Hi-5 (Australian group)

Hi-5 were formed in September 1998 in Sydney, Australia, as a children's musical group.[1][2] Television producer Helena Harris, who had worked on Bananas in Pyjamas, co-created Hi-5 as a concept for a new television show of the same name for the Nine Network.[2][3] She and co-producer Posie Graeme-Evans developed the series as preschool entertainment, blending educational theories with a musical appeal to capture children's attention.[4][5] Harris said that while Hi-5 was predominantly a television series, its music was able to be differentiated from the show.[6] Featuring five performers, the cast were intended to act as the audience's older siblings or friends, rather than adults teaching children.[7][8] Harris was inspired to develop a show with broad appeal and accessible themes such as family and animals.[6] She modelled the group's style on the fast-paced nature of contemporary music videos and strove to allude to items of current interest (such as relevant curriculum as well as popular jokes, films and music) to keep children engaged.[9][10] Harris recalled watching the Spice Girls, whose dance moves she believed preschoolers could copy.[3][11] The creators saw the need for "life-affirming" television for rapidly maturing preschoolers and found most children learn from programs which use music and movement.[4]

After auditions for the group in June 1998 (narrowing down around 300 people to only five),[5][12] the television pilot for Hi-5 was produced in mid-1998.[13] The original cast consisted of Kellie Crawford (née Hoggart), Kathleen de Leon Jones, Nathan Foley, Tim Harding and Charli Robinson.[2] After being commissioned, production began in October 1998.[13] The first series premiered in April 1999 on the Nine Network.[14][15] In September, Sony Music released their debut album, Jump and Jive with Hi-5, which reached number 33 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Chart.[16][17]

Kellie Crawford and puppet character Chatterbox, January 2006

Hi-5 won the 2000 Logie Award for Most Outstanding Children's Program in recognition of their television program, and the ARIA Award for Best Children's Album for Jump and Jive with Hi-5.[18][19] Their releases consistently received 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.[20][21][22] Four of their albums reached the top 10 on the ARIA Albums Chart; It's a Party (number four, July 2000), Boom Boom Beat (number three, August 2001), It's a Hi-5 Christmas (number four, December 2001) and Hi-5 Hits (number ten, July 2003).[17] It was reported in 2005 that a feature film starring the group was in early development, as well as arrangements for a single release.[23]

Hi-5 toured nationally for up to eight months of every year, with sell-out concerts in venues such as the Sydney Opera House.[24][25][26] 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.[27][28] The group first toured the UK in 2004,[6] and in 2005 performed in arenas around Australia to maximise the audience capacity.[12] In addition to their regular tours, Hi-5 appeared annually at Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne, broadcast live by the Nine Network on Christmas Eve.[29]

Stevie Nicholson, Surry Hills, November 2011

In early 2006, de Leon Jones announced she was pregnant, and would take maternity leave from April onwards.[30][31] Sun Park was introduced as her temporary replacement; de Leon Jones gave birth to her first child in July.[30][31] Park was part of the television series filming in 2006 and toured with the group across Australia.[32][33] In July 2006, de Leon Jones said she was intent on returning to Hi-5;[34] however, in July 2007, made the decision to leave the group permanently to focus on being a mother.[35] Park took her place as a full-time member.[35]

A serious motorcycle accident in June 2007 left Harding unable to keep up with the pace of Hi-5's performances.[36][37] Just a few days before this, Stevie Nicholson had been hired as an understudy and was put straight to work as a temporary replacement for Harding.[37][38] The group toured the Hi-5 Circus Stageshow in 2007; the show adopted a circus theme and incorporated tricks such as trapeze, tightrope walking and gymnastics.[39] They had only one week of training; some members benefitted from prior experience.[39] Nicholson debuted on tour with the Circus show in Singapore.[39] Harding permanently departed in November after recovering from his injuries and was replaced by Nicholson.[37][40][41]

Robinson (then referred to as Delaney) exited from the group in February 2008.[42] She expressed an interest in proving herself as an actor for an adult audience and said she would help find a replacement member.[43][44] After leaving, she established a career in the Australian media industry as a presenter.[45] In April, Casey Burgess was revealed as Robinson's replacement and began touring with the group.[46][47]

