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1/27/03

Westlife hosted 6th Childline concert

Nicky, Mark and Bryan were hosts for 6th Childline concert at The Point Theatre yesterday. Joining them on the stage were Samantha Mumba, Sugarbabes, Girls Aloud, Six, Busted, Mankind, Broken Hill and Big Brovaz. Childline will receive over €200,000 from the concert. All those involved with the Cheerios Childline Concert are providing their services free of charge.

Liz and Kian?

According to the Daily Star, Liz McLarnon of the Atomic Kittens and Kian have developed a friendship, although not a romantic relationship just quite yet. The newspaper says the two speak regularly on the phone and have been on a string of nights out together.

One pal says, "Although they're not officially boyfriend and girlfriend, they're very, very close and lots of us believe it could develop into something more soon."

Chris Blohm: Jodie dumped me for Kian

According to the UK's "The People", Jodie dumped her schoolboy lover for Westlife heart-throb Kian. Jodie had enjoyed a night out with Kian at London's trendy Chinawhite nightclub just days before she split with 17-year-old Chris Blohm.

Chris said: "When Jodie said we should take a break she insisted there was no one else involved. So you can imagine my horror when I opened a magazine and saw Jodie getting into a car with Kian out of Westlife. I thought Jodie and I had something special but obviously I was wrong. I felt betrayed. She's obviously more interested in her new famous friends now. I just can't believe that she didn't have the guts to tell me she was with Kian."

Kelly Osbourne for Westlife

Kelly Osbourne took an opportunity recently to criticize Britney Spears for setting a bad example. She says Britney tries too hard to copying Christina Aguilera.

And in another comment on Westlife, she adds, "I don't mind Westlife at all. My mum and I think the guys are really cute. I'm not a big fan of their music, though."

MTVAsia Awards

Blue beat out Westlife this year to win favorite pop act. They also beat out A1, Destiny's Child, and No Doubt.

1/19/03

Molly scares her parents

Molly, who is now 16 months old, scared Bryand and Kerry last week after she suffered from a viral infection. She was rushed to the hospital, forcing Bryan to miss appearances with the rest of Westlife. Kerry, who is expecting her 2nd child next month, said, "Molly was a bit poorly, but she's fine now."

A source adds, "She was very ill on Thursday (1/09) and they didn't have a clue what was wrong with her. They took her straight to hospital where she was kept in overnight for tests. It turned out she had a really bad viral infection." Molly was forced to have tests for meningitis last May after falling ill.

When Nicky went down on one knee and asked Georgina to marry him, his eyes filled with tears. For his grandad - the one person with whom he had shared the secret that he would propose on Christmas Day - did not live to see the spectacular diamond ring slipped on her finger.

Nicky recalled, "It was a day of very mixed emotions. It was magical but bittersweet. Grandad would have so loved to see me getting married." Nicky revealed how he had confided in grandad Bernard McGarry - and tells how his beloved grandparent had carried his secret engagement plan to the grave.

He said, "When Georgina and I bought our dream house in Malahide just outside Dublin, I just knew it was the perfect place to ask her to marry me. I wanted the timing to be really special and I knew we would be inviting both our families there for Christmas. The house was going to look like something out of a fairytale and I knew that was when I would ask her. But grandad was quite poorly and I was worried he might not make it to Christmas. So one day in September, when it was just me and him in the room, I told him what I was going to do. He was thrilled. He squeezed my hand and congratulated me. The following month grandad died and I was so pleased I had shared my plan with him. He didn't tell a soul, not even my nana who he had been married to for more than 50 years. When I told her he had known she said: 'Really? He never told me'."

Nicky and Georgina - the 24-year-old daughter of Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern - have been together for eight years but are yet to set a date for their wedding. And there are no plans for a double wedding with bandmate Shane Filan and his business graduate fiancee Gillian Walsh.

Incredibly, Shane also proposed on Christmas Day. He said: "The most nerve wracking part was asking Gillian's dad for permission. I think it's something every fella gets worried about."

