Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily disbanded in 2012 after 14 years of success and later reunited in 2018.
The group has released twelve studio albums: four as a five-piece and eight as a four-piece. They rose to fame with their debut international self-titled studio album, '' Westlife'' (1999). It was followed by '' Coast to Coast'' (2000), '' World of Our Own'' (2001), ''
Unbreakable – The Greatest Hits Vol. 1
Unbreakable may refer to:
* '' Unbreakable: My Story, My Way'', a book written by Jenni Rivera
* Unbreakable (horse) (1935–1962), a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire
Film and television
* ''Unbreakable'' (film series), a trilogy directed by ...
'' (2002), and '' Turnaround'' (2003), which continued the group's success worldwide. The group released their cover albums '' Allow Us to Be Frank'' (2004) and '' The Love Album'' (2006) and the studio albums '' Face to Face'' (2005) and '' Back Home'' (2007). After a hiatus of studio recording for almost one year in 2008, they released the studio albums '' Where We Are'' (2009), and ''
Gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the str ...
'' (2010), and the compilation album '' Greatest Hits'' (2011). After eight years, the quartet group released their eleventh studio album, ''
Spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of color ...
'', in 2019, followed by their twelfth studio album, '' Wild Dreams'', in 2021.
Westlife is the act with the most Number 1 debuts on the UK Singles Chart, with all 14 of their chart-toppers landing there in their first week. They have the most singles certifications for a pop band on the UK number one singles artists chart since
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
. According to the
British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company wi ...
(BPI), Westlife has been certified for 13.5 million albums, 1.3 million video albums, and 12.8 million singles, with a total of more than 26 million combined sales in the UK. They are also currently ranked 19th with the most number-one albums of all time and sixth-highest band in the list. The group has accumulated 14 number-one singles as a lead artist as well as having eight number-one albums in the United Kingdom, making them Ireland's and non-British act's (since
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
) most prolific chart-toppers. In 2012, the
Official Charts Company
The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.
In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...
listed Westlife 34th among the biggest-selling singles artist, 16th amongst the biggest selling groups, and 14th with most top ten hits—all the highest for a boy band and a pop group in British music history. They are also the biggest selling album group of the 2000s, and three of their studio albums were part of the 50 fastest-selling albums of all time in the UK.
The group has the most consecutive number-one studio albums in a decade in the UK and Ireland for a band, since the Beatles, and for a pop band and act since
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...
. Also in Ireland, they have 11 number-one albums with a total of 13 top two albums, 16 number-one singles, as well as 34 top-fifty singles. They have sold over 55 million records. and are holders of the following ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'': first to achieve seven consecutive number-one singles in the UK; most public appearances in 36 hours by a pop group; most singles to debut at number one on the UK chart; and top-selling album group in the United Kingdom in the 21st century. Westlife is one of the most successful music groups of all time, among the highest-profile acts in 2000s popular culture in most territories worldwide, and one of the few boy bands to have continued success after their commercial peak. On the best-selling boy bands of all time list, they are currently tenth worldwide along with the biggest-selling boy band from Ireland in history globally. They have received numerous accolades including one World Music Award, two Brit Awards, four MTV Awards, and four Record of the Year Awards. As a live act, Westlife has sold 5.5 million concert tickets worldwide from their fourteen concert tours so far. They hold the record for the most shows played at The SSE Arena,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...
and SSE Arena, Wembley; this makes them the biggest arena act of all-time in the United Kingdom. They sold out Croke Park Stadium in their home country in a record-breaking five minutes. Their fourteenth, and latest concert tour is called
The Wild Dreams Tour
The Wild Dreams Tour, originally known as the Stadiums in the Summer Tour, is the current concert tour by Irish pop vocal group, Westlife. It was first scheduled to begin on 17 June 2020 in Scarborough, England at the Scarborough Open Air Theatr ...
.
History
Origin: Byrne, Egan, Feehily, Filan and McFadden's beginnings
Sligo
Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...
, Ireland, participated in a school production of '' Grease'' with fellow Sligo men Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron, and Michael Garrett. They considered it as the start of Westlife. The sextet formed a pop vocal group called Six as One in 1997, which they later renamed IOYOU. Before this, Egan was part of a punk-rock bands called Skrod, and Pyromania. The group, managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh and two other informal managers, released a single titled "
Together Girl Forever
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...
" under Sound Records which was written by Feehily and Filan with fellow Irish
Those Nervous Animals
Those Nervous Animals is an Irish rock band from Sligo, Ireland. Formed in 1981, the original membership consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Barry Brennan, guitarist Padraig Meehan, bassist Eddie Lee and percussionist Cathal Ha ...
and The Strong are Lonely band members Padraig Meehan and Daragh Connolly. Another song "Everlasting Love" included in the single was written by Feehily, Keighron, Meehan, and Connolly. There is also an unreleased song called "Good Thing". McDonagh first encountered Egan as a six-year-old student at her weekly dance classes, and came to know Filan and Feehily in their early teens as they starred in shows such as '' Oliver!'' and '' Godspell'' for Sligo Fun Company.
Louis Walsh, the manager of fellow Irish boy band Boyzone, came to know the group after Filan's mother Mae contacted him, but the group failed to secure a
BMG BMG may refer to:
Organizations
* Music publishing companies:
** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008
*** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
record deal with Simon Cowell. Cowell told Walsh: "You are going to have to fire at least three of them. They have great voices, but they are the ugliest band I have ever seen in my life." Lacey, Keighron, and Garrett were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden were recruited. McFadden was part of an R&B group called Cartel before this.
The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was originally named Westside, but as another band was already using that name, the group was renamed Westlife. It was revealed that Walsh was already calling them Westlife before the Westside name came along. In '' Westlife – Our Story'', Byrne revealed that, unlike the others in the group, he was keen to change the name to West High. McFadden also changed the spelling of his name to Bryan to facilitate signing autographs. They managed to secure a major record deal the second time around under BMG with all other record labels competed. They signed a four million pound record deal with
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...
. Westlife's first big break came in 1998 when they opened for Boyzone and Backstreet Boys' concerts in Dublin. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Walsh. Later, they won a special Smash Hits Roadshow award at that year's '' Smash Hits Poll Winners Party''. Their first live television performance as a group in Ireland and worldwide was on the Irish TV series and the world's second longest-running late-night talk show, ''
The Late Late Show
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
'' that had its broadcast on 13 November 1998. They performed " Flying Without Wings". The band then released an EP titled '' Swear It Again'' afterwards. Both recorded songs under Westside were produced by Steve Mac and written by Mac and Wayne Hector. Cowell chose the debut extended play and single with the guidance of his father, Eric Cowell, who stated then, "I think they will be big".
International breakthrough, Debut album, ''Coast to Coast, World of Our Own'' and super stardom (1999–2002)
In April 1999, the group released their first single, "Swear It Again" which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in the UK for two weeks. It became the biggest-selling single in a week one by a debut artist. On the week of its release and its chart achievement announcement, Cowell's father Eric died. Their second single, " If I Let You Go" was released in August 1999, which established them as the first boy band to hit the No. 1 with its first two singles. They also performed for billions in 1999 at the Miss World telecast with this song. The third single was the highly acclaimed "Flying Without Wings" (their first ' Record of the Year' and their third No. 1 single), released in October the same year, also followed suit. It made them the only the second Irish act and fourth act to debut at No. 1 with their first three singles, B*Witched,
Robson and Jerome
Robson & Jerome are an English pop duo who were active in the mid-1990s, consisting of actors Robson Green and Jerome Flynn. They rose to prominence via the English television series ''Soldier Soldier''.
