20 ธันวาคม 2545

So, what are Westlife up to for Christmas?

As you have probably already heard, the winter weather has hit some of the guys badly. Shane is getting over his glandular fever while Mark has been suffering from a nasty cold and Nicky was ill for a while too. But don't fret, there is some sunshine on the horizon for the lads - they are shooting their new video for 'Tonight' in Cuba!

And after that...?

"After that we are all taking time off before Christmas before we go out to start the world tour" says Kian, "I'm planning to spend time with my family and hopefully I will get a chance to go to South Africa for a week or so. Most of all we all just want to chill out over Christmas because the whole tour madness starts after that."

Meanwhile, Bryan has created his very own winter wonderland in his front room for daughter Molly's second Christmas. Kerry & Bryan have just had a 20-foot tree delivered and apparently its base is crammed with presents to Molly from her Westlife uncles!!!

18 ธันวาคม 2545

Double A-Side single!

Despite the video for 'Miss You Nights' having already been recorded and the single set for release in early January, the single is not now going to come out until March 2003. It's been suggested this is because Shane's illness means he can't be around to promote the single, but it seems there might be more to it than that, since the single is now going to be a double A-side of Tonight and Miss You Nights. Both songs are featured on Westlife's Greatest Hits album as extra new bonus tracks.

EXTRA TRACKS: The single also looks likely to feature as a b-side, a new song written by Westlife themselves, entitled Where We Belong. CD2 (the limited edition version of the single) will also probably include CD-Rom elements of exclusive footage from Greatest Hits launch events in Dublin , Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester and London.

As for the video of Miss You Nights, it's a morbid love story of a woman losing the man she loves in a horrific car crash, continuing the story from the 'Unbreakable' video of how the girl feels now the love of her life is gone forever. It features some great close-up shots of the guys

3 ธันวาคม 2545

Get well soon...

You may have noticed Westlife appeared on Top Of The Pops Saturday at the weekend (November 30th), singing 'Miss You Nights' without Shane. Unfortunately Shane is ill with glandular fever, and Nicky is also ill at the moment too. Bryan, Kian and Mark are therefore undertaking promo and appearances without the other two. Get well soon Shane & Nicky!!

3 ธันวาคม 2545

Top of the Pops!

Westlife are definately 'Top of the Pops' after not only topping the UK DVD chart with their latest DVD release, 'Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits DVD/ VHS', but also after picking up a string of awards at a number of different ceremonies recently.

At the BT Openworld Interactive Music Awards on Tuesday November 26th, they took home the People's Choice Award for their official website (westlifeweb.com was no.57 - the only other westlife site to make the top 100!).

The guys also picked up four awards at this year's Smash Hits T4 Poll Winners Party, held in the London Docklands Arena on Sunday November 24th, which was hosted by Kelly Osbourne and T4 presenters Vernon Kay and June Sarpong (Justin Timberlake couldn't be there to co-host as he's broken his foot). Bryan commented: "It's brilliant, every year we've won a lot of awards - we're very happy. It's great to be coming back every year and getting awards." They won Best Band on Planet Pop, Band of the Year, Party Mentalist (for Bryan) and were inducted into the Smash Hits Hall of Fame. Three members of Westlife were also shortlisted in the top ten 'Most Fanciable Male' category, final results of which were as follows:
Most Fanciable Male:
1. Gareth Gates
2. Shane Westlife
3. Lee Blue
4. Ben a1
5. Justin Timberlake
6. Will Young
7. Kian Westlife
8. Darius
9. Nicky Westlife
10. Abs

20 พฤศจิกายน 2545

Miss You Nights Single Release
 

'Miss You Nights', Westlife's next single release, will now be out in the UK on 6th January. I has been put back from the original provisional date of 16th December because of competition from the Popstars: The Rivals bands who will be releasing their singles on that date to compete for the Christmas No.1 spot. The traditional fight for Christmas number one appears to have been wiped out this year by the Popstars bands. Even though they've not been formed yet, the boy and girl bands being created by Popstars: The Rivals have apparently got other artists running scared.

20 พฤศจิกายน 2545

Record Breakers!

Mark, Shane, Kian, Bryan and Nicky are now officially in the Guinness Book of Records for the 'Most Public Appearances By A Pop Band In 36 Hours'.

