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Latest Westlife News note: thanks to the following websites for providing some of the news items found on this site - Worldpop | MTVasia | dotMusic | The Sun | BBC | WENN | Agnes =) If you want to share your positive concert experiences, feel free to send it to us at westlife@previewstock.com and we will post it on this site and share it with other Westlife fans. Please include the date/concert venue that you attended. Also send any Westlife news we might have missed to that address above! The Westlife news archives can be found at the bottom of the page Westlife
in Sao Paulo, Brazil
2/15/02 Did Westlife REALLY diss Will and Evergreen? So I read two articles on Westlife's take on Evergreen...and it's awful that two media reports could write two different articles based on one quote by Kian. One makes it seem like Westlife is dissing Will, well, the other thinks Will (will) make it big with Evergreen. I've presented the two quotes as supposedly said by Kian...you decide. (version 1)Westlife:
Will's Evergreen Is Weak But the band said the track was not up to scratch as a single for them. Will, 23, will put the song out as a double A-side single on February 25. It will be accompanied by a new track, Anything is Possible. Westlife's Bryan McFadden said: "It's one of the weakest songs on our album." And bandmate Kian Egan said: "When we recorded it, it just wasn't a contender for our singles." ITV1's talent show winner Will is currently in Havana, Cuba, recording a video for the single. (version 2) And band mate Kian says they think Will Young's version of the band's track Evergreen will be a hit. The Pop Idol winner is releasing the single on February 25. "We always knew it was going to be a great song," Kian said. "It was never a contender for us to release as a single but with Will I'm sure it will do really well." Bryan needs to lose weight?? Bryan McFadden says Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell (he helped sign Westlife to the BMG label) phoned him on his honeymoon to tell him he needed to lose weight. The Westlife singer was staying in Mauritius with new bride Kerry Katona. He says Simon told him he looked fat in his wedding photos. quote 1: "I told him that's the way I am," he said in an interview with GMTV. "I'm not going to have any liposuction. He couldn't ruin my honeymoon." quote 2: Speaking on GMTV this morning, Bryan said: 'He did phone me but it didn't spoil my holiday. Nothing Simon Cowell says could spoil my honeymoon. This is how I am and I'm happy with it. I don't want to change for anybody. I don't disrespect him for the way he does it. He's just being honest.' Watch WOOO on Worldpop Westlife to perform at G.A.Y Westlife will be playing at G.A.Y in London on March 23. The Westlife game Old news, but it came up in the press again, so I guess...you can read it again for anything new. The PC version of the game will feature a range of exclusive printable images, signed by the boys. Succeeding in the game's many challenges will unlock special interviews with the band, while the DAY IN THE LIFE OF section features an interactive tour bus, hotel suite and recording studio. Should Fan-O-Mania top the video game charts, Westlife will become the first band to have a number one album and video game. The game is set for a March (02) release on SONY PLAYSTATION and PC. 2/12/02 Pop Idol Listen to Will Young's remake of "Evergreen" here. Which version do you think is better? Westlife or Will's? Will has just flown off to Cuba to shoot the videos for his double A-side debut single, Evergreen / Anything Is Possible. Gareth has already been offered a record deal and there are rumors that Gareth is being lined-up to support Westlife on their forthcoming UK tour, which kicks-off in Belfast on April 16th. Westlife in trouble with WOOO release? WOOO has done rather badly on the Irish charts, where it made its debut at a paltry #3 (Feb 10). #1 remained Enrique Iglesias, and #2 remained Gigi D'Agostino. The last two hits entered the Irish charts at #1. As you all know by now, WOOO is being released on 2/18 and will be facing stiff competition with Kylie Minogue's newest single, "In Your Eyes". That song is currently topping the UK's pre-release chart. Westlife remain popular with those aged 10 and under Pop princess Britney Spears and real-life royal Prince William are the two people children would most like to marry, a new poll showed. The 19-year-old prince was named as ideal husband material by one in five girls aged under 10. Prince Harry also made the list, with 8% of young girls revealing they would marry him if they had the chance. Robbie Williams was third but was beaten to the second spot by the surprise entry of fictional wizard Harry Potter, voted for by one in five girls. All five members of
Westlife and Manchester United star David Beckham were also popular choices
in the poll of 200 children carried out by Premier Christian Radio. Not worthy of a subject title Wait, just came up with this title..."All the news that's NOT fit to print". anyways. Sometimes I get this distinct feeling that the British Tabloids don't actually care about what manages to get onto their pages. Take this one for example.: Bryan let slip to the Sun that sometimes his behavior can go down the pan, or not, as the case may be: " I wee in lots of places. I peed in a bottle once because I was in a car and bursting to go. We just chucked it out of the window." Quite a pleasant quote
to be printed, don't you think?...not.