The duo's musical catalogue was compose ...
, and Spice Girls being the other three. "Flying Without Wings" was also included on the soundtrack of the
Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
film, '' Pokémon: The Movie 2000''. Their first album, simply titled '' Westlife'', was released in November 1999 and went to No. 2 in the UK and their first No. 1 in Ireland. The album was the biggest chart dropper on the top 40 in UK music history when, in its 58th week on the charts it leapt from No. 79 to No. 3 before falling to No. 37 the following week. Despite the history, the album successfully managed to peak at No. 1 in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
in the year 2001 after premiering at No. 6 at the
Scottish Albums Chart
The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
's " The Millennium Prayer" off the top spot and earned them the 1999 UK Christmas number-one single. It is also their fourth No. 1 single. It was the first official No. 1 single music act in the 2000s of
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and also the last official No. 1 single music act in the 1990s decade of UK Singles Chart. They are one of only five acts to achieve four number ones in the UK Singles Chart in one calendar year, the others being
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
The Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richar ...
,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
and Spice Girls. The fifth and last single from the album, " Fool Again", also peaked at No. 1. With this, they broke records of being the only male band to have every singles released from an album to reach No. 1 in the UK and the only male group with most original songs in an album that went straight to No. 1 in the UK with multiple and/or with four original singles. Afterwards, Westlife signed to
Arista Records
Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertain ...
for the North American territory after auditioning for the label's founder, Clive Davis. Then the group had a promotional tour in the United States for their "Swear It Again" single and peaked at No. 20 in the
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. An Asian tour followed in support of their debut album before releasing a second album. On 1 July 2000, they were honored as Freemen of the Borough of Sligo.
'' Coast to Coast'', their second album, was released a year later and was their first No. 1 UK album, beating the Spice Girls' '' Forever'' album by a large margin, the said chart battle was widely reported by British media. It became the country's 4th biggest selling album of 2000. This is their second No. 1 album in Ireland. The album was preceded by a duet with
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the ...
singing " Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and the original song " My Love" (their second Record of the Year award). Both singles reached No. 1 on the UK charts, their sixth and seventh number ones respectively. With this, Westlife broke an unexpected record of the most consecutive No. 1 singles in the UK, having their first seven consecutive singles debut at the top by a debuting act and group, and by an act, a group, a male group, a pop act and a pop group in UK and became the fastest number one music act beating
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
's previous record of three years versus 23 months of Westlife getting each its first No. 1 singles and second music act to have the longest string of number ones in UK history. However, in December 2000, their eighth and an Ireland and UK exclusive single " What Makes a Man", only debuted at No. 2. The single "My Love" was controversially used by
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
as part of a torture program in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...
. According to the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...
, "the music pounded constantly as part of a scheme to assault prisoners' senses". They survived the 2000
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
major earthquake and lightning during this time. As the 2000 had ended, Westlife achieved four number one singles in a year for two straight years (1999, 2000) since Elvis Presley (1961, 1962).
Outside the UK and Ireland, they gained chart success with " I Lay My Love on You" and " When You're Looking Like That". This time as well, they were included in the top ten earners list of all acts in UK and Ireland and sold over 2.5 million units in Asia Pacific region. Also in this year, they launched their first world tour, " Where Dreams Come True Tour". A recording of a concert from the tour live from Dublin was released on 19 November 2001. Also in the same month and year, Westlife released their third album '' World of Our Own'', their second No. 1 album in the UK and their third No. 1 album in Ireland.
" Uptown Girl" (their first single to be on the List of million-selling singles in the United Kingdom), " Queen of My Heart" and " World of Our Own" were released as singles, all of which peaked at No. 1 in the UK. Those singles are also their eighth, ninth, and tenth number ones respectively. With their tenth No. 1, they made history by being the shortest music act or band to have ten or double-figures number ones in the UK Singles Chart (2 years and 10 months or 149 weeks) – more than 3 months quicker than
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
(165 weeks). " Bop Bop Baby" was also released as a single, but it peaked at No. 5 in the UK. In 2002, Westlife went on their second world tour, the World of Our Own Tour (In The Round). Overall in 2002, IRMA awarded the band plaque about their 1 million units sold in Ireland and ranked seventh as Irish's millionaires under age 30 with 18 million euros for all of the five members. For every performance each band member will get 228,000 euros, which means the 68 dates raked in 1.55 million
euros
The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . Th ...
for them by June 2002. The cash rolled in from sales of their merchandise, while a recent advertising deal with Adidas was worth 488,000 euros to each of them with a total of 3.33 million euros each at the end of the said tour.
''Unbreakable'', ''Turnaround'', and departure of McFadden (2002–2004)
The group sold more than 12 million records in a span of three years during this time. They released their eleventh UK No. 1 single, " Unbreakable" in 2002. Amidst rumours of a split, Westlife released their first greatest hits album in November that same year titled '' Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1'', which zoomed all the way to No. 1 in the UK and Ireland. Their third No. 1 in the UK and the fourth one in Ireland. Also during that time, Westlife bagged another ''Guinness World Record'' for most public appearances by a pop group in a 36-hour period. The band made stop-offs in five different cities (Dublin,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...
, Edinburgh, London and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
) to promote their then-new album. The release was followed by the double A-side single " Tonight"/"
Miss You Nights
"Miss You Nights" is a song written by Dave Townsend and made famous worldwide by Cliff Richard. The song has been recorded by numerous other artists, most notably Westlife, who released it as the second track on a double A-side single in 2003. ...
", which debuted at No. 3 in the UK and No. 1 in Ireland. At this time, Because Films Inspire made a TV documentary titled "Wild Westlife", directed by Iain MacDonald and starred the group, featuring their daily life as musicians and their tour experiences. It was aired on BBC Choice. In 2003, Westlife went on their third world tour,
The Greatest Hits Tour Greatest Hits Tour may refer to:
* Greatest Hits Tour (Björk), a 2003 concert tour by Björk
* Greatest Hits Tour (Boston), a 1997 concert tour by Boston
* Greatest Hits Tour (Donna Summer), a 2005 concert tour by Donna Summer
* Greatest Hits Tou ...
and was invited to play at the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo, shrugging off rumours of a split which is what most of the pop bands do after a Greatest Hits album and tour. A recording of a concert from the tour, live from Manchester, was released in November 2003.
Back in September 2003, Westlife released " Hey Whatever", which peaked at No. 4 in the UK. Their fourth studio album, '' Turnaround'', was then released in November, earning the group another UK No. 1 album, the fourth one. The album is also their fifth No. 1 in Ireland. " Mandy", was released a week before the album release. The band's twelfth No. 1 single. Their version won them their third Record of the Year award, in under five years. Their version of "Mandy" is also considered the single with the longest leap to the top (from No. 200 to No. 1) in UK music history. " Obvious" was released as the final single from the album, charting at No. 3.
On 9 March 2004, just three weeks prior to embarking on their fourth world tour, McFadden left the group to spend more time with his family and six months later to release solo music projects. On that day, a press conference was held where all the group's members were present, each giving emotional individual speeches. McFadden's final public performance as part of Westlife was at
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...
's Powerhouse nightclub on 27 February 2004. McFadden attended the first day of the band's tour date as an audience. The last time the five had reunited in public was when McFadden acted in an Irish reality television show
Anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anonym ...
where he disguised as a fan in an album signing event of the group in November 2005 and had a broadcast in January 2006. He subsequently began a solo career, and reverted the spelling of his first name back to its original 'Brian'. McFadden later released more albums and singles, but only with moderate success.
