi-5 would become so successful; Robinson explained that it was not until they went on tour that they realised their popularity.[28] Crawford described the band as "a pop group for kids".[28]

In 2002, Crawford and Foley entered a romantic relationship.[29] The couple were engaged in 2005, however called off the wedding plans in late 2006.[30][31][32]

The television series premiered in the UK in early 2003, which led the group to tour in 2004 with sell-out shows.[7][33] In 2005, Hi-5 performed in arena venues around Australia, in order to maximise the audience capacity.[14] In October 2015, Robinson estimated that the group spent nine months of every year touring.[34][35] She expressed that she had tried to leave after eight years but was convinced by producers to stay, and that the following years spent with the group were her favourite.[34]

In early 2006, de Leon Jones announced she was pregnant, and would take maternity leave from April onwards.[36][37] Sun Park was introduced as her temporary replacement, while de Leon Jones gave birth to her first child in July.[36][37] Park was part of the television series filming in 2006, and toured with the group across Australia and New Zealand over 2006 and 2007.[38][39] In July 2006, de Leon Jones stated that she was intent on returning to Hi-5, however in July 2007, made the decision to permanently leave the group to focus on being a mother.[40][41] Park took her place as a permanent member with the group.[41]

Group members, 2007 (L–R: Kellie Crawford, Nathan Foley, Charli Robinson, Sun Park and Stevie Nicholson)

Harding was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in June 2007, which left him unable to keep up with the high energy of Hi-5.[42][43] Just a few days before this, Stevie Nicholson had been hired as an understudy, and put straight into work as a temporary replacement for Harding.[43][44] The group toured the Hi-5 Circus Stageshow in 2007, with the theme of circus incorporating tricks such as trapeze, tightrope walking and gymnastics.[45] Nicholson debuted on tour with the Circus show in Singapore.[45] Harding announced his permanent departure in November after recovering from injuries; Nicholson took his place as a permanent member.[46][43][44][47]

Robinson (by then Delaney) announced her exit from the group in February 2008.[48] She expressed an interest in proving herself as a figure for an adult audience, and stated she would help find a replacement member.[49] After leaving, she went on to find success presenting in the Australian media industry.[50][51] In April, Casey Burgess was announced as Robinson's replacement, and began touring with the group.[9][52]

The Hi-5 brand was purchased by the Nine Network, along with production company Southern Star, in March 2008.[53] The change of ownership saw Harris and Graeme-Evans end their involvement with the franchise, which was placed under the direction of Martin Hersov and Cathy Payne, also Nine and Southern Star executives.[53][54]

Stevie Nicholson, Surry Hills, November 2011

It was announced in October 2008 that Crawford would be leaving the group at the end of the year to explore other options.[55] A month later, last remaining original member Foley also announced his departure.[54] He expressed interest in focusing on his adult music career.[56][57] In December, News.com.au's Confidential reporter alleged that Hi-5's production company had asked Crawford and Foley to leave, and that the producers were "opting to recruit younger, cheaper performers."[50] The pair did not respond to these reports.[50] Later in December, Park also announced she would be leaving the group since she had expected only to be a temporary replacement.[58] Park denied the industry rumours, saying that there had been no pressure for any of them to resign.[58][59] The departing members had their final performance at Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve in Melbourne.[50][59]

In February 2009, Lauren Brant, Fely Irvine and Tim Maddren were announced to be joining Nicholson and Burgess, forming the line-up referred to by commentators as the "new generation".[60][61][62] Of the large membership change, Burgess described it as a difficult period of transition, generating uncertainty over the band's future.[63] The new-look group toured regional Australian locations in early 2010 to build an audience.[64][65] The group also celebrated the 500th episode of the television series in 2010,[66] and in 2011 rerecorded a number of the group's original songs.[67] The new line-up did not experience the same critical reception as the original members, with one reviewer finding fault with the group's vocal abilities.[68]

Irvine's final performance as part of Hi-5 was at Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve 2011, with Nine Network representatives stating she would leave to explore "other career options".[69] Her replacement, Dayen Zheng, joined the group in January 2012.[69][70] Burgess and Maddren announced their departures on Christmas Eve 2012.[71] Maddren had secured a role in the Australian musical production of The Addams Family, while Burgess had decided to further her solo music career.[72][73]

Lauren Brant and Dayen Zheng, The Ivy Ballroom, Sydney, November 2012

In June 2012, the Nine Network announced that the Hi-5 brand has been sold in its entirety to Malaysian-based equity group, Asiasons, as a result of Nine's ongoing financial difficulties.[74][75][76] Datuk Jared Lim, Asiason's managing director, conveyed plans to expand Hi-5 throughout Southeast Asia, while keeping the group's presence in Australia intact.[74] Julie Greene, former producer of the television series, assumed the role of executive creative director.[75]

