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5/25/03

American Idol

Simon Cowell certainly tries. The American Idol finale was on Wednesday, and by the time the winner was announced, 40 million people were watching the show. And just about the same amount saw Ruben Studdard, the winner, sing "Flying Without Wings". What those 40 million people don't know is that the song is a Westlife original, because no one bothered to mention it on air. And the reason? I think they want Ruben to "look good" by trying to lead Americans into thinking that this is an original song. All my friends thought it was an original song, until I mentioned to them that it wasn't. For shame on the producers. I thought the new arrangement totally butchered the song, and that it sucks to the utmost. You can barely tell that it is "Flying Without Wings". The song will be released on June 3 as a cd single by RCA. It will also feature a remake of the Carpenters' Superstar. And for better or worse, I'm sure it will debut in the #1 slot on Billboard's Hot 100 singles.

Westlife couple plan a French wedding

Nicky and Georgina will be paid up to €750,000 for the rights to their wedding pictures. The couple have agreed to sell the picture rights to their August wedding to British celebrity glossy magazine Hello, and have spoken of their wedding plans for the first time to the magazine. They have decided to marry in Fance, but the location remains a secret. Rumors are that that they have been looking at possible venues along the Cote D’Azur.

Speaking of their decision to have a Gallic celebration, Nicky told Hello magazine: “I know it’s a bit of a shock to everyone but it’s a country we’ve always liked and a language we love, although neither of us is very good at speaking it. The first time we ever went there was for the World Cup final. We were there with Georgina’s dad who had just become Taoiseach; the band had only just started and there we were staying at the Irish embassy and getting to go to the final. It was amazing. That was our first introduction to the country and we’ve been visiting ever since.” Admitting that their families were a bit surprised by the idea at first, Georgina said: “I think our families quite like the idea now, as we’re all going out there a few days beforehand to make a real holiday of it.”

Despite the fact that their wedding will be on the Continent the couple insist it will still be a totally Irish affair." It’s going to be a big Irish wedding – in France,” says Georgina. “Right now we’ve about 380 guests, but I know the numbers are sure to increase. I’m having five bridesmaids: my sister Cecelia’s my maid of honour, Nicky’s sister Gillian and three others.”

One thing that will definitely be Irish is the bride’s dress, Georgina revealed. “I went to London with mum to try out different styles