Less than a month after McFadden's departure, the group kicked off their "Turnaround Tour". A live version of " Flying Without Wings" from the said tour was released as an official UK download, earning them the first official UK Downloads No. 1. A recording of a concert from the Turnaround Tour, live from
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm () is the capital and most populous city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately
1 million people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 millio ...
, was released in November 2003.
''Face to Face'', ''Back Home'', and cover albums (2004–2008)
In September 2004, they performed on the World Music Awards, where they were recognised as the Best Irish Act of that year. They then released a Rat Pack-inspired album and fifth album ''... Allow Us to Be Frank'', which peaked at No. 3. No singles from this album were released in the UK but " Ain't That a Kick in the Head?", accompanied with a music video, was released as a digital download in the UK and peaked at No. 4 and as a physical single in other European countries. " Smile" and " Fly Me to the Moon", both with music videos as well, were released as digital downloads only.
Prior to the release of the ''...Allow Us to Be Frank'' album, Westlife scouted for "the perfect fan" to help promote their album. After '' X Factor''-style auditions, they found Joanne Hindley, who recorded " The Way You Look Tonight" with the group. To mark this special collaboration, a special programme was televised, showing auditions and live performances, called ''She's The One'', presented by Kate Thornton. It also featured a live performance by their fathers with their version of " That's Life". Westlife continued to tour Europe as part of their "
The Number Ones Tour
The No 1's Tour by Irish boy band Westlife. It was seen by 330,000 fans and made £8 million worldwide. The tour was originally called ''The Red Carpet Tour'', but the name was later changed as confusion over the type of show became apparent. ...
" which started in early 2005. The tour ranked at number 84 worldwide with top concert tour ticket sales with 191,361. A recording of a concert from the tour, live from
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, was released in November 2005.
By 2004, they sold over 30 million albums already, the biggest live act in UK, and making around £4m each as reported in 2005. In October 2005, Westlife returned with their comeback single, " You Raise Me Up", which was taken from their sixth album '' Face to Face'', their thirteenth No. 1. On 5 November 2005, both the album and the single were at No. 1 in the UK, at the same time, during the second week of the single. It was the first time that Westlife had held both the top album and the top single position in the same week and the first Irish music act to have such feat. This is their fifth No. 1 in the UK and sixth one in Ireland. "You Raise Me Up" was awarded as their fourth Record of the Year in the UK, for 2005. In December of that year, the group released " When You Tell Me That You Love Me", a duet with Diana Ross, as the second single, and it debuted at its peak position of No. 2. This single marked its fourteenth year since the original Diana Ross version was released and peaked at No. 2, the same chart position in the UK Singles Chart in 1991. Westlife then released a third single, "
Amazing
Amazing may refer to:
Music Performers
* The Amazing, a Swedish indie rock band
Albums
* ''Amazing'' (Banaroo album), 2006
* ''Amazing'' (Elkie Brooks album), 1996
* ''Amazing'' (Marcia Hines album) or the title song, 2014
* ''Amazin'' (Tr ...
", which debuted at No. 4. After that, Westlife embarked on the " Face to Face Tour", travelling extensively to the UK, Ireland, Australia and Asia. This tour marked the first time that Westlife travelled to mainland China for a concert. The tour ranked the band sixth for the year with a number of performances with 32 shows and recorded 238,718 paid-for attendances. A recording of a concert from the tour, live from Wembley Arena, was released in November 2006. The band was mentioned as part of the names of male groups that peaked in the United Kingdom album sales in 2005 with 45 percent of the market. By this time, they already sold over 36 million records worldwide.
In late 2006, Westlife signed a brand new five-album deal with
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...
. Their seventh album, '' The Love Album'' was a compilation concept album which consisted of popular love-song covers. The album outsold other compilation albums by Oasis, The Beatles, and U2 in its first week of release and went straight to No. 1 in both UK and Ireland. It was the top selling album of 2006 in Ireland and Westlife's seventh and sixth No. 1 album in Ireland and the UK, respectively. Moreover, the only single from ''The Love Album'', "
The Rose
A rose is a perennial plant of the genus ''Rosa'', or the flower it bears.
Rose may also refer to:
Colors
* Rose (color)
** RAL 3017 Rose
* Rose (heraldic tincture)
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''Rose'' (2011 film), a Polish film ...
", became their 14th UK No. 1 single. This made Westlife the third act (along with Cliff Richard) in the UK to have the most No. 1 singles, tailing behind Elvis Presley (21) and The Beatles (17). In Ireland, they made it to the second place (tied with The Beatles) to have most number one singles, tailing behind U2 (21). They also returned to the Miss World stage where billions saw the exclusive live performance of The Rose. Westlife then kicked off their eighth world tour, " The Love Tour", in
Perth
Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...
, Australia. The group then went on to other Australian cities before moving on to South Africa, the UK and Ireland. The tour had a total of £1,031,033 secondary gross sales.
On 5 November 2007, Westlife released their eighth album, '' Back Home'', which contained nine new original songs along with three cover songs. The album debuted at No. 1 on the UK, their seventh No. 1. It was also 2007's fifth biggest selling album in the UK. This makes them as one of the only five band, with
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey (manager), Phil H ...
, The Prodigy, Stereophonics, and Take That, in UK chart history to claim seven No. 1 albums. With seven of their albums reaching the number one spot from 2000-2007, they attained the fastest accumulation of UK number one albums record in recent history until
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...
's re-recording release of her album ''
Fearless
Fearless or The Fearless may refer to:
Psychology
* Lack of fear
* Courage or bravery
Film, television and audio Film
* ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi
* ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...
'' in 2021. The album was their eighth No. 1 in Ireland. The first single released from the album was " Home", which peaked at No. 3 in the UK. " I'm Already There", not released as a single, managed to chart in the UK based on downloads alone, following a performance on an episode of ''The X Factor UK''.
On 15 December 2007, they had a two-hour show called ''
The Westlife Show
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...
'' where they performed 10 of their songs, some of which were voted online by fans and some from ''Back Home''. It was hosted by Holly Willoughby. Months later, " Us Against the World" was announced and released as their second single in UK and Ireland. Before the release of the second single, they embarked on the Back Home Tour on 25 February 2008. This tour marked the first time that the group had travelled and performed in New Zealand, performing four sold-out shows in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...
,
New Plymouth
New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. Th ...
and
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
. Meanwhile, "
Something Right
"Something Right" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife from their eighth studio album '' Back Home''. The song was released as the band's second single in Asia and Europe following their first single, "Home", as well as the album's overall third ...
" was released as the second single and "Us Against the World" became the third single in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Both songs performed well on several music charts.
10th anniversary and hiatus (2008–2009)
From 2005 to 2008, ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
'' revealed on their website that Westlife was the official third top touring act within the years while they were the seventh top touring act of 2008. On 28 March 2008, after 27 sell-out shows, in the space of 10 years and have sold 250,000 tickets. All four members were presented with a plaque cast of their hands, which can also be seen in the Wembley Square of Fame similar to
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...