The guys completed a marathon promo tour of the UK and Ireland in only 36 hours, visiting the following locations to break the record of most public appearaces in 36 hours:

Sunday, 10th November
11.00am - 1.00pm HMV, 65 Grafton Street, Dublin
5.00pm - 7.00pm HMV, Donegall Arcade, Belfast*
Monday, 11th November
7.00am - 9.00am HMV, 129 Princes Street, Edinburgh
12.00 noon - 2.00pm HMV, Orient Food Court, Trafford Centre, Manchester
5.30pm - 7.00pm HMV, Trocadero Centre, Piccadilly Circus, London

The band were presented with their certificate at the final stop on their travels in London where they gave a press conference and posed for pictures with the HMV mascot Nipper. Once their work was done, the band headed off to a party in London's Knightsbridge where they spent the evening sipping champagne and celebrating their 11th No.1 single that weekend. Pop Idols and Popstars past and present made up the majority of the guestlist at the party including Gareth Gates, virtually all the Popstars: The Rivals contestants and judges Dr Fox and Nicky Chapman.

31 ตุลาคม 2545

Album launch extravaganza..!
You may remember Westlife's marathon "Coast to Coast" tour around the UK in 26 hours to promote their album a couple of years back.. well.. it's happening again, but this time it's for the launch of the Greatest Hits Album! The guys will be embarking on a tour of Britain that encompasses three countries, five cities, and that will take them 36 hours.

Westlife will be taking with them a 10 metre by 10 metre banner featuring a replica of the Greatest Hits album artwork, which they will be inviting fans to sign. The tour will see the lads meeting fans at HMV flagship stores in five major cities, and taking part in a 30 minute q&a pa at each location. Things kick off in Dublin, before moving northwards to Belfast, across the waters to Edinburgh, south to Manchester, and finally culminating in a sensational unveiling and presentation of the spectacular signed banner to their fans, at a striking central London landmark building. This will be followed by a celebrity packed launch party at a prestigious Knightsbridge venue. More news on the timings and locations of the events will be announced as soon as we know more!

30 ตุลาคม 2545

Westlife go East!

Westlife are currently in Kuala Lumpur on a promotional tour of South-east Asia. They flew in from Hong Kong to promote the launch of their Greatest Hits album as well as for a charity football match in aid of the National Cancer Council which was held today.

Westlife's week-long promotional tour of Malaysia has put them under 24-hour armed guard following the Bali bombing. Malaysia’s deputy prime minister has lent the guys his own highly-trained minders and they have been given police escorts whenever they leave their hotel in their fleet of limos. Safety measures are being taken so seriously that the lads were even followed by armed guards in buggies as they enjoyed a relaxing game of golf. They also opted to be flown by helicopter to the venue of a meet-and-greet session with fans rather than risk the city’s log-jammed roads. Bryan said: “It was amazing when we went to play golf. I hit a ball into the rough and a guy told me to stay where I was while he went to find it.” Shane added: “Some people have said this might be a bit over the top but it’s necessary to make sure everyone is safe. Both us and the fans. We weren’t put off coming here by the bomb. You can’t live your life like that.”

30 ตุลาคม 2545

Rivals 'too big to beat'

Westlife manager and Popstars judge Louis Walsh has clashed with Simon Cowell about the decision to release a Westlife single in a bid for a Christmas No1. Walsh thinks it would be stupid to go head to head with the Pop Rivals bands, who release their debut singles on December 16th. But Cowell, who runs Westlife's record label BMG, has other ideas. Walsh told BBC’s Liquid News: “There’s no way we can go up against Pop Rivals because they will be No1 and No2. “I’m fighting the record company because Simon just wants a No1 for Simon. Pop Rivals is so big nothing can touch it.”

30 ตุลาคม 2545

Calling all Fan Fic Fans!