In March 2008, the Nine Network, along with production company Southern Star, purchased the Hi-5 brand.[48] 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, Nine and Southern Star executives.[48][49]

By November 2008, the remaining original cast members had stated their intent to withdraw from the group. Crawford reported in October that she would be leaving at the end of the year to explore other options, and a month later, Foley outlined his plan to exit and focus on his adult music career.[49][50][51] In December, Park also stated she would be departing the group since she had expected only to be a temporary replacement.[52] The Daily Telegraph's Sydney 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".[45] Neither of them responded to these reports, but Park denied the industry rumours, saying that there had been no pressure for any of them to resign.[45][52] The departing members gave their final performance at Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve in Melbourne.[52]

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

In February 2009, Lauren Brant, Fely Irvine and Tim Maddren joined Nicholson and Burgess to complete the group's new line-up.[53][54] Burgess described the change as a difficult transition period that led to uncertainty over their future.[55] They toured regional Australian locations in early 2010 to build a new audience.[56] The group celebrated the 500th episode of the television series in 2010,[57] and in 2011, they rerecorded several of the original line-up's songs.[58] They did not receive the same positive critical reception as the original members; one reviewer found fault with the new line-up's vocal abilities.[59] The group joined World Vision Australia as ambassadors in 2009, beginning their work in the Philippines while on a promotional tour, and completing a volunteer trip to Cambodia in 2012.[60][61] They also became representatives of the Starlight Children's Foundation in 2009; their work included regular visits to hospitals while on tour.[62][63]

Irvine's final performance as part of Hi-5 was at Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve 2011.[64] Nine Network representatives said she would leave to explore "other career options".[64] Her replacement, Dayen Zheng, joined the group in January 2012.[64][65] Burgess and Maddren departed in early 2013; Maddren had secured a role in the Australian musical production of The Addams Family, while Burgess had decided to further her solo music career.[66][67]

In June 2012, the Nine Network announced that because of their ongoing financial difficulties, they had sold the Hi-5 brand in its entirety to Malaysian-based equity group, Asiasons.[68][69][70] Datuk Jared Lim, Asiasons's managing director, described plans to expand Hi-5 throughout Southeast Asia, while keeping the group's presence in Australia intact.[68] Julie Greene, former producer of the television series, assumed the role of executive creative director.[69]

New members Mary Lascaris and Ainsley Melham joined Nicholson, Brant, and Zheng in early 2013.[71] The audition process was filmed and turned into a documentary-style film, Some Kind of Wonderful, which premiered exclusively through Hoyts Cinemas in Australia in March.[71][67] The press branded this line-up as a "new generation" of the group.[71]

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 debuted in the Middle East with a Dubai show and toured Bangkok for the first time in ten years.[72] They returned to the Philippines in 2015 for an encore season after a sold-out run of concerts the previous year.[72] A new television series entitled Hi-5 House was filmed in Singapore and Malaysia between 2013 and 2015, and aired on pay-TV channel Nick Jr. in Australia and Disney Junior in Asia;[73] its success in Asia resulted in an Asian Television Award for Best Preschool Program in 2015.[74] The program premiered worldwide on online television streaming service Netflix in March 2016.[75][76]

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.[77] Her successor, Tanika Anderson, was already working with the group as an understudy and puppeteer.[78][79] Nicholson departed in December 2015 to further his performing career and promote his children's book, Superdudes.[8][80] He was replaced by Lachie Dearing, who was introduced on tour in January 2016.[76][81] After being cast in an Australian musical production of Xanadu in January 2016, Melham left the group, and new member Gabe Brown took his place in February.[82][83] Brown was later succeeded by Chris White.[84]

The Nine Network renewed 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.[85][86] As a result, Zheng, Lascaris, Anderson and White gave their last performances in December 2016.[87] After auditions were held in November 2016, new members Courtney Clarke, Shay Clifford, Joe Kalou and Bailey Spalding were revealed in December, joining Dearing to form the fourth generation of the group.[88][89] The quintet debuted at Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve, Hi-5's first appearance at the Nine event since 2012.[90][91] The new television series was filmed in Malaysia and premiered in May 2017 on Nine's multichannel, 9Go! in Australia.[92][93] Additional filming in 2018 was halted before the Australian production office was closed and the brand was relocated to Singapore.[93] All five members departed the group, and the brand used temporary touring members for the remainder of 2018.[94] The franchise continued employing non-permanent performers for touring purposes in 2019.[95]