. Then to mark their tenth year in music, Westlife staged a special ''10 Years of Westlife'', a sold-out concert at the world's thirty-third biggest and Europe's fourth biggest stadium, Croke Park, on 1 June 2008. which Egan described to be a "pop extravaganza". It was only the second time for an Irish act to headline the stadium after U2. Filan confirmed that a corresponding live concert DVD would be released. The group announced that they would be on hiatus for a year after their Back Home Tour and that there would not be an album release in 2008 as they would be spending more time on the production of their tenth album. As promised, the group's official website confirmed on 27 September 2008 the release of a DVD on 24 November 2008 entitled '' 10 Years of Westlife – Live at Croke Park Stadium'' which went straight to No. 1 on UK, Ireland, South African, Hong Kong and New Zealand Music DVD charts.
As the group ended another successful tour, Walsh announced in the show '' Xpose'' that 1 July 2008 would be the official start of the longest hiatus of the group. He said that it will be a one-year break, from that day up to 1 July 2009. On 13 December 2008, while on a break, Westlife made an unexpected appearance during that year's ''X Factor'' final where they performed "Flying Without Wings" with runners-up JLS. After the performance, Filan and Byrne were interviewed on '' The Xtra Factor'' with Boyzone's Keating and Stephen Gately. As JLS also performed, "I'm Already There", Westlife's version of the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 63 while a new entry on Ireland Singles Chart at No. 47 due to extensive downloads only. In the last week of January 2009, a DVD entitled ''The Karaoke Collection'' was released. This is the first time
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
has released an official Karaoke disc for music videos in DVD format. On 27 February 2009 issue of '' Herald Ireland'', Walsh revealed that Cowell had already picked three new songs which he believed would be instant hits. On 18 March 2009, Westlife won the Best Irish Pop Act on the 2009 Meteor Awards for the ninth consecutive time.
''Where We Are'' and ''Gravity'' (2009–2010)
Their tenth album, '' Where We Are'', was released on 30 November 2009 in the UK and peaked at No. 2 on both Irish and UK Albums Charts. The lead single, " What About Now", was released a few weeks earlier on 23 October 2009, with digital downloads being available the day before. The said single peaked at No. 2 on both Irish and UK Singles Charts and ranked No. 85 in the year-end official sales chart. Following that month was the announcement of the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' for Westlife as the top selling album group of the 21st century with 10.74 million albums sold in the UK alone.
They were also part of the
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
charity single in early 2010 with " Everybody Hurts", which was organised by Cowell. The said single peaked at No. 1 on both Irish and UK Singles Chart. The tour in support of this album was called, " The Where We Are Tour". The tour entered at number 50 of top concert tour for the third quarter of the year with 241,865 ticket sales. A recording of a concert from the tour, live from London, was released in November 2010. The eleventh album was recorded and processed with songwriter and producer John Shanks in London and Los Angeles and was entirely produced by Shanks. On 14 November 2010, the single "
Safe
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure Lock (security device), lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form ...
" was released. It debuted on the UK Singles Chart on 21 November at No. 10, giving the group their 25th Top 10 single in the United Kingdom. The new album titled ''
Gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the str ...
'' was released on 22 November 2010. It went to No. 1 in Ireland and No. 3 in the UK. This is their ninth No. 1 in Ireland and this album made Westlife as one of the few musical acts and band and the only pop band to have number one albums in three consecutive decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s) in their home country.
As the 2000s decade ends with 275 singles reached the No. 1 position on the chart in the UK. Over this period, Westlife were the most successful musical act and group at reaching the top spot with 11 No. 1 singles only from the said decade, top act with most total number of weeks at No. 1 with individual credits and second to most total number of weeks at No. 1 with 14 weeks. Ten out of their fourteen No. 1 singles were released and came from this decade. Westlife is also the second biggest selling music act in the UK of the 21st century. And second from the list of artist from the past decade, 1990s, in UK Albums and Singles Charts. While in 2005, half of the decade, they were the fifth.
Westlife was named the fourth most hard-working music artist and third most hard-working band in the UK by PRS in 2010. Also from the said year ''Billboard'' compiled the top international touring acts worldwide, the group ranked 14th with $5,104,109 estimated net take of tour grosses (assuming a typical 34% artist cut after commissions and expenses). In March 2011, they started their eleventh major concert tour, the Gravity Tour. This tour marked the first time the group travelled to
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
,
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...
,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...
and
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
for concerts.
''Greatest Hits'' and split (2011–2018)
As of 2011, the group were the longest reigning band and second longest reigning number one music act in the 21st century in UK. On 14 March 2011, Westlife confirmed that they had left Cowell after 13 years and his record label
Syco Music
Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music rele ...
after nine years. The group cited Syco's decision not to release a second single from ''Gravity'' as the reason Byrne felt it as another reason of being unloved,
On 23 April 2011, Egan's Twitter account posted a series of tweets saying he was to walk away from the group. He later said his account was hacked and debunked the announcement. After going back to RCA Records full-time for a one-year album contract, they announced their '' Greatest Hits'' album to be released on 21 November 2011. It debuted at No. 1 in Ireland and No. 4 in the UK. This is their tenth No. 1 album in Ireland. The first and lead single, " Lighthouse" was released in November 2011. And a follow-up promotional single " Beautiful World" released later. In October 2011, Egan ruled out speculation that McFadden would reunite with them for the new compilation album and its promotion for a television show. Egan said: "All the rumours about Brian re-joining Westlife are untrue. We have been a 4 piece for too long now. We love Brian but it's not going to be. That includes any TV performances." With a new compilation album coming out, it was speculated Westlife would be doing a new greatest hits tour. They were scheduled to headline the ChildLine Concert in Dublin on 12 November 2011 and to have another exclusive concert on O2 Blueroom, also in Dublin on 24 November.
A UK tour was first officially announced on 18 October 2011, with dates confirmed for May 2012 and it was titled,
The Greatest Hits Tour Greatest Hits Tour may refer to:
* Greatest Hits Tour (Björk), a 2003 concert tour by Björk
* Greatest Hits Tour (Boston), a 1997 concert tour by Boston
* Greatest Hits Tour (Donna Summer), a 2005 concert tour by Donna Summer
* Greatest Hits Tou ...
or The Farewell Tour. ''Stereoboard'' reported that the tour sold out within minutes. On 19 October 2011, Westlife officially announced they were splitting after an album and a tour."Westlife to split up" . ''RTÉ Ten''. 19 October 2011.
During this time, the
Official Charts Company
The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France.
In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...
compiled the band's chart history which states that other than their number-ones they had, 25 UK Top 10s, 26 UK Top 40s, 27 UK Top 75s, 20 Weeks at No. 1, 76 Weeks in Top 10, 189 Weeks in Top 40 and 282 Weeks in Top 75 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. While 7 No. 1s, 12 UK Top 10s, Top 40s, Top 75s, 7 Weeks at No. 1, 92 Weeks in Top 10, 189 Weeks in Top 40, and 299 Weeks in Top 75 in the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. They also had seven number-one albums in eight years, the most number-ones with different albums by a music album act, group, pop group, and male group in the UK Albums Chart in the 2000s and the second most number ones, tied with Rod Stewart, with different albums by a music album act, group, pop group, and male group in the UK clustered per decade since The Beatles in the 1960s and of all time. In Ireland, they have fourteen No. 1 singles and ten No. 1 albums, the most for a pop band and act and male band and act, and Irish band next to U2.
A second statement was issued through their official site, saying the fans were continuing to be the best support system. Some fans on social networks described themselves as feeling "devastated" following news of the split. People left their messages on Twitter by using #WestlifeForever and #Westlife, it trended on Ireland,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, New Zealand,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, Singapore, Sweden, and the UK. A live stream Q&A happened on 28 October 2011 as a "thank you" to their fans. As part of it, ITV commissioned a one-off music event as they took to the stage to sing some of their greatest hits, it was entitled ''Westlife: For the Last Time''. Another show entitled, ''
The Westlife Show
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...