The couple, both 23, have been dating for three years and say they hope to walk down the aisle in the next 18 months. But the band has an incredibly punishing year ahead. Their new single Tonight is released on March 3 and they begin a gruelling world tour in April.

Shane said, "The fans have been wonderful about the engagement. There might be a few who are unhappy but I think most realise we are normal lads who have personal lives. If we're happy, hopefully they will be happy for us too."

That leaves just Mark and Kian the only eligible bachelors within Westlife. Bryan and Kerry are expecting another child next month...and the rest of the band are just as excited as the parents. Kian said, "When Bryan and Kerry had Molly you could see the real meaning of what it's all about. It made us realize we get stressed about silly little things. Molly makes us look at the other side of life that we haven't had a chance to experience yet and it makes us realise that having love in your life is so important. Of course Molly will grow up with nice things around her. But without the love of her family, the nice things aren't important. In us, she has four uncles who adore her. Life is about happiness, not wealth, not even success but happiness. Molly has brought that back to us."

Bryan says angel-faced Molly worships her famous uncles - but thinks they are all her dads. With a broad grin, Bryan said, "When Molly sees a picture of me in a magazine, she points to it and says 'Daddy,' and we all go 'Ah'. But then she'll point to Mark and say 'Daddy' and then Kian and say 'Daddy' and on she goes right through the band. People often say to me it must be hard trying to juggle being a pop star with family life but it can be just as hard no matter what job you do. One of my best friends is about to get married. He works nine to five and has a child but I get to see more of Kerry and Molly than he does of his family."

Watching Bryan with his family or seeing his engaged bandmates with their sweethearts heightens the loneliness Mark confesses to feeling. Mark admits he can never be sure if a girl likes him or what he represents. "It's difficult to find someone who is genuine and who wants to be in a real relationship with me rather than because I'm part of Westlife," he says.

His long eyelashes sweep down from his blue eyes and he looks crestfallen. Continuing on, he said, "There are a lot of vultures out there who would pounce on you because of Westlife. If we go to a club in London, there will be a good few people in there who will have heard of Westlife. While you have to accept that and live with it because you are in a successful band, it's difficult to deal with the fact that people only ever see you as Westlife. We are all willing to sacrifice certain things for the band but it is difficult when it comes to relationships. There's a lot of people who pretend to be something they're not and sometimes it's not easy to tell who's real and who's not. I have never had so many good looking girls coming up to me to talk but when I see what Bryan, Shane and Nicky have, I want to find someone special too. I'm at the point now where I believe I'll have to wait for a while."

Kian, who recently parted from Scandinavian dancer Jessica Forsman, agrees it can be tough looking for the right woman. He said, "It's a Catch-22 situation. When we go out it has to be somewhere which can facilitate us. It sounds a bit fancy but we have to go into the VIP section. I actually despise them because I want to meet real people but it's difficult because of the whole security thing."

Westlife have notched up a record-breaking 11 consecutive number one songs, including Flying Without Wings, and topped the charts with their latest album, Unbreakable, The Greatest Hits Volume One. But they are worried about sustaining their amazing level of success.

Kian says: "When we started off we never expected any of the success we have at the minute and never expected to get as far as we have got. It's always scary when you see new bands coming out and you see music changing and people liking different types of music."

The Irish boys - three from Sligo and two from Dublin - marvel at their fan base, which ranges from toddlers to great grandmothers in their 90s. And the lads adore seeing the "mums in leather trousers". It is these older fans who help make the band's tours a sell-out.

Mark says: "I love to look into a crowd and see a bunch of mums in leather trousers dancing away and going crazy. Every band is marketed - we are too - but it gives you a feeling that we have got a wider appeal."

Kian adds: "When we first came out you would see three women with four kids but now they leave the kids at home and come by themselves and that's very cool."

They would love to sing with Bryan Adams or Celine Dion but what about pop diva Britney Spears? "Nah," says Bryan. "She can't sing."

