Westlife – Sida 3 – WelcheMusic.com

Westlife Plays it “Safe”

Westlife returns with the new album Gravity on Nov.22. The set is preceded by the new single “Safe,” which will be released digitally on Nov.14 and physically the day after. The group hasn’t issued a single since “What About Now” last October. The Daughtry cover peaked at No.2 in the UK, eventually peaking at No.7 on the European Hot 100 singles chart. It was actually the only single to be released off Westlife’s last studio album Where We Are.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOb9gIGGd0

The group was formed in July 1998 and is still the only act to have their first seven (!) singles go straight to No.1 in the UK selling a total of 44m copies worldwide. Despite having enormous success, they’ve never managed to crack the US market. The debut hit “Swear It Again” was issued in April of 1999 and career spanning over more than ten years.

Westlife’s only No.1 hit in Sweden to date is “My Love.” It was the second single off the 2000 album Coast to Coast and a Swedish track written and produced by Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger. The single succeeded the Mariah Carey duet “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” which peaked at No.3 in Sweden and topped UK singles tally.

The Wanted’s “Heart Vacancy” Confirms Boy Band Popularity

CHARTS SPOTLIGHT. Call it out for Jay, Siva, Nathan, Max and Tom – The Wanted – the hottest boy band this side of summer. “All Time Low” topped the UK singles chart earlier in August and the follow-up, “Heart Vacancy,” bows at No.2 this week. The Danes Cutfather, Jonas Jeberg and Lucas Secon have co-written the track with boy band veteran Wayne Hector (Il Divo, Westlife and Boyzone). The self titled debut set The Wanted was issued today. The album includes tracks written by Rami (Britney Spears), Cathy Dennis (Kylie Minogue, Sugababes) as well as Taio Cruz.

WelcheMusic highlighted that the boy bands have returned to the charts in an earlier blog post. Despite being Irish-British, The Wanted’s chart career in Ireland has been rather disappointing. “All Time Low” only made it to No.13 and “Heart Vacancy” only manages to reach No.18 in its first week. It’s also interesting to note that the singles haven’t been released elsewhere.

For those who can’t get enough of this group, please read The Wanted: The Unauthorized Biography, which was written by Chas Newkey-Burden. Quite a feat to rack up an biography (be it unauthorized) in October upon issuing a debut single in July the same year.

But The Wanted should be aware, Westlife is expected to issue its latest album Gravity on Nov.12.

Want to read more about The Wanted, click below:

The Wanted Lost Their Minds in 2010

Boy Bands Return with a Vengeance as the UK Welcomes The Wanted

CHARTS SPOTLIGHT. Who said boy bands were out of fashion? The British boy band The Wanted debuted atop the UK singles chart on Sunday with the help of producer Steve Mac, who certainly knows the genre. The debut hit “All Time Low” has already been a Top 20 airplay hit in the UK and reached No.19 in Ireland upon its release. In true boy band style, the group was formed through massive auditioning.

The physical CD single features a rendition of Cheryl Cole’s “Fight for this Love.” This means that The Wanted knocks Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP off the No.1 spot. Expect the track “Heart Vacancy” as the follow-up single.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0LV_bETEzs

Steve Mac debuted as a producer in the early ‘90s, producing artists such as Chad Jackson, Nomad, Undercover and Lindy Layton. His boy band list of merits began with the German group Caught In The Act, whom Mac produced a string of hits from 1993-1996. Come 1996 and the introduction of Boyzone, with lead vocalist Ronan Keating.

In 1999, Steve Mac launched another Irish boy band together with Ronan Keating – Westlife. Throughout the ‘00s, Mac produced a string of hits for both bands – including No.1 hits such as “Flying without Wings” and “Queen of My Heart.”

The Wanted’s “Heart Vacancy” Confirms Boy Band Popularity

How Westlife Started Off the Decade with an ABBA Hit

As we’re approaching the end of the decade, there’s no better time than to sum up what happened in the 00’s. The first chart-topper in the UK was Westlife’s rendition of ABBA’s ‘I Have a Dream.’

Westlife – I Have a Dream

So please just watch out, WelcheMusic will be dedicated to a decade of hits. Westlife actually made their breakthrough in 1999, becoming one of the few acts who continuously delivered hits throughout the decade. They were signed by Simon Cowell (the inventor of Idol and X-Factor) and their debut hit ‘Swear It Again’ was actually only issued in Asia at first.

Start of a Promising Career

It became the act’s first UK No.1 hit back in April 1999, and was the start of a hugely successful career. To date, the act’s achieved 14 UK No.1’s – but they haven’t reached the top spot since 2006 with Bette Midler’s ‘The Rose.’ But to be fair, the lads are still going strong as ‘What About Now’ did reach the runner-up spot this October.