: Live'', was broadcast from
Studio One Studio One or Studio 1 may refer to:
* Studio One (software), digital audio workstation software, developed by PreSonus
* ''Studio One'' (American TV series), a 1948–1958 American television anthology series
* ''Studio One'' (Emirati TV progra ...
of London Studios on the same channel on 1 November 2011. They then had a live guesting on ''The Late Late Show''. They were honored at that time by Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) with four specially commissioned bar stools to mark 49 performances at the venue for over 380,000 fans, selling more tickets than any other act. The band had their final concert on 23 June 2012 at Croke Park Stadium in Ireland. The 82,300 capacity show was sold out in 4 minutes. Due to this popular demand, an extra date was added at Croke Park on 22 June 2012, which also sold out. Combined, there was a total of 187,808 spectators on both nights, exceeding the capacity of the stadium. Their last concert was also screened live in more than 300 cinemas in the United Kingdom, and 200 cinemas worldwide. They also released a DVD, which went to number 1 in both UK and Irish chart. In that year they were also declared the 34th top-grossing tour act of the year with earnings of $35.2 million (€27 million). The farewell tour consisted of eight dates in China and 33 in the UK and Ireland; in total, the band sold 489,694 tickets from the tour.
Cowell and some media predicted a possible reunion in the future,Jonze, Tim "Westlife to split after 14 years" ''The Guardian'' (London). 19 October 2011. but Westlife put an end to that speculation by vowing they would never reunite. Later reports from the '' Daily Record'' said there was an "irreparable rift" in the band, but was later denied by a source close to the band saying: "There's no bad blood in the band, they're still great pals. But all good things come to an end and they are all keen to do their own thing." Later, the band also denied it and called the split a "united decision". However he confessed three months after the split, Byrne said that members of the group fought with one another more and more often in the latter years leading up to the split and he felt that it was the right time to end their time together. A year after Westlife ended, they agreed to all voluntarily wind up Bluenet Ltd, their main entertainment firm, after going their own ways and split €2.3million to €595,500 each except for Filan who missed out any of it as he declared bankruptcy at that time due to property crash problems.
Since the split, the four lads have released albums and singles individually. Filan, with three studio albums and with singles and tours (with support act dates for Lionel Richie) released and a Top 5 hit album in UK. Feehily associated with an independent record label (which he is the co-director) and released albums and singles. He also made it as a supporting act to Mariah Carey and Wet Wet Wet. Egan was voted King of the Jungle on the 2013 series of ITV's '' I'm a Celebrity'' series, released one studio album with singles, was a coach judge on '' The Voice of Ireland'', and was a support act for Boyzone. Byrne released one studio album, joined '' Strictly Come Dancing'', hosted several major Irish television and radio shows, and represented Ireland in Eurovision, which was also his debut solo single.
In 2014, Syco Music said to '' The Sun'': "All the guys are up for it in principle. It's now just a matter of sorting out all the details, Syco would love Brian to be part of the band again. It'd create the same sort of buzz as when
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stu ...
returned to Take That. But the other lads will need to be convinced because they were always very clear that when Brian left it was for good." but Egan later tweeted, "Guys I'm sorry to say but I don't know where these rumours are coming from about a Westlife reunion but it's untrue. Sorry #westlifeforever." In 2015, 2016 (On this year, Walsh posted on the band's social accounts that they will not regroup as of the moment), 2017, Walsh expressed that the four-piece band would reunite. He had been in contact with
Ed Sheeran
Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
and James Arthur to create songs for the band.
However, on 2016–2017, four years following the split, Filan told '' Lorraine'' and other media outlets that while there are currently no plans for a Westlife reunion, he would not rule it out for the future. Byrne expressed in 2017, "Shame this Westlife news is not true. They were always my guilty pleasures." He also talked about touring with the group: "Who wouldn't want to do that again? The laugh with the boys and travelling around and seeing all the fans again. It's nearly six years next summer since we've done it so who knows? Maybe in ten years. I've spoken to all the lads individually but we've never brought up a Westlife reunion, the thing about it is the four of us haven't been in a room together since Jodi's ian's wifemum's funeral,' That was the last time we spoke properly as a band, if you want to call it that., I'm sure it will happen but I don't know when and I don't know if even we know when the right time will be." Feehily added, "People have offered us blank cheques to get back together but it's not about money. There are no plans to reform. The time isn't now. We all have a lot more that we want to achieve first. It feels way too soon to be honest, a 20th anniversary tour could still happen one day as 2019 is 20 years since we released our first single, while 2021 is 20 years since our first world tour. So you never know".
On 31 March 2018, it was reported on Allkpop that all of them might guest on a popular Korean musical show '' Immortal Songs 2'' but Filan was the only one who appeared on the show as a judge and a guest performer afterwards. Egan answered that this and other reports were untrue and the rest of the group members sided with Egan's response after as well. Later they revealed they had been phoned up by Walsh and Cowell every six months since their split. On 23 September 2018, several Irish news outlets started reporting that the group has been signed to
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
On 3 October 2018, the group formally announced that there'll be new music and a tour coming soon on their official social media accounts like on their newly created
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
. Their reunion story caused huge fan reaction worldwide. According to the reports, they had been preparing for their comeback for the past year of 2017 as Feehily had said on the same year that he hoped to get them all together for a proper catch-up. It was later revealed that Egan and Filan first talked about their reunion when
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
released "
Hello
''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses
''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwi ...
" in late 2015. While Byrne raised his concerns about "...where Westlife's music fits into the current market" and not wanting to be simply a "nostalgia" act. He went on to say, "While we were away, we realised what Westlife really meant to the fans – and to us." McFadden was not involved in the reformation as he said on an interview with ''
Closer Magazine
''Closer'' is a British tabloid magazine founded in 2005 and published by Bauer Consumer Media. A French language version followed shortly afterwards, and an American edition began publication in 2013.
Profile
''Closer'' mainly specializes in cel ...
'', "...there's no reason for me and the boys to stay buddies." and "For me, it was just a job. I only met the guys when I joined the band and have no regrets about leaving." Their first live interviews and press conferences as a four-piece in six years were made 20 days later held in Dublin and Belfast where they revealed their plans to stick around longer. Days later, it was followed by several radio interviews in Manchester,
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
, Dublin and
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...
. Walsh also said in separate interviews that the most important things now are the songs, it will be featured as an introduction to their new sound and added, "I was just waiting for them to decide when. There were record deals on the table, but the icing on the cake was Ed Sheeran writing these amazing songs for them, as well as having Steve Mac, who produced their early songs, on track too." .."Sheeran's input adds a contemporary edge", "I've heard the first two songs and they are just incredible." Mac and Sheeran have come up with four new tracks for them. One will be a single co-written by Sheeran. Some had been composed since 2016. The duo have co-written recent hits like the most streamed song on Spotify, " Shape of You", and also " Woman Like Me" by Little Mix, and " Thursday" by Jess Glynne. Mac revealed the band's signature sound will be back. Feehily and Filan added, "We're not trying to change Westlife's sound, we're trying to evolve", "We need to be a Westlife 2.0, a better version of ourselves. We wanted to come back and recreate Westlife's sound, but better, and be a better band, and the most important thing about any band is music." In November 2018, Byrne expressed 2019 will be "one hell of a year" On 19 December 2018, Egan and Feehily posted a picture of the group's first rehearsals together in six years and Egan added that "2019 will be nothing but epic". A musical and a documentary film about them and their reunion were also reported.