2/10/02 Kian wants to be a Disney boss Wondering what Kian would be doing if he wasn't a member of Westlife? Well Kian revealed, "I'd definitely still be in the entertainment industry if Westlife hadn't been successful. I was actually hoping to go to college to try and become the head of entertainment at Disney World. Either that or be a piano player!" He pondered his options when Westlife launched their career in 1999, just in case things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to...and he still fancies his high-brow alternative career options. Speaking of Disney... This is great news for Westlife fans all around the world. Disney is set to film a superstar concert to help launch its newest theme park, Disneyland Resort, in Paris on March 16. Britney Spears, Westlife and Destiny's Child are set to be feature performers for this TV special. It will be shown around Europe, and several versions will be made to feature only home-grown stars and presenters. So far, it is known that the show will be shown in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and the UK. An international version will be developed for worldwide distribution. Disney TV executive John Hardie said: "This is one of the most ambitious television productions that Disney has undertaken in Europe. The programme will first and foremost be an excellent family entertainment show. But rather than producing just one programme for all countries, we are making this relevant to families across Europe by producing entirely bespoke versions." The TV special will be shown on terrestrial TV in the UK, but the channel is unconfirmed. I've got my fingers crossed that this particular Disney show will make it across the Atlantic and will be shown on either the Disney Channel, ABC or ABCFamily. Westlife's Trail of Destruction Ah, more stories of their drinking habits. Bryan admitted, "In our first year (99) we did this show, and I smashed up these doors because I was really drunk." Kian said, "When we went to Tel Aviv with Five we ended up breaking a very expensive table. That was Five's last ever gig, though we didn't know at the time," Mark added, "We went clubbing later on that evening and ended up back at the hotel having a party. We all just went manic - and the room was destroyed because we were jumping on beds and climbing up and down the walls!" And their behavior ended in a fairly typical way - plenty of vomit. Bryan winced, "I was sick into a pint glass in the back of the security van. One of the security guys had to hold my head up for me!" Will Youngs wins Pop Idol! The two finalists to the UK's Pop Idol show, Finalists Will Young and Gareth Gates performed three songs each to a 600 hundred strong studio audience and a TV viewing audience of millions. One of those songs was a cover of Westlife's "Evergreen". Over the course of two hours, 8.7 million votes were cast for the contenders, inundating the 28,000 phonelines. The eventual vote came out in favour of Will, who won 4.6 million votes to Gareth's 4.1 million. As the votes poured in, the two Pop Idol hopefuls were buoyed by messages of support from the likes of Westlife, Blue, Liberty, Kylie Minogue and Lisa Scott Lee. Meanwhile millions of votes saw Gareth and Will swap places for the lead several times before voting ended, and Will was declared the winner. As Will's new boss, Simon Cowell said: 'Will is going to make an album to be proud of, and if he is proud of it then people will buy it.' Now signed to BMG, Will Young will be jetting off to a secret overseas location to film the video for the single, which is pegged for a 25 February release. However, Simon Cowell revealed that in spite of Will's victory, Gareth would be signed to BMG within a week. As Pop Idol, Will Young's double A-sided single will be released on Monday 25 February. Westlife webchat Westlife is doing the MSN webchat on February 13 (Wed) at 7pm GMT at the MSN towers in London. This webchat will be filmed and broadcast live. You can send in questions via e-mail until the 11th...and the staff at MSN will chose their favorite. The lucky winner will get to come in on the 13th and ask the boys their question during the live webchat! There's also the chance
for you to make your friends green with envy on Valentine's Day. Enter
the band's fab competition now and along with a Westlife CD and DVD, flowers
and chocolates you could win a Valentine's card signed by the whole band! Details here (includes a 1:10 WOOO clip that can play at 366kbps - high quality. Full length videos can be found at Dotmusic and Worldpop). American Dreams: Westlife Wants to go West! The boyband’s next stop is musician’s promised land, America, and it is confident of making it big despite a previous failed attempt. Westlife fans, prepare to scream – again. Your Irish idols heard you shrieking your support for them loud and clear at the Singapore Indoor Stadium during the first MTV Asia Awards last Saturday. So they will be back later this year for their third full – blown concert here. Their last one was in May last year. In a one – on – five interview at the Four Seasons Hotel last week, the band’s co-founder and lead singer Shane Filan, 22, said: “We’re talking to our agents about a Singapore gig in August or, failing