New members Mary Lascaris and Ainsley Melham were announced to be joining Nicholson, Brant and Zheng in early 2013.[77] The audition process was filmed and turned into a documentary style cinematic release, Some Kind of Wonderful, which premiered exclusively through Hoyts Cinemas in Australia from March.[77][78] This line-up were branded as a "new generation" of the group by press.[77]

Throughout this period, the production company shifted the commercial focus of the group to the Southeast Asian market, with an increase in Asian touring locations. In 2014, the group premiered in the Middle East with a Dubai tour, and returned to Bangkok for the first time in ten years.[79] A sold-out run of concerts in the Philippines saw the group return for an encore season in 2015.[79] A new television series entitled Hi-5 House was filmed in Singapore and Malaysia between 2013 and 2015, premiering on pay-TV channel Nick Jr. in Australia and also airing on Disney Junior in Asia.[80][81][82][83] The success of the series in Asia resulted in an Asian Television Award for Best Preschool Program in 2015.[84] The series premiered worldwide on online television streaming service Netflix in March 2016.[85][86] The group also toured New Zealand in 2016, for the first time since 2008.[87]

By 2015, the group noted that some of their audience now included parents who had watched Hi-5 as children.[88] Former member Robinson, then radio presenter, described the extended Hi-5 cast as "alumni" which she enjoyed being a part of, using her job to stay in contact with the current members.[34]

Brant's final performances were in July 2014 for the Australian House Hits tour, in which the cast wore costumes she designed under her new fashion label, Loliboli.[89] Her successor, Tanika Anderson, was already working with the group as an understudy and puppeteer.[90][91] Nicholson departed the group in December 2015 to further his performing career and promote his children's book, "Superdudes".[10][92] He was replaced by Lachie Dearing, who was introduced on tour in January 2016.[86][93] After being cast in an Australian musical production of Xanadu in January 2016, Melham exited the group, with new member Gabe Brown taking his place in February.[94][95] He was later succeeded by Chris White.[87]

The Nine Network announced it was renewing its partnership with the Hi-5 franchise in October 2016 and expressed plans to revive the original television series with a new cast in 2017.[96][97] As a result, Zheng, Lascaris, Anderson and White had their final performances in December 2016.[98][99][100] After auditions were held in November 2016, new members Courtney Clarke, Shay Clifford, Joe Kalou and Bailey Spalding were announced in December, joining Dearing to form the next generation of the group.[101][102] The quintet debuted at Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve, being Hi-5's first appearance at the Nine event since 2012.[103][104] The new television series was filmed in Malaysia and premiered in May 2017 on Nine's multichannel, 9Go!.[105][106]

Additional filming in 2018 was halted, before the Australian production office was closed and the brand was relocated to Singapore.[106] All five members announced their departures and the group adopted temporary touring members for the remainder of 2018.[107][108][109] The franchise continued to employ non-permanent performers for touring purposes.[109]

Hi-5 joined World Vision Australia as ambassadors in 2009, beginning their work in the Philippines while on a promotional tour.[127] The group have since gone on volunteer trips to Cambodia in 2012, and Myanmar in 2015.[128][129] Hi-5 also became representatives of the Starlight Children's Foundation in 2009, having previously held a history with the foundation.[130] Their work includes regular visits to hospitals while on tour.[131]

The Hi-5 franchise launched a series of international versions, with groups touring and producing local adaptations of the television series. In 2002, an American version of Hi-5 was created; the group filmed for television, recorded albums and toured.[132][133] A UK group was similarly introduced in 2008 through a television series and tour.[134][135] After the brand's sale in 2012, there was a return to licensing international groups. In 2014, a Latin American group was created, followed by a local version for the Philippines in 2015, and the introduction of an Indonesian group in 2017.[136][137][138]

In addition to the band's regular tours, Hi-5 performed annually at Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne, broadcast live by the Nine Network on Christmas Eve.[154] The group would perform a short selection of Christmas songs to entertain the younger viewers of the event, and were joined by Santa Claus, who was played for many years by Terry Gill, and Humphrey B. Bear.[154][155] It became common for the annual performance to be the final concert of departing members.[59][69] Hi-5 did not perform at the Carols between 2013 and 2015, and during this time appeared at local Christmas events.[156][157][158] Hi-5 returned to Carols by Candlelight in 2016 as part of their reestablished partnership with Nine, but were removed from the line-up in 2018 following the franchise's relocation to Singapore.[104][159]

The Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Music Awards are an annual series of awards nights which celebrate the music industry of Australia and have been presented since 1987.[160] In 2004, Hi-5 made history, establishing a record for most consecutive awards in the same category, after winning their fifth ARIA for Hi-5 Holiday.[21][111][161]

The TV Week Logie Awards are the annual Australian television industry awards. Hi-5 won a total of three Logie Awards for their television series, two for Most Outstanding Children's Program, and one for Most Outstanding Children's Preschool Program (a one-time category).[20]