" Hello My Love", their first single since 2011 was released on 10 January 2019. It reached No. 1 in iTunes Store Top Songs in more than fifteen countries that include the United Kingdom and Ireland, reached top 10 in 23 countries, and charted in more than 50 countries only minutes after its release. It was released in four official versions: Original, instrumental, acoustic, and a remix. Their first UK, worldwide television and recorded professional appearance, performance in seven years and of the single was on '' The Graham Norton Show'' on 11 January 2019 where it was tagged as "one of the most highly-anticipated TV comebacks of the decade". They also performed the single on the ''
24th National Television Awards
The 24th National Television Awards were held at The O2 Arena on 22 January 2019 and were the last to be hosted by Dermot O'Leary. Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer were on backstage duties. On 13 February 2019, O'Leary announced he was leaving the pr ...
'' on 22 January 2019 and it was their first live television performance, first
The O2 Arena
The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the ...
and arena performance together in seven years. Their first Irish performance and television appearance together was in the finals night of '' Dancing With the Stars Ireland'' on 24 March 2019. Their first tour and first promotional tour in general and for a single release together outside UK and Ireland in seven years was on Singapore on 29 January 2019 to 1 February 2019. It reached number-two in Ireland and Scotland. It was their highest charting on their official singles charts since the band's "What About Now" single in 2009, ten years ago. The single got its Silver certification four months after its release and its Gold certification seven months after its premiere in the UK. In Ireland, it has a 2× Platinum certification.
The full-length album is released on 15 November 2019. It is in different formats like the CD, digital download, vinyl, and a limited box set edition. Some of the album formats are bundled with their official tour merchandise. It is their eleventh studio album, their first major album to be released in eight years and first studio album in nine years. In November 2018, the pre-order links for the upcoming album were released on
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
Australia, Japan, UK, and HMV. The album is titled ''
Spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of color ...
''. The album peaked at number one in Ireland, Scotland, and the UK and was certified as Gold in the UK and as Platinum in Ireland. This is their first number one album in twelve years in the UK and in eight years in Ireland. This is also the fastest selling album in 2019 in Ireland. This is their eighth UK number-one album making them the fifth band (fourth until Coldplay got their eight number-one album week after) to have eight UK number-one albums with the likes of
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are c ...
, and R.E.M. Overall, they are one of the only ten bands that has had eight number-one albums. It marks their eleventh number-one album in Ireland.
To promote the album before its release, more singles were released like the second one, also by Mac and Sheeran with
Fred Again
Fred John Philip Gibson, (born 19 July 1993) known professionally as Fred Again (stylised as Fred again..) or simply Fred (stylised as FRED), is a British record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ.
Early life and educa ...
( George Ezra, Prettymuch, Rita Ora), which was called " Better Man". It was their second number one on the UK Singles Physical Chart and reached number two on the UK Singles Sales Chart and Scottish Singles Chart in 2019. It was also released in orchestral and acoustic versions. The third single, " Dynamite", was released on 5 July 2019 and was released in three different mixes. The single was their 27th Top 10 hit in Scotland and 29th Top 40 hit in Ireland. The fourth single from the album, "
My Blood
''My Blood'' is the sixth studio album by Danish thrash metal band Artillery. It was released in 2011 via Metal Mind Productions
Metal Mind Productions (MMP) is a Polish record label founded in 1987. The label focuses on rock and heavy met ...
", was released on 25 October 2019. "My Blood" ended up peaking at number ninety-six on the UK Singles Chart and at number-six on the Scottish Singles Chart. It also peaked at number forty-six in the Irish Singles Chart.
Since their comeback in 2018, their previous singles "What About Now", "Queen of My Heart", "If I Let You Go", and "My Love" reached the higher Gold certifications in the United Kingdom after ten, seventeen, eighteen, and twenty years of their releases respectively. "Flying Without Wings", and "World of Our Own" were certified Platinum twenty years after its release. While "When You're Looking Like That" after twenty years and "The Rose" after thirteen years achieved their Silver certifications since their releases respectively in the same country. Six were certified in 2019, one in 2018, and two in 2020.
On the evening of 17 October 2018, the UK and Ireland dates of their latest tour were announced through Westlife's social networks and was called The Twenty Tour. A pre-order site of the forthcoming new Westlife album, for both unsigned and limited signed (which was taken down minutes later), from their official store was cited where fans will receive an exclusive pre-sale code for early access tickets to the 2019 tour. Pre-sale tickets were all sold out before the general sale and the event had been described as a "big one" making the original tour dates sold out at the very time of its general sales opening. The tour had twelve original dates and fourteen more dates added on places like
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
, and Sheffield in less than seven hours due to high demand. In their first full print interview as a band in six years, they said: "We will get to everyone eventually." Egan added, "Every country that wants to see Westlife will see us at some point. We won't step away from this until we've managed to tour the world." Seventeen additional Asian dates were announced from 21 March 2019 onwards; the tour has a total of fifty-one dates and took place at some of Asia's and Europe's largest indoor arenas and stadium. It was their fastest selling tour to date.
The second day of the tour in Croke Park had a live film broadcast in selected cinemas in at least fourteen European countries on 6 July 2019, and in more than 600 cinemas live via satellite in UK and Ireland alone. A delayed broadcast in at least nine Asian countries that include Hong Kong, India, UAE,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
, and in Australia and New Zealand were done from August 2019 as well. They hired the
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 ...
team for the production, stage design, and routines of the tour. A follow-up cinema screenings of the filmed tour date was produced from August 2019 onwards as well in a sing-along version that kick-started in Denmark, Ireland, and UK. This was released in a video album in different formats on 13 March 2020. It reached the number one in UK and Ireland and stayed at the top spot for more than thirty weeks on their official charts.
On 13 September 2019, they announced that they are scheduled to play at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in London, England and at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork, Ireland, both for the first time, as part of their Stadiums in the Summer Tour, which was later renamed. The tour play dates were moved from 2020, 2021 to 2022 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
with most of the original scheduled tour dates were also cancelled.
On 8 February 2021, the band revealed the mutual parting of ways with Virgin EMI Records and details of a new and groundbreaking partnership are imminent.
''Wild Dreams'' (2021–present)
On 17 March 2021, they formally announced through different medias that they signed a new album deal through Warner Music UK and East West Records.
After 514 days since their last get together, they played eight of their songs live together for a BBC Radio 2 event on Ulster Hall, Belfast on 25 August 2021 and was broadcast from 10 September 2021. An estimate of sixty-eight thousand people have applied to be part of the audience that night but an approximate number of only 160 people has been picked because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"Starlight", the lead single from their twelfth studio album, was released on 14 October 2021. The album, '' Wild Dreams'', was released on 19 November 2021 but was pushed back to 26 November 2021 on 13 October 2021. It is in different formats like the CD, digital download, streaming. Some of the album formats are bundled with their official tour merchandise.
On 29 October 2021, a new schedule for their renamed fourteenth concert tour,
The Wild Dreams Tour
The Wild Dreams Tour, originally known as the Stadiums in the Summer Tour, is the current concert tour by Irish pop vocal group, Westlife. It was first scheduled to begin on 17 June 2020 in Scarborough, England at the Scarborough Open Air Theatr ...
, was released. It included fourteen new dates and venues, with eight more dates added later. They also announced that their Wembley Stadium date would be streamed live in various cinemas in Europe.