that, a definite one in October.” The band’s co-founder and leader Kian Egan, 21, said: “Asia in general is a very special place for us because our biggest sales are down here.” Small wonder, then, that Westlife was named the region’s Favourite International Pop Act at last Saturday’s extravaganza. But before the group gets all hot and sweaty in Singapore again, it will try in July to break into the market that every Irish outfit since U2 has been dreaming of cracking. Indeed, despite holding the Guinness Book of World Records for the most consecutive No.1 singles in the history – seven (these were in the British charts) – mentioning Westlife to Americans will earn you a blank stares in the market that matters most, at least where record sales are concerned. Cheeky Nicky Bryne, 23, said: “We’ve never performed properly over there, luv. The first time we tried to make it over there was the summer after promoting our first album in Britain, Europe and Asia in 2000, but we did not have as many good songs as we do now on our new album.” The album in question is World Of Our Own, Westlife’s third, which had sold more than 45,000 in Singapore in two months since it was released worldwide last November. That equals to triple platinum. It has also gone six times platinum in Indonesia and twice platinum in Malaysia. Sales in Asia alone now total one million copies. Overall, the two-year-old group has sold 13 million records globally thus far, seven in Asia. Egan said,: “Our main problem in America the last time was that there was no one to guide us on how to crack the market.” Luscious-lipped Mark Feehily, 21, said: “This time, we have the experience of having been there, what to do, what not to do and what will get us better results.” And what would be the secret success formula be? Said Egan: “Being ourselves. We tried to change our image to pander to American audiences and so we failed. We’ve since learnt that Westlife should just be Westlife.” Feehily added: “But if we fail to make it in America again, that will be the end of the road for us there, but not the end of Westlife.” Indeed, throughout the 20-minute interview, the men took great pains to hammer home the message that they are still very much a united bunch. Said Feehily: “I don’t think any of us feels we’re anywhere near the end of the band. We’re only between 21 and 23 years old, so the hunger for success is still there, if you know what I mean.” For much of last year, the band was dogged by rumors of an impending split. This fuelled in part by their tough-talking manager, Mr Louis Walsh, who proclaimed Filan and McFadden as the only ones among them who had any hope of credible solo careers. Still, all five band members chalked up new personal milestones by writing half of the songs on World, although Egan ruled out any possibility of a fourth album composed entirely of their own songs. As he put it: “An awful lot of songwriters have helped us get to where we are today. They created Westlife. It would be silly of us to forget that.” Feehily agreed. He said: “Many young bands switch to singing only their songs at the first sign of success. We’re not going to fall into that trap.” He did not say why he considered that as a “trap”, seeing as how the most successful groups from the Beatles to the Bee Gees have all made it big by writing their own material. Filan mused: “You
know, with the new sound and good songs on our lastest album, these past
few weeks have been the best the band has ever had. So,
while we’re not getting younger, we feel younger. So, we’re
fresh, new and ready to crack America.” Westlife win Favorite Pop Act On February 3, Westlife won Favorite Pop Act at the first ever MTV Asia Awards. They beat out groups such as BSB and N Sync to win those awards. Westlife were the last group to perform for the night, playing World of Our Own. Other winners on the night included Britney Spears (Favourite Female), Ricky Martin (Favourite Male), Bon Jovi (Favourite Rock Act), Backstreet Boys (Favourite Video, for their single, The Call) and Linkin Park (Favourite Breakthrough Act) plus a string of local Asian stars from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia. Over 13 million music fans voted for their favourite stars on MTV Asia's website, while 130 million viewers tuned in to watch Ronan Keating and US pop singer Mandy Moore host the event. Another group speaks
positively of Westlife On the eve of the split up of the UK Popstars Hear'say, Irish Popstars winners, Six, were asked a few questions? (excerpt) Emma however feels that being compared to Hear'say is not fair. "Being compared is always a worry for us regarding the English Popstars. We would rather be compared to the next Louis Walsh band like Westlife or Boyzone." She went on, "we would like to be compared with Westlife as they are so successful and if we do as well as they have we will be very happy. " What about comparisons with S club 7 and are you under a contract like they are? Sinead admits this
has been happening. "We are being compared to S club 7 and Steps
but we're Irish and we would like to think we have our own Irish sound.
We have signed for five albums and we can renegotiate all the time. I
guess we just have to wait and see how it goes."