Do you like Westlife Fan Fics?
Would you like to own your own book of them?
Well now's your chance to do just that!
As some of you will alredy know Lesley is compiling a book Of Westlife Fan Fics to raise money for the BBC charity Children In Need
She has a publisher interested in the book and is waiting to hear from BMG as to whether Westlife will back the book.
If you would be interested in buying a copy when it goes on sale then please let herknow and she will keep you updated as to the progress of the book.
You can contact her at: lesleyslee@7regencycourt.fsnet.co.uk
So come on all you Fan Fic fans, get mailing her!
The more people interested, the sooner we can get the book published

30 ตุลาคม 2545

Westlife Pranksters

Mark was the subject of a cruel joke on a flight to Poland recently - when Nicky and Westlife's tour manager drew all over his face as he slept. Unfortunately for Mark, he didn't realise until he got back to his hotel and looked at himself in the mirror - despite signing autographs for fans as soon as he stepped off the plane. He winces, "We flew to Poland recently and I slept all the way there. When we arrived we signed some autographs and everyone was laughing at me - I just thought I looked really tired. When I got back to the hotel I went to wash my face and saw that Nicky and our tour manager, Anto, had drawn big red tears over my cheeks and graffitied my forehead while I was asleep."

But the pranks don't just stop there... newspapers also report how Nicky and Bryan were escorted out of a nightclub in Liverpool, England. The boys were partying in popular nightspot Living Room when they were approached by bouncers who told them to leave after an apparent complaint about the pair's behaviour was made. Crushed by the prospect of an early night the boys begged security not to eject them and pleaded innocent to any bad behaviour. However, they dissolved into fits of giggles when they discovered that the whole incident was a wacky joke by prankster mate DJ Joe Ferguson

15 ตุลาคม 2545

Westlife - Unbreakable!

You can now check out the track listings for the Unbreakable singles (released in the UK on November 4th) and both the UK and European versions of the Greatest Hits album (released on November 11th) on our discography pages. The CD-Rom on CD1 includes the World Of Our Own US video, plus a 'Making of Unbreakable' clip. Because the CD2, limited edition version of the single, is only going to be released in the UK/Ireland, the CD Rom will have the list of the UK and Irish fans who entered the 'Hall Of Fame' on the official website. The Greatest Hits album will include a weblink to the full list of Westlife fans world-wide.

Kian comments on the decision to release a Greatest Hits album - "We have already recorded three albums and had ten number one singles so we felt the time was right to put them all together, we then want to move on and begin the next chapter. We have just signed a new five-album deal so we are definitely not going to be calling it a day." BMG signed Westlife to a new ฃ20 million record deal at the end of September. Shane stated "We’ve just signed a new five-album deal for ฃ20million... We’ve literally just signed after negotiating for six months. There’s plenty to celebrate but we’re not going to go mad. I’ll save some money for a rainy day, when I’m really old, like 35 or something! We’ve worked really hard for the past few years and hardly ever seen our families.”

Westlife have also announced their intention to offset 33,000 euro worth of CD sales from their Greatest Hits album to tree planting in Ireland in conjunction with the Future Forests initiative. Shane Filan told the press recently "Future Forests is a great idea and we have known about it for ages. Obviously we would love to have our forest planted in Ireland." The Future Forest concept aims to counteract the carbon emissions produced by mass CD production by planting trees

15 ตุลาคม 2545

Dyan McFadden - Bryan dyes hair in tribute to Elvis!

Bryan has dyed his hair jet black to mark the aniversary of Elvis death. Bryan admitted "I was a drunk with Shane Filan one night but the dye was only ฃ2.99"

15 ตุลาคม 2545

Good things come to those who...

The single release of Unbreakable has been put back a week to November 4th due to extra time needed for manufacturing the huge quantities of CDs required, however the release of Unbreakable the Greatest Hits album will still be released on November 11th. Meanwhile, in the States, the much-anticipated release of the World Of Our Own album has been put on hold until December 17th

29 กันยายน 2545

New songs on Greatest Hits!

We have some hot off the press news of extra tracks that will be included on Westlife's forthcoming Greatest Hits CD, released in the UK November 11th. The album will (obviously!) include all the Westlife singles that we know and love, but additionally it will feature two new cover versions of a Cliff Richards track and Connor Reeves' Earthbound. Another additional tack, 'Unbreakable' will be the debut single release from the album.

24 กันยายน 2545

Westlife in America update!

The band are busy in the States right now. They jetted off to LA last weekend and have been shooting new photos for their single and Greatest Hits album which is coming out later this year.

The new video was shot in LA over two days, with Simon Cowell (from Westlife's UK record label) making sure that things ran to plan! Westlife's World of Our Own single is shaping up really well in the US. The single has been added to another 77 radio stations and MTV are starting to buzz about the video which you can see here.

After the video shoot the guys are embarking on a pretty hectic US promotional tour which will include various radio stations plus an AOL live session on 28th August. We're trying to find out more details on the AOL session, when we get news we will let you know. The lads have also been invited to the final of American Idol and are trying to fit that in the schedule too!

Join the Westlife Street Team USA and Canada: http://clix.to/westlifestreetteam
Request World Of Our Own on US Radio: http://www.oocities.org/withashout73/wooocampaign.html!

15 กันยายน 2545

Westlife on their way to the USA...

Westlife will be heading to America to start promotion over there at the end of this week. They have already hired video maestro, AttiI J, to reshoot their 'World Of Our Own' video for release in the US (which you can see here) and their new American manager Robert Livingston is confident that they will be a hit in America, having booked the group to appear on top rated US chat shows like 'The Late Show With David Letterman', 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno' and 'Entertainment Tonight.'

The World of Our Own single is already being played on U.S. radio (If you live in the US get requesting it now!!!) and accessallareas.com reviewed the single:
"In a three-year span, they’ve had 742 #1 hits in the UK ... well ok, ten ... but it seems like every time you look at the chart, there they are. This peaked there a few months back and now it’s time to see if they can pick up where “Swear It Again” left off. Impact 8/6."

But before they head off in what has been described “as their toughest task to date”, the Sligo members of the band arrived home to spend time with their families before heading stateside.

The Sligo team of Shane, Mark and Kian are just back home after spending two weeks on holidays. Such is the high flying life these lads lead, that Kian left for London soon after touching down in Sligo.

Patricia Egan, Kian's mother, spoke this week of her son’s busy life as a popstar, “Kian came back after his two weeks holidays but flew to London soon afterwards. Everyone with connections to the band including the tour manager went on holidays for two weeks. Everything just shut down. Now they are getting set for America and will be spending three weeks there. It may turn out to be longer depending on how things go.”

Shane too was home in Sligo at the weekend and was spotted on Saturday driving his new black Ferrari around town. This was one of the Ferraris bought by three of the band members whilst they were over in London over two weeks ago. Along with Shane, Bryan and Nicky couldn’t resist and bought one each as well. “Kian was looking at one but didn’t purchase in the end,” said Patricia without a hint of regret. Kian drives a BMW when he is at home.

So it’s up, up and away for the band as the dizzy heights of showbiz continue to keep Sligo’s best known trio flying high.
 

13 กันยายน 2545

Westlife go Stateside!

Westlife Set To Storm U.S. Shores With Exclusive Domestic Version of Multi-Platinum 'World Of Our Own' Album...

[Article from LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/]

When Westlife hit No. 1 in the U.K. with "My Love" in October 2000, it found its way into the Guinness Book of World Records tied with the Beatles for the most No. 1 singles in a row (seven to be exact). Three No. 1 singles later and the Westlife phenomenon is ready to storm U.S. shores.

On October 8, Westlife's -- Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Bryan McFadden, Mark Feehily, and Kian Egan -- will make their RCA debut with a fresh, US only version of their latest album, "World Of Our Own." The album will include one newly recorded track, "Unbreakable" & a new mix of the worldwide smash hit "World Of Our Own" that will be available exclusively for the US release.

Released globally last November, "World Of Our Own" has already tallied over 5 million in worldwide sales and is currently multi-platinum in 11 countries, including 12X over in their native Ireland. The album has already spawned two No. 1 hits in the U.K., bringing Westlife's career No. 1 total to 10 in just four years, a feat it took Madonna nearly 20 years to accomplish. Speaking of the Material Girl, Westlife's 10th No. 1 single, the album's title track, tied Madonna this past February for the most No. 1 singles within the last three decades. America, needless to say, will soon see what all the fuss is about.

"World Of Our Own" draws on the group's strengths -- epic ballads and soaring harmonies which raises the bar. Up-tempo "When You're Looking Like That," reminiscent of late '80s Prince, and "Bop Bop Baby," one of seven tunes written or co-written by the group this time out, represent a new found maturity to the group's seemingly never-ending catalog of pop hits. Previously unreleased track "Unbreakable" rounds out the group's third chapter in worldwide pop dominance.

The Westlife story began in Sligo, Ireland, where Shane, Mark, and Kian were the first seeds of what would eventually grow into a wildly popular musical machine with the addition of Dubliners Bryan and Nicky. With the guidance of Louis Walsh, the manager behind the success of fellow artist Samantha Mumba, Westlife made an immediate impact on the U.K. music scene. Their debut single, "Swear It Again," entered the U.K. charts at No. 1 in 1999 and the group has never, ever looked back.

Highlights of their remarkable four-year run include an MTV Europe Award for Best U.K. & Ireland Act in 2000, Brit Awards for Best Pop Act in 2001 and 2002, and two MTV Europe Record of the Year Awards ("Flying Without Wings" in 2000 and "My Love" in 2001). They sang for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican late last year (the first pop act to top the bill at the fabled church) and performed an astonishing 10 consecutive dates at Wembley Arena in London. With over 15 million in worldwide album sales and counting, Midas has nothing on Westlife. Everything they touch turns to platinum.

See the US video for World of Our Own at rcarecords.com!

15 กรกฎาคม 2545

Back to the music...

Westlife joined Lulu to perform "Back At One" at Party In The Park in London in front of an audience of 100,000 last week (7th July). The song, originally recorded by country artist Mark Wills, is taken from Lulu's new self-titled album. The performance was to promote the song which may possibly be Westlife's next UK single release.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the next WL album will be a Greatest Hits collection that includes some new songs as well. Apparently the new CD will be half hits and half brand new meterial. The guys have insisted they are not splitting up despite the imminent release of the greatest hits CD - Bryan McFadden reassures fans that this doesn't signal the end of the band. "I just want to set the record straight - even though we're releasing a greatest hits album that doesn't mean we're splitting up," he has been reported as saying. "We've actually recorded some new tracks in Sweden that will appear on the album."

The next U.S. single is likely to be 'World Of Our Own' with 'Flying Without Wings' a possible follow-up release.

15 กรกฎาคม 2545

Shane's party!

Shane celebrated his birthday on July 5th at the CC club in London. You can see pics of the evening at: http://www.sintillate.co.uk
 

15 กรกฎาคม 2545

Westlife go rock?!

Hot on the heels of news about Bryan launching a rock band (check the fact or fiction page), Nicky has stated that Westlife would play rock festival Glastonbury if they were asked - although doubt that will ever happen. He joked that they'd probably have bottles thrown at them if they ever played the festival, but said that they would perform there if they were invited. Nicky said "If we were asked we would but we would never get asked. If we did, we would probably get bottled off the stage. I've sometimes wondered what it would be like to stitch everyone up by just getting on stage. Wouldn't that be funny?"

27 มิถุนายน 2545

Bop Bop Baby #5

Despite being the group's first self-penned single, Bop Bop Baby entered the UK charts on Sunday at number 5. It's Westlife's lowest chart entry, only the second of their 12 single releases so far not to reach #1 (the other single not to debut at the top spot being What Makes A Man.) Bop Bop Baby is the fifth single to be taken from the World Of Our Own album, which has sold millions of copies world-wide. It looks likely that the next Westlife release will be a brand-new track to be included on the forthcoming Greatest Hits album, since the group have denied rumours that they will be releasing a duet with Vinnie Jones as a Christmas single later this year.

In an interview with Capital FM in London earlier in the week, Nicky stated: "I've seen the mid-weeks and we're a bit behind. So maybe not a No.1 this time, but not to worry, it's all about longevity. So we're happy enough where it is. There was stiff competition this week. Eminem's got his first single from his album, then there's Atomic Kitten and Ronan's record is huge as well. Everybody that has the album more or less has the single so we're not complaining. It's out there and we're just hoping for the best. We've got a brand new album coming out in September with a lot of great hits, and of course we're going back to America as well during the summer to release our first album over there, so we're not going anywhere at the moment."

The final UK top 5 for the week 21-26 May 2002 was as follows:

23 มิถุนายน 2545

Eminem to tip Westlife for the top spot?
 

News also out this week states that Westlife will team up with Vinnie Jones (who plays the bad guy in the Bop Bop Baby video) for a Christmas single at the end of the year. The single in question is said to be a cover of Dance To The Music which was originally recorded by 1970s soul outfit Sly and The Family Stone. The song will be the first single from an album of duets where Vinnie sings with Denise Van Outen and Billie Piper among others.

The duet with Westlife is reported to have come about after Vinnie's appearance in the Bop Bop Baby video. His manager stated: "They got talking about it during the video. Westlife are up for it and Vinnie can't wait. Let's just say he's got a very unique voice." A source close to Westlife said: "The lads had a right laugh with Vinnie and reckon they're on for another Christmas No1."

14 พฤษภาคม 2545

The Wearying World of Westlife!

No doubt you'll be aware that Westlife are currently in the middle of their 'World Of Our Own' tour... but that's not all they've got lined up this month... their 12th single, 'Bop Bop Baby', is out in the UK on May 20th - possibly being Westlife's 11th UK number one single! See the tracklisting on our discography page & see the video here!Nicky has been recently involved

with recording a cover of the song 'Here Comes the Good Times' (originally written by Dublin group A-House) for Ireland's Official World Cup song. Nicky got together with other prominent Irish celebrities Mick McCarthy, Aslan's Christy Dignam, Dustin the Turkey and a couple of surprise guests to record the track, which was released on May 10th in Ireland. The single is in aid of Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Ireland.

In other news, Westlife have announced that they will be speaking at Oxford University's famed Debating Society next month. The groups will be quizzed by students as to what it's like being the greatest pop group ever. The boys are said to be looking forward to the event. Other music stars to come before the group include Michael Jackson, Phil Collins and Jon Bon Jovi.

The WL guys have also confirmed to join Ant & Dec's team on this year's charity 'Soccer Six' football match, held in two locations: Sunday, May 19, 2002 in Anfield, Liverpool and Sunday, May 26, 2002 in Stamford Bridge, London. They join other groups such as Blue and Bellefire to compete in the match.
 

29 มีนาคม 2545

Bop bop baby!

FEAR not, damsels in distress - the five musketeers of pop have arrived to save the day. Westlife swap their usual black polo-necked sweaters for frilly cuffed shirts and black leather trousers in their swashbuckling latest video.

The video for their next single, Bop Bop Baby, sees Nicky Byrne, Bryan McFadden, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Shane Filan as 17th century-style swordsmen. In the story they battle the villain, played by Vinnie Jones, to save the girl, Leah Wood. The video sees them leaping into action, fighting the bad guys and even taking to horseback.

Mark, 21, who grew a goatee for the video, said: "It's a real swashbuckling adventure. We all wanted to be heroes but we didn't want just one guy to get the girl in the end so we all go after her. We love the dressing up but to be honest we just wanted to get swords to play with."

Shane, 22, sported Dick Whittington-style boots as he strode about the set and Bryan and Kian, both 21, looked like they could give famous movie swashbuckler Douglas Fairbanks Jr a run for his money in their impressive outfits.

Tough nut Vinnie, defying anyone to poke fun at his wig with ringlets, joked on set: "I'm having a laugh but as usual I get to play the baddie - what a surprise."

Leah, 23, daughter of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, turned out to be the true heroine of the piece. She stepped in to save the day after Naomi Campbell pulled out of the role of the damsel in distress at the last minute.

The boys are hoping the single, out on May 20, will give them their 11th No1 hit.

Much of the lavish video, which cost ฃ500,000 to make, was filmed in the chapel on the campus of the US International University in Bushey, Herts. The gothic building at the former college - which is now used mainly for TV filming - had just the olde worlde look the boys wanted for the video.
 

21 มีนาคม 2545

Busy bees

After a couple of weeks of winning awards and having fun at the ceremonies (see latest pics of Westlife from the Meteor Ireland music awards here), you may think Westlife would be having a well-deserved break - but they're not! With less than a month to the first date in Sheffield, the guys are currently back in rehearsals in preparation for their forthcoming tour. Shane says the last thing they want to do is disappoint their fans:
"The show is really starting to come together. We're going to be performing all the favourite Westlife songs and throw in a few unexpected tracks too. As long Bryan manages to get hold of the dance steps, everything will be fine!"

6 มีนาคม 2545

My Love set for US release...

Westlife have confirmed that they are planning to return to the States later this year to try and (finally!) conquer the US market!
Mark commented in reply to speculation that the band were going to the US soon; "That's definitely on the cards. In fact, this summer we will be going over to the States. In about three weeks time, we will be going over to Miami to shoot the American version of the "My Love" video that we are going to release soon. We have extremely high hopes. All we can do is try our best and hopefully it will work out for us."
He explained the reasons why Westlife have found it hard to break into the American market - "For us the reason is numbers. First of all, when we went over there, our record company was falling apart at that time. The guy [Clive Davis] we have been talking to about our career in America actually left the record label. We were stoked. We don't have anybody else there 'coz the record company had to reform. So we decided to come back and try to conquer the rest of the world. The time has to be right for us. You have to spend a lot of time in America to be successful and that's something we are willing to do this time."
Nicky spoke about the plans to re-shoot the My Love video, saying, "I don't think the video means anything special. We all look a lot more different since "My Love," [which] was released a year ago. We've changed our haircuts, we look different, our styling changed. If we are going to launch the old video in America, we are going to look like what we looked like in the old video!" Mark added, "We have progressed since and we don't want to go back there again. So we are making a new one!"

25 กุมภาพันธ์ 2545

A World of Their Own!

Westlife are top of the charts again with an amazing 10th UK No 1 single this week with World Of Our Own. The band have beaten Kylie in the much publicised chart battle, with Enrique Iglesias has dropping to No 2 with the Irish lads outselling the Latin star by 2:1.
Westlife are now in exalted chart company and are third in the table for a group with most No 1 hits. The Beatles top the table with 17, in second place comes Cliff Richard & The Shadows with 12, Westlife are third with 10, Abba are fourth with nine while the Rolling Stones are fifth with eight. Westlife also hold the chart record for most consecutive No 1 hits from their debut with seven.

21 กุมภาพันธ์ 2545

Bryan news update...

Congrats to Westlife on winning "Best Pop Act" at the Brit Awards yesterday! However this wasn't the only reason that the lads were in the news for the awards... Bryan apparently was involved in a brawl with the So Solid Crew at the ceremony (nothing serious though!)

Meanwhile, our best wishes go out to Kerry Katona who recently had surgery to remove a cyst from one of her ovaries. Kerry, who presents Channel 5's Exclusive showbiz show, went into hospital in London on Monday, accompanied by Bryan for support. Bryan's mum, Mairead, flew from Dublin to London to look after their five-month-old baby, Molly.
Bryan told the News Of The World: "Kerry cannot walk and will be off work a month. But she is on the road of recovery. The cyst was the size of a football and it's going to take a time to get over."
Kerry is said to have first begun feeling unwell on the couple's luxury honeymoon on the paradise Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. Although she continued with the honeymoon and returned home safely to Britain, the pains suddenly grew worse. It is believed the problem stemmed from the birth of Molly, as hormone changes during pregnancy can lead to problems including ovarian cysts. Kerry has been released from hospital and is now recovering from the op. Get well soon!!

19 กุมภาพันธ์ 2545

WL vs. Kylie & Enrique

Westlife and Kylie Minogue go head-to-head in the singles chart this week in one of the biggest chart battles of the year so far.

But Westlife's Shane seems pretty confident that the Irish lads's single, World Of Our Own, will be victorious over the Aussie star. "We are great fans of Kylie and are looking forward to meeting her at the Brits," Shane said to The Sun. "But we reckon we will sell more singles than her. Our real problem may be with Enrique Iglesias who is still so strong at the top."

Westlife will find out the chart position of their single when it is announced on Sunday, but next week face a further challenge from Pop Idol star Will Young when he releases his debut single - a double A-side including a cover of Westlife's track 'Evergreen'.

However, Westlife say they would never have chosen to Evergreen as a single. Bryan McFadden described the track as "the weakest" on the band's third album 'World Of Our Own'. "When we recorded it, it just wasn't a contender for our singles," explained bandmate Kian Egan. Nevertheless, Will's double A-side, 'Evergreen/Anything Is Possible', is released on February 25.

14 กุมภาพันธ์  2545

Be in a 'World of our own' with Westlife
 

Westlife throw down the gauntlet and offer fans the ultimate challenge... Westlife Fan-O-Mania - a computer game for PC and PS1 - is due for release in March 2002, with a suggested retail price of ฃ19.99

The game is described as a "poptastic trivia quiz" for the PlayStation and PC that every self-respecting fan of the chart-topping Irish band should own. 'Westlife Fan-O-Mania' will feature hundreds of revealing questions about the boys' music, videos, lives and loves along with plenty of exclusive, and never-before-seen video footage of the boys themselves. Hosted by Tara, your animated hostess, fans will be guided through five different sections of Westlife's virtual lives including The Tour Bus, The Recording Studio, On Location, Live and back at The Hotel. The PC version will also include a fantastic printable image gallery, including signed photos of the band. So fans will never be short of photos ever again!
 

About 'Westlife Fan-O-Mania':
Westlife Fan-O-Mania is a 100% official Westlife product full of exciting ideas and content brought from the award-winning boys (Best UK & Ireland Act, Best Pop Act - Brit Awards 2001) of Shane Filan, Bryan McFadden, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Nicky Byrne and features:

Single Player
ท Watch the never-before-seen video footage of Bryan, Kian, Mark, Nicky and Shane as they reveal what life is really like in Westlife
ท Listen to never-before-heard audio of the guys facing all the difficult questions - can they handle the pressure?
ท Savour our gallery of gorgeousness in the stunning photo section
ท Meet Tara, your animated hostess as she guides you through the game and its five different sections
ท "A Day in the Life of Westlife" is the virtual opportunity every fan desires. The Recording Studio, the Tour Bus, on Stage and back at the Hotel
ท Face 500 challenging questions on the boys, the band and their history
ท Bonus! Score 100% in any one round and you will unlock an exclusive video interview with one of the lads
ท All this and you can enjoy snippets of songs and videos from all of their record breaking UK Number One singles

Special PC Only Feature
ท Check out our printable image gallery...you'll never run out of posters again!
ท Wear your heart on your sleeve, with the free Westlife T-shirt on selected promotional packs

Multiplayer
ท Compete against fellow Westlife fans to see who knows the most about the band in the four- Player mode

Heiko tom Felde, Director of TDK Mediactive Europe, said: "Britain's biggest boy band is coming to the biggest gaming platforms in the world! With their present single 'Queen Of My Heart' and current album 'World Of Our Own' going straight in at number one in the UK charts, TDK Mediactive believes that this latest title on PC and PS1 will make Westlife the only band to have a number one single and interactive game in the charts."

4 กุมภาพันธ์  2545

Westlife Win!

Westlife have been named Favourite Pop Act at the very first MTV Asia Awards ceremony, held at Singapore's Indoor Stadium on Sunday 3rd February. The event, hosted by Ronan Keating and Mandy Moore, also saw Britney Spears named Favourite Female Artist with Ricky Martin picking up the award for Favourite Male.

The awards were broadcast to 130 million homes across Asia and voted for by over 13 million people on MTV Asia's website. Fans were asked to vote for artists from each Asian country whilst six awards were given to international artists.

Westlife are currently on a 2-week promotional tour of South-East Asia before returning to Europe to promote their latest single 'World of Our Own'.
 

14  มกราคม 2545

World Of Our Own...

Westlife recently shot the video for their new single 'World Of Our Own' in the Docklands area of London. The guys play gangsters in the action-packed video, wearing Reservoir Dogs style suits. The video features Westlife being chased in their Hummer Jeep by cops, and being accompanied by a couple of mean looking dobermans. Bryan said: "It was good fun. We looked great in the suits and loved our bad-boy look."

The single is set for release in the UK on February 18th, and will go head to head with Kylie's latest release "In Your Eyes". Analysts are pinning the #1 prize on Kylie at this point in time due to the current buzz surrounding her - her last single "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" recently sold its 1 millionth copy.

14  มกราคม 2545

Bryan & Kerry's Wedding...

Bryan and Kerry were married on January 5th at Rathfeigh in Co Meath, Ireland... you can read full details of their wedding here! the happy couple have been honeymooning in South Africa!