On 17 December 2021, a Westlife concert filmed at London’s Bush Hall Venue and broadcast by Tencent’s WeChat (Weixin) across China's most popular social media platform had an audience of almost 28 million. It received 160 million likes during the 100 minute stream. It was the first ever livestream concert by the band, and by an international artist in China. This was followed by being the special guest on Backstreet Boys livestream concert on the same said platform on 24 June 2022. The two band's collaboration of Westlife's song "My Love" had trended to number-one on the country's top social media Weibo. As of 7 April 2022, according to Official Charts Company, they are currently the fifth biggest-selling albums artist of the 21st century alone in the UK with 12,907,183.
Popularity
Westlife's debut album and single coincided with the apogee of boy band popularity, and their success was most apparent in Ireland, the UK, and most of African, Asian, Australian and European continental countries. They had album certifications in Brazil, Mexico, Philippines and the United States as well. They had 13 worldwide concert tours and sold over 5.5 million tickets. In April 2001, over one million fans wanted to chat with the lads from 122 countries. Voted worldwide as the best boy band on '' MTV Battle of the Boybands'' with thirty-two bands in the choices in 2012. Their battle between Backstreet Boys garnered the highest rate of votes with more than one million in a specific voting time only. The total votes throughout the two-week competition got more than 12 million votes. The final battle was between them and the
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised i ...
. They have more than 50,000 official fans club members in mainland China alone in 2006. Also in China's largest music streaming site, QQ Music, they are the most followed western boy band, third western band, fourth male band, and twenty-fifth overall international music act as of August 2019. Boy band One Direction was mistaken for Westlife in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
. They are the biggest selling international, foreign album act in Indonesian and Philippine music records history. They are the only international artist who is able to sell an album with more than one million units in Indonesia and their ''Westlife'' and ''Coast to Coast'' albums are in the top ten best selling albums of all-time in the Philippines. They are
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
's most viewed music artist in YouTube as of 2015. Their version of "You Raise Me Up" is on the top 75 best selling singles of all time in Australia. Voted by the public four times as The Record of the Year and twice as Best Pop Act on Brit Awards in the UK where they also have the most awards and nominations on the said category's history. In 2000s, "Swear It Again" became a popular song for wedding and funerals in the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...
. In 2009, "Flying Without Wings" was listed as seventh most popular song for wedding's first dances in UK. In 2012, their version of "You Raise Me Up" and also "Flying Without Wings" made it to the top 20 most popular songs used at funerals. In 2016, three of their songs (" I'll See You Again", "Flying Without Wings", "You Raise Me Up") made it on the top pop music choices for funerals in Ireland. In 2019, "You Raise Me Up" appeared as the eighth top pop music choices in funerals in the United Kingdom and second in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...
. In
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, their albums ''Coast to Coast'' and ''World of Our Own'' are the top two best selling albums from a western boy band of all time and nine out of twenty albums listed in the top best-selling albums of western boy bands of all time are from the band. Also in South Korea, their singles "My Love" and "You Raise Me Up" stayed in the top 75 of the Official International Karaoke Charts since the inception of the charts in December 2010 up to its recent chart released. The only Irish act, pop band, boy band to have two of previous Marvel Hollywood Actors had been cast in two of the lads' music videos. Vinnie Jones who played as Juggernaut in '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' was featured as the Duke Vincent in "Bop Bop Baby", while Ioan Gruffudd who played as Mr. Fantastic in '' Fantastic Four'' 2005 and 2007 was featured as one of the high class customers in "Uptown Girl". The only Irish act, pop band, boy band to have worked with three ''American Idol'' judges (Mariah Carey, Simon Cowell, Lionel Richie). Demo song "
Beautiful in White
"Beautiful in White" is a song recorded by Irish singer-songwriter Shane Filan from his third studio album, ''Love Always'' (2017). The track was originally written by Savan Kotecha and Arnthor Birgisson for a then-upcoming album of Filan's band, ...
" reached more than 278 million views (on a single video only) on YouTube as of September 2021, making it as the most successful original song from a pop act that was not released as an official single and never made any albums (until Filan released a different version for his solo album, accompanied with an official music video). Another non-single Westlife song that became popular online is "
I Wanna Grow Old With You
''World of Our Own'' is the third studio album recorded by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released through RCA Records on 12 November 2001. This is their third album release under RCA and Sony Music. It was also the band's third album to be re ...
", co-written by the band members, has an estimated total combined plays of more than 300 million as of January 2021. Their song "My Love" is the most viewed, liked, and shared Facebook video post from a boy band and their medley video is also the second most liked one.
They were invited by Wayne Rooney and
Coleen Rooney
Coleen Mary Rooney ( McLoughlin; born 3 April 1986) is the wife of former English footballer Wayne Rooney. She is also a former television personality.
Early life and family
Coleen Mary McLoughlin was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, to Tony an ...
to sing on their wedding reception in
Portofino
Portofino (; ) is a ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Genoa on the Italian Riviera. The town is clustered around its small harbour, and is known for the colourfully painted buildings that line the shore. Since the late 19th centur ...
,
Abbey of Cervara
Cervara Abbey ( it, Abbazia della Cervara or ''Abbazia di San Gerolamo al Monte di Portofino'') is a former abbey in Santa Margherita Ligure, Liguria region, northern Italy. It is on the coastal road to Portofino. The abbey complex is a de ...
, Italy and got paid £400,000, one of the highest amount paid acts, highest for a pop band, boy band and Irish act and band for a wedding in world history. They are Coleen's favorite pop band, also invited to her 21st birthday but was unable to make it. Egan said later that it was more of Rooney who is a big fan of the band as revealed to them by Coleen. The band also performed for the
Sultan of Brunei
The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates ba ...
, an occasion on which they were paid £2.5 million to play a private concert of seven songs. They also performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2000 with "I Lay My Love on You" and "My Love", in 2005 with the songs "World of Our Own" and "You Raise Me Up" with Rolf Løvland and
Fionnuala Sherry
Fionnuala Sherry (born 20 September 1962) is an Irish violinist and vocalist.
Together with Norwegian musician Rolf Løvland, she makes up the Celtic-Nordic group Secret Garden, which won the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the predominantly ...
, and in 2009 with "What About Now" and "You Raise Me Up" in front of former US President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
and met him afterwards. They also played for
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
twice and for
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
once in a live concert television show and shook hands with them after. They were the first ever pop band to top the entertainment bill at the
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
and a private concert for the Pope. They also personally met former UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...
and picked autographs also for his daughter. The band was also mentioned in the book version of ''
Me Before You
''Me Before You'' is a romance novel written by Jojo Moyes. The book was first published on 5 January 2012 in the United Kingdom. A sequel titled ''After You'' was released on 24 September 2015 through Pamela Dorman Books.
A second sequel, ''St ...
'', which was released in 2012. Westlife's songs were also used as film soundtracks six times that include "Safe" for '' Dolphin Tale'' in 2011, "You Raise Me Up" for '' Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie'' in 2014 and "Flying Without Wings" for ''Pokemon: The Movie 2000''. Their songs were also used as soundtracks for television shows such as '' Britain's Got Talent'', ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based ...
Emmerdale
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffa ...
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a da ...
'', '' So You Think You Can Dance UK'', and ''The X Factor UK'' (they are the most performed professional and international live music act in ''X Factor'' as well). Westlife's name was used by the main character Vicky Pollard in the popular UK comedy television series '' Little Britain'' with one of her famous lines, "swapping her baby for a Westlife CD". They were referenced as part of 1990s pop culture on the British band Busted's 2018 music video "
Nineties
File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; ...