Phonographic Performance Ltd, the company responsible for regulating music royalties, have set up a website which lists artists who are still entitled to money. According to www.performersmoney.ppluk.com, "Performers have had rights to revenue from TV and radio airplay since December 1996. Although many performers have registered and received payment, there are still many performers who have yet to come forward and claim their share." The site goes on to explain that, "several million pounds is waiting to be paid out. Thousands of performers are due payments, mostly between £25 and £500. However, a handful of tracks have earned tens of thousands of pounds, and performers on these tracks - featured artists, session musicians and backing vocalists - may be due substantial PPL payments." Among the stars who
are owed money are Michael Jackson for his track Say, Say, Say and Mariah
Carey, who probably needs the dosh after her recent split with Virgin,
for her duet with Westlife, Against All Odds. 2/01/02 Here's the news summary for the week...or at least most of it =)
Bryan has to be with his wife at all costs Bryan has to be with Kerry even if it means constantly dressing up in some sort of disguise. Recently, when Kerry went to record an appearance on the British TV karaoke show Night Fever, hosted by ex-Madness star Suggs, Bryan put on a fake beard and straw hat to take his place in the audience. He managed to watch Kerry through the whole show undected. Food for thought What did Bryan and
Kerry have to eat at their wedding earlier this month? They feasted on
curry and chips. They have simple tastes (apparently), and so they made
sure their menu for their reception consisted of their junk food favourites
- instead of the more traditional caviar, oysters and champagne. Kerry
said, "I love curries, chips, eggs and beans, so I didn't want anything
la-di-da." Bryan and Kerry honeymooned with friends Apparently, Bryan
and Kerry did not go on their honeymoon alone. They each brought a friend
along with them to Mauritius. The foursome were spotted playing games
on the beach and enjoying boat rides together. Kerry
and Bryan did get the chance to sneak away from their buddies and were
later seen smooching in the sea. A Westlife non-critic Former 911 star Lee Brennan talked positively about boybands recently, including Westlife. Lee was one of the writes of Blue's recent smash it "If You Come Back". He said, "It's not important that I write my own songs. I mean, if a good song comes in, I'll do that. I'm not one of these precious people who says they're cool and 'I'm a songwriter' and all this crap. Whatever sounds like the right song to do I'm gonna do it. I enjoy songwriting and I like it when you get a cheque out of nowhere." Lee also hit back
at the many bands who spend the majority of their time bashing the likes
of Westlife, a1 and his old band, 911. "If it's the likes of an indie
band who aren't as big, then it's just jealousy 'cos there's not enough
fans to buy their records. There's loads of pop fans - you can't hold
it against teenagers for liking them!" Spice Girl, Posh, just can't let it go As per Posh's words
(at least it's less acromonious than before): "I know Westlife
are a massively successful band but I don't think they could ever compare
themselves with the Spice Girls. Obviously they're massive at the moment
but they haven't had the same kind of success as The Spice Girls. We were
a worldwide success. We had a No. 1 record in America and all over the
world. I don't think Westlife have reached that level yet." Nicky and Georgina
prepare for Marriage Speaking just before
the Childline concert, Nicky said that he is planning to marry her in
the not so distant future. Nicky said, "I will marry Georgina. Since
Bryan and Kerry got married we have spoken about it and both of us definitely
want to get around to it soon. The problem is that I'm in the band and
always touring. For us anyway the commitment is already there the rest
is just formality. With
her being the Taoiseach's daughter we know there will be a lot of publicity
and we want to have a real Irish wedding. I don't know if we will do the
whole OK or Hello! thing. A lot of people have said to us you would be
mad not to as it is a lot of money. But, I just look at all the hassle
Bryan had. We have nearly finished decorating our new house. I think we
may do the house for the magazine but I don't know about our wedding.
Like you may have a few houses in your lifetime but a wedding is a once
in a lifetime thing. Still, if the money was right, maybe?" Pop Idols record Westlife's "Evergreen" The three Pop Idol
finalists, Gareth Gates, Darius Danesh and Will Young, have all recorded
a cover of "Evergreen". The competition winner will release
his version of 'Evergreen' as a debut single when the talent show ends
in two weeks time. Westlife loves honey Westlife have revealed the secret behind their sweet taste of success...honey! They demanded a jar of honey before helping to launch a new North venue, saying that it would help them sing their hits at the official opening of Durham's £14m Gala Theater. They also asked for white towels in their dressing rooms to be swapped for blue ones. A source said: "The boys asked for honey, presumably to help them sing. But getting hold of honey on a Sunday night is no easy task so in the end they had to do without. They also asked for the white towels in their dressing room to be changed for blue ones. Big stars do tend to ask for these special requirements before they perform." They sang six of their hits, including Uptown Girl, to a sell-out crowd packed with screaming girls. They were only four strong as Bryan was still off with Kerry on their honeymoon. A spokesman for Westlife
said: "A lot of artists like to drink honey and lemon before performing.
It is very good for the throat and helps them sing better. We can't comment
on the blue towels because we have seen the lads use white towels before.
The only other
thing they like to do is give each other a hug before going on stage as
a little good-luck superstition."
Westlife monthly news archives January
2002 (2)
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