Bryan says with a grin: "The lifestyle in which we grew up is so different to the lifestyle we have in Westlife that it wouldn't be difficult to fall into the trap of becoming a big international popstar persona and end up hanging around with people like Britney. But we work hard to keep our feet on the ground."

The boys hope that when the time comes for the band to bow out, each Westlife member will still care enough about the others to take part in a reunion. Kian says: "We know this isn't going to last for ever but I would wish in 20 or 30 years time we will be able to get back together and sing one of our hits. Robbie Williams would never touch Take That again and Ronan Keating would never touch Boyzone again. But we have got such a good relationship that I'm sure we would still get together when this eventually comes to an end."

Celebrity soccer (football) match

Nicky, Bryan and Shane will be joined by former Boyzone member Keith Duffy as they lead a team of Irish celebrities against Sky One's TV Dream Team for a charity football match next month. The team will also include Peter Smith from 'Popstars: The Rivals' and comedian Brendan O'Carroll.

Keith Duffy Allstars Vs The Dream Team, has become an annual event at Tolka Park; last year The Dream Team beat Duffy's side 4-3. Tickets for the charity event are available from Ticketmaster, priced €15. Kick off is at 12 noon on 2 February.

Kerry Katona McFadden seems to be keeping it in the family as she gave her wild card vote to the sister of her Westlife husband Bryan in the finals of the You're a Star competition. Many viewers of the show were outraged as Kerry gave her sister in law Susan McFadden a wild card by-through after she was not voted into the finals by the public.

The You're a Star contestants are competing to represent Ireland in the forthcoming Eurovision Song contest in May. But Susan McFadden's mother Mairead went on record on the Joe Duffy radio show by saying that in fact Susan was actually being held back by her brother's fame.

She said on the show: "Susan is actually getting to the point now where she is not going to things anymore because of people always putting her efforts down."

It should also be noted that Susan only went to the auditions after Kerry walked off the show as she feared the public accuse Kerry of favoritism.

Rhyming with Orange

Bryan in TOTP magazine: "God said he wanted to have a fruit that no one could rap about. People can rap about apples and bananas, but he decided that oranges were going to be sacred."

Rosie Ribbons denies she is dating Kian

The Pop Idol finalist, who releases her second single, Just A Little Bit on January 13th, says the press have blown a normal conversation out of all proportion.

"To set the record straight, those rumours about me and Kian are false, " she told Smash Hits. "I only met him once and had one conversation about how much we liked Nadine from Girls Aloud. And then, all of a sudden, I'm seeing magazines saying that we're dating and going to the cinema together. It's nonsense."

International Fashion Show

Get ready for the biggest event to hit Ireland in years, The Brown Thomas International Fashion Show. The models include U2's guitarist, Edge, is going to take to the catwalk with top Super Models Giselle Bundchen, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Heidi Klum, Jasmine Guinness, Yasimin Le Bon, Erin O Connor, Jane Bradbury, Karen Nelson, Oral O' Rourke, Jade Parfait, Iris Palmer and Aimee Mullen.

And it doesn't stop there... Westlife's Nicky Byrne, movie star Colin Farrell, Man Utd's Rio Ferdinand and Corries' Keith Duffy are going to show what they can do as well. Entertainment for the night will be provided by Samantha Mumba and Lulu. The host is Cat Deeley from CD:UK.

Designer labels that will be on show that night will be Gucci, YSL, Prada, Versace, Lainey Keogh, Dolce and Gabbana, Valentino, Christian Dior, Roberto Cavalli and Mairead Whisker. The Brown Thomas International Fashion Show is at Dublin's Point on 1/23/03. The star studded line-up is set to raise over 700,000 euro for three children's charities Chernobyl Children's Project, ISPCC and The Christina Noble Foundation. Tickets priced from 75.00 euro are now on sale from Ticketmaster outlets nationwide or 24hr telephone 1890 925 100.