". Their songs appeared in more than a thousand compilation albums.
Despite their success worldwide, Westlife was unable to break into the U.S. market. They had only one hit single in the United States, "Swear It Again", which peaked at No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2000. The band made an appearance on MTV's '' Total Request Live'' and the U.S. edition of their debut album, ''Westlife'' was released, but it didn't meet with success. In 2002, with the two most prominent boy bands in the US, the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, going on hiatus that year, an attempt was made to promote and release a US version of "World of Our Own", but was never successful. ''Billboard'' called the failure due to corporate politics.
"Flying Without Wings" peaked at number-two in the US when ''American Idol: Season 2'' winner Ruben Studdard recorded and released it as his debut single. In 2003, Westlife went to Nashville to film a TV documentary. While they were there, they gave a live performance of the song " Daytime Friends", originally by country music singer
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...
. Though Westlife didn't gain as much success in the States as they did elsewhere, their music was still appreciated. Kid David Corey, assistant PD and music director at top 40 WXKS (Kiss 108) radio station in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
, Massachusetts was a Westlife supporter that was recorded saying "Bands like Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync are still climbing the charts, and radio is supporting them, so I don't think the boy band thing is going to hurt them. Besides, this song Swear it Again"is just too good for any of that to be a concern. I can't imagine anyone not playing this because it's another boy band, especially when it doesn't even sound like those other guys."
Some have also criticized the band for doing many covers, having the same sound on every album released, lack of use of musical instruments and lack of songwriting skills. Feehily revealed in 2009: "There were many songs which I would be even scared to mention, you know, that were suggested to us which we turned down. There were many cover versions and many original songs that were either terrible. There was loads of stuff through the years, like ' You Are Not Alone' by
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
?, that were suggested by their record company chief Cowell".
Collaboration
Before their success, the band served as supporting opening acts for the boy bands Backstreet Boys and Boyzone. Since then, the group has recorded studio and live performances with music acts including Mariah Carey ("Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"),
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...
(" Back at One"), Joanne Hindley ("The Way You Look Tonight"), Diana Ross ("When You Tell Me That You Love Me"),
Donna Summer
LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular m ...
If I Had Words "If I Had Words" is a 1977 song by Scott Fitzgerald as a duet with Yvonne Keeley. In 1978, it reached number 3 on the UK charts and number 3 on the Australian charts. It sold more than one million copies worldwide. It was also a hit in Ireland (num ...
" with The Vard Sisters, "I Have A Dream" with Indonesian child-star Sherina. These songs were also recorded and included on various albums. In 2002, Westlife re-recorded their hit song "Flying Without Wings" with Mexican singer Cristian Castro and with Korean singer BoA as two separate duets.
Westlife has performed live duets with many other music artists including: Will Smith, Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, Esperanza Spalding, Luis Fonsi, Alexander Rybak,
Amadou and Mariam
Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the Bamako-born couple Amadou Bagayoko (guitar and vocals) (born 24 October 1954) and Mariam Doumbia (vocals) (born 15 April 1958).
Their album '' Welcome To Mali'' (2008) was nominated ...
Sinéad O'Connor
Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...
Crazy Horses
"Crazy Horses" is a 1972 hit single by The Osmonds, the title track from the album of the same name. The song, the only hit record from the Osmonds to feature Jay Osmond as lead vocalist, reached number 14 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and num ...
Never Too Far/Hero Medley
"Never Too Far/Hero Medley" is a medley recorded by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, first released as a charity single on December 11, 2001, through Virgin Records America and is included in the Japanese release of Carey's second c ...
Steps
Step(s) or STEP may refer to:
Common meanings
* Steps, making a staircase
* Walking
* Dance move
* Military step, or march
** Marching
Arts Films and television
* ''Steps'' (TV series), Hong Kong
* ''Step'' (film), US, 2017
Literature
* ...
McFly
McFly are an English pop rock music, pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guita ...
Darius
Darius may refer to:
Persian royalty
;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire
* Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC)
* Darius II (423 to 404 BC)
* Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC)
;Crown princes
* Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...
Mika
Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People known just as Mika
* Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr.
* Mika (footbal ...
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
, Robbie Williams, and V, where the former boyfriend of Feehily was a member named Kevin McDaid.
Artistry and influences
Westlife have always been known as a vocal - harmony group and not a typical boyband as they are not known for dancing or any other typical boyband attributes. They are mainly a pop group, mostly famous for their power ballads and mastered harmonies. They cited
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
Some of the products that Westlife officially released, aside from their music releases, include video games, Cadbury chocolates, books, calendars, and tour merchandise such as T-shirts, jewellery, stationery, toiletries, dolls, watches, clocks, mugs, duvets, wallpaper, key chains, and posters. Their second studio album ''Coast to Coast'' received additional products, mostly in Asia, that included MRT transport ticket, picture card calendar, postcard set, signed fold-out poster, glossy slipcase and Filofax. They also received sponsorship from Tayto in 2000 and for their concert tours from
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, a ...
Volkswagen
Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post ...
in 2011. They have official and unofficial books released, including the book written by the members of Westlife, which was released on 16 June 2008 by
HarperCollins UK
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
Publishing entitled, '
Westlife - Our Story
''Westlife – Our Story'' is the autobiographical book by the Irish boyband Westlife, released by HarperCollins (United Kingdom) on 16 June 2008. The book tells the story of their lives for the past ten years, from how it started in Sligo to toda ...
', as part of their 10th year celebration. The band released two perfume gift sets, " X" and " With Love".
Charitable support
The group has supported various charitable causes. They were involved in the "Helping For Haiti" charity single that was released in February 2010, as well as releasing a cover version of "Uptown Girl" for Comic Relief, one of their biggest selling singles to date.
They have participated in a Royal British Legion poppy appeal, Irish Blood for Life 2004 and did an advertisement for
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...
, South Africa for The "Unite of the Stars" Gala Banquet charity concert that supports four charities: the
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...
Marie Keating Foundation
The Marie Keating Foundation is an Irish foundation focused on raising the awareness of cancer, and the importance of early detection and providing a range of support services for patients at every step of a cancer journey. The charity was founde ...
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
's Children Hospital. They had also helped for auctions on
Meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion ...
Oxfam
Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International.
History
Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
Irish Red Cross
The Irish Red Cross Society (IRCS; also Irish Red Cross or IRC; ga, Crois Dhearg na hÉireann) is the National Red Cross Society for the Republic of Ireland. (Northern Ireland comes under the aegis of the British Red Cross.) The society was f ...
Gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the str ...
'' (2010)
* ''
Spectrum
A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of color ...
The Greatest Hits Tour Greatest Hits Tour may refer to:
* Greatest Hits Tour (Björk), a 2003 concert tour by Björk
* Greatest Hits Tour (Boston), a 1997 concert tour by Boston
* Greatest Hits Tour (Donna Summer), a 2005 concert tour by Donna Summer
* Greatest Hits Tou ...
* 1998–2012; 2018–present UK and Ireland Tour
* 1999 European, East Asian and Southeast Asian Tour
* 2000 European, North American, South American and Asian Tour
* 2001, 2002 European, Korean, Mexican and United States Tour
* 2003 European, Hong Kong, Japan, and Malaysian Tour
* 2005, 2006 European, Taiwan Tour
* 2007 Australian Tour
* 2009 Swedish Tour
* 2019 Singapore, Indonesian, Chinese, Swedish Tour