Hi-5, and the related television series, blended educational aspects with music and movement, while regularly updating the music and costumes to remain "abreast of the times".[4][5][12] The members were presented as older siblings or friends to their young audience, rather than appearing as adults teaching them.[7][8][26] The series' creators loosely based it on an underlying educational structure influenced by Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.[105][106] The producers recognised that most children have a preferred style of learning, and structured the group's work to have each member modelling skills in a specific area such as kinesthetic learning and musicality.[5][105] Harris observed most children would identify with the presenter who demonstrated their favoured learning style.[8][105] According to the group's website, Hi-5 incorporated Piaget's theory of cognitive development.[106] The educational theory caters to a wide range of ages in the audience while being aimed primarily at children aged two to eight.[6][46] Harris intended for the central themes promoted to be universally accessible, as she believed children are essentially the same around the world.[6] The pace and design of the group's performances were influenced by that of contemporary music videos.[9] They encouraged participation at their live stage shows through interactive elements with which the children engage.[25] Group members expressed that performances were adapted to include more songs and physical elements in countries where English is not the main spoken language.[107]

Business Review Weekly's annual Australian income list recognised the group as one of the country's highest paid entertainment groups, estimating annual earnings of A$18 million in 2007.[121] The franchise was reported as Australia's highest selling children's music property in 2007.[122] The original quintet consistently received album ARIA accreditations for their releases: Celebrate was accredited as gold,[22] while Jump and Jive with Hi-5, Boom Boom Beat and It's a Hi-5 Christmas went platinum.[20][21] It's a Party received double platinum status.[21] Four of the original line-up's albums reached the top 10 on the ARIA Albums Chart – It's a Party peaked at number four in July 2000; Boom Boom Beat reached number three in August 2001; It's a Hi-5 Christmas at number four in December 2001; and their greatest hits album, Hi-5 Hits, reached number ten in July 2003.[17]

Critics in the Australian press often described Hi-5 as quality children's entertainment. The original line-up were praised both as a cohesive ensemble, and for their talents at singing and dancing.[123][124] Reviewers highlighted the group members' energy and enthusiasm.[123][125][126] Hi-5's music has been described as simple, "infectious", and inspired by pop music.[124][126][127] The brand's employment of diverse performers, to serve as positive role models for children, was well-received.[124][128] The group's concert tours were admired for the fast pace of the shows and the bright colours of the staging design.[126][129] Reviewing the Circus Stageshow in 2008, Nicole Bittar of The Age described the members as versatile and cheerful, and commended their circus skills.[129] A 2015 concert was viewed by The Daily Telegraph as "well-choreographed and performed".[130] The group's productions have also been noted for their humour, incorporating slapstick elements inspired by pantomime comedy.[124][126][130] Reporters said they had a teenage and adult following, with dedicated older fans;[103][131] adult followers in the Philippines would use the group's songs to learn English.[132]

Later iterations of the group were criticised for their performances, and the brand was criticised for frequent membership changes. In her blog for The Daily Telegraph in 2011, Sarrah Le Marquand found fault with Brant's musical abilities, claiming that while she was an enthusiastic entertainer, she had limited vocal talent.[59] The reporter went on to suggest the entire line-up at the time were "melodically challenged".[59] A business blog argued that the group's target audience was unclear; while the franchise was aimed at preschoolers, the music and choreography seemed too complicated and like it was designed for an audience of older children.[133] The writer stated that the group had undefined member roles and that the performers attempted to upstage each other.[133] Similarly, in a 2011 survey by the Australian Council on Children and the Media, parents condemned the costuming of the group, stating it was inappropriate for the audience and "premature sexualisation".[134] Commentators have expressed disapproval of the franchise frequently replacing its performers with new talent; the newer line-ups were described as unrecognisable.[135][136] Critiquing the debut of a new line-up at Carols by Candlelight in 2016, David Knox wrote that the performance was unmemorable, and suggested that their strengths were not demonstrated at the event.[137]