Mark shocks fans by bleaching his hair

Most fans were shocked when pictures turned up all around of his new bleached hair color...it's not even blonde...more like white. He first showed off his new hair color at the video shoot for their new song, Tonight. The shoot itaking place in Clerkenwell, London. The single is released on 3/10/03.

Eeny meeny miny mo

Bryan and Kerry chose an unusual way to pick who they will ask to be the godfather to the baby they are expecting. Bryan couldn’t decide which of his Westlife mates to ask so he put all their names into a hat – and the couple picked out Shane. Nicky revealed: “Shane will be godfather to Bryan’s baby. Bry put our names in a hat and Shane was the winner.”

January 9, 2003

Bryan writes more songs

Bryan recently spent a week in the studio with the British Popstars group "Girls Aloud", and has impressed them with his song writing skills. Girls Aloud is managed by Louis Walsh, also Westlife's manager. Louis was so pleased with Bryan's efforts, that he wants him to write more tracks for the girl group.

Belfast and Westlife celebrate New Year

20,000 people celebrated the new year in downtown Belfast. The main attraction was the BBC Radio 1 sound stage, which blasted out all the hits with DJ Judge Jules.

In the meantime, Kian and Shane flew into the city on New Year's Eve to celebrate the new year at the Odyssey's new VIP nightclub, Precious. They were accompanied by 40 family and friends. Shane was also joined by fiancee Gillian Walsh, whom he proposed to on Christmas Day.

Last Monday night, Shane and Nicky dropped into the club, while the week before, Nicky and Bryan spent several hours there after recording the John Daly Christmas Show for the BBC.

Also making an appearance were Fame Academy's Sinead Quinn and Malachi Cush. Malachi recently revealed he would be snapping up membership for the club, after spending a night there with some friends.

Mary Rose Gilroy, operations director with the Sheridan Millennium Group, said the new club was helping put Belfast on the map as the place to be in 2003. She said, "Kian and Shane actually rang us and asked if they could come up to Precious to celebrate the New Year. Sinead and Malachi were very keen to come along too. It's great to see so many stars choosing to come to Belfast and saying that it's the only place to party."

Westlife on kidnap list

Westlife are high on a police list of top ten kidnap risksand have stepped up their security as a result. After a plot centring on the abduction of Victoria Beckham was was foiled last year, the boys are taking the threats very seriously. Each of the boys has had extra security installed at their homes. They have been given state-of-the-art cars as well as round-the-clock security guards.

Bryan explained, "I got stopped by the police in an unmarked car in Ireland. I met the inspector and we had a chat. He told me we were on a kidnap list. It's nice to know the police are keeping an eye on us, but a bit scary."

Bryan has since moved house, and Nicky is also moving and has reviewed his personal protection also. He says, "We talked about it and were worried because everyone thinks you're worth a lot more money than you really are. It makes you wonder how safe you are in your own house. But the good thing about where I'm moving to is that there's good security. We've got cameras and links to the police station. But me and Georgina don't live the celeb lifestyle. We'll go out for a quiet dinner, go home and watch a video. And in the UK we're never without two bodyguards. If we're out as a band in the evening, it's probably three. And these are hard, hard nuts. I wouldn't mess with them. If I wanted to pick on a boy band I'd pick on one with smaller guards."

Wacky fans

Westlife are shocked by the things that fans will do to meet them. Bryan was disgusted by one particular antic. He explains, "One girl came up to us at a show in Europe in a wheelchair. She was let in the front of the stage where all of the wheelchairs were allowed in. As soon as the lights went down and the show started she was up on her feet raving. It was unbelievable." For shame!

Hard work = more money. Each of the members of Westlife took in £647,000 last year from their tour, record sales and merchandising deals. Louis Walsh was an even bigger winner, taking home £1.2 million from the band alone, not forgetting his fees for being a judge on Popstars: The Rivals.

The Westlife boys enjoyed spending sprees in 2002, with Shane and Nicky both splashing out on expensive engagement rings. Shane and Bryan also spent their cash on Ferraris.

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