History Music / Westlife

* SignatureMove: They were notorious for performing on stools and standing up during the key change. In fact, they actually made a point of ''not'' performing on stools on their first tour (leading to some fans to call it the "No Stools Tour"). The group is so associated with it that the [[http://stv.tv/news/west-central/107052-bar-stool-tribute-to-westlife-unveiled-as-band-play-their-final-glasgow-gig/ SECC Arena in Glasgow permanently installed four bar stools with Shane, Nicky, Kian, and Marc's names engraved on them near the arena's entrance as a tribute]].

** On stage, though, Mark was never comfortable with dancing (the boys would tease him about it in interviews) while Shane was more of a showman.

Originally a sextet called IOU from County Sligo, the group was significantly retooled by uber-producer Simon Cowell to create a quintet that almost immediately topped the charts and stayed there for the entirety of the group’s existence.

** ''Spectrum'', as their comeback album, is a bit of a departure from the usual Westlife formula. There are fewer love ballads, more mid-tempo numbers, and several tracks cover darker subjects like bullying and neglectful partners.

* NewSoundAlbum: The band cites ‘Face to Face’, and the single ‘You Raise Me Up’ specifically, as being the album that turned them from a “boyband” to a “manband”. While it was still very much a pop album filled with love songs, it looked at the subject in a more mature manner and acknowledged that the band and their fans were growing up. This was what, arguably, allowed the group to continue in the wake of Brian’s departure and the oddity that was ‘Allow Us to be Frank’.

Westlife was an Irish boyband that was active from 1998 to 2012 before reuniting in 2018. They are best-known for love ballads like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UaMsIJ4bR0 Swear it Again]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOb9gIGGd0 My Love]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bxc9hbwkkw You Raise Me Up]], among others, as well as for performing while sitting on stools.

In 2018, Shane, Markus, Kian, and Nicky announced that they were getting back together to record new music and they will go on tour in 2019.

* Shane Filan (1998 - 2012)
* Marc Feehily (1998 - 2012)
* Kian Egan (1998 - 2012)
* Nicky Byrne (1998 - 2012)

In 2018, Shane, Mark, Kian, and Nicky announced that they were getting back together to record new music and they will go on tour in 2019.

[[caption-width-right:350:Westlife 2004 - 2012]]

Westlife was an Irish boyband that was active from 1998 to 2012. They are best-known for love ballads like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UaMsIJ4bR0 Swear it Again]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOb9gIGGd0 My Love]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bxc9hbwkkw You Raise Me Up]], among others, as well as for performing while sitting on stools.

Westlife was an Irish boyband that existed from 1998 to 2012. They are best-known for love ballads like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UaMsIJ4bR0 Swear it Again]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOb9gIGGd0 My Love]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bxc9hbwkkw You Raise Me Up]], among others, as well as for performing while sitting on stools.

Westlife was an Irish boyband that existed from 1998 to 2012. Originally a sextet called IOU from County Sligo, the group was significantly retooled by uber-producer Simon Cowell to create a quintet that almost immediately topped the charts and stayed there for the entirety of the group’s existence.

* AmericansHateTingle: Westlife was enormously popular in Europe and Asia and also had significant followings in Africa, Australia, and South America. North America was another story. They had some initial success in the US with their first single ‘Swear It Again’ just as the American music market began turning away from boybands. They tried doing some promotion but quickly realized that they weren’t moving enough units to make it worth the effort.
** A later attempt at promoting ‘World of Our Own’ had some success in the US until radio stations discovered who it was by.
---> Nicky: "We sent over a CD of World of Our Own with no name on it. They didn't know it was Westlife and every single radio station in the States – all came back and said that this is an absolutely huge hit. They said it was great for radio and people are gonna love it, especially as there's just a slight bit of rock guitar to it. But as soon as we revealed it was Westlife, the radio pluggers all went, 'Whoa, not Westlife – it's a boyband.' And we cannot break that down, no matter what song we come out with. The problem with America is that it's all radio and you've got to break into radio first. And currently radio doesn't want to play boy bands or pop music. If Bono wrote a song with us tomorrow and it was the biggest hit in the world, if Westlife's name is put to it, it won't be a hit in America because radio will not play us."

* CriticalDissonance: Critics did not like Westlife at all and it was inevitable that at least one article would question the band’s continued relevance whenever a new album was released. But critics could do little to dissuade the mass market, who bought millions of albums and sold out arenas and stadium to see the group.

* ExecutiveMeddling: In the group’s early years, they were very much Simon Cowell’s personal project. He would dictate the direction of each album, single, and music video. This seemed to work out for the best, though, as Westlife entered the Guiness Book of World Records for most consecutive number ones.
** The ExecutiveMeddling lead to some odd choices, though, like their Rat Pack inspired ‘Allow Us to be Frank’ album.
** Cowell’s increased focus on his television ventures and other acts made the band feel like they were an afterthought to him and this lead to them moving to another label for their final release as Westlife.

* OldShame: Mark has gone on record saying that he regards ‘Allow Us to be Frank’ as a cynical cash grab on the part of Westlife’s production team in the wake of Robbie Williams’ success with ‘Swing While You’re Winning’. The group rarely performed any songs off of that album once the related tour (actually marketed as a second greatest hits tour) wrapped.
* SeasonalRot: Averted. They were still an internationally top selling act when they decided that Westlife had run its course.

** On stage, though, Mark was never comfortable with dancing (the boys would tease him about it in interviews) while Shane was more of a showman.
* TroubledProduction: The making of ‘Allow Us to be Frank’ was not the most enjoyable experience for the group, as they weren’t comfortable with the concept and the material. Nicky took it especially hard because he believed that his vocals were being unfairly cut and had many loud arguments with the producer. It got to the point where he was ready to walk out on the recording sessions and fly back to Ireland before his parts were reinstated.
** Although the group knew that Brian was increasingly unhappy with being part of Westlife because of the workload and because of marital problems, his decision to leave just weeks before they were to go on tour to promote ‘Turnaround’ threw his bandmates for a loop. Although they respected his decision, the other members and the production team had to scramble to reassign his vocals and modify the routines to better fit the new four-man lineup.

Shane Filan
Marc Feehily
Kian Egan
Nicky Byrne
Bryan [=McFadden=]

Meanwhile, the remaining quartet regrouped and continued recording and touring and enjoyed continued success until the four collectively decided that Westlife had run its course and to end their time as a group on their own terms.

** This belies the fact that Louis turned Westlife into international superstars in the cutthroat music industry and held them together when they were reeling after Brian’s departure. {{ObfuscatingStupidity He even knew exactly how to manipulate Simon Cowell}} to make sure Shane stayed in the band after Cowell wanted Shane cut because he thought Shane looked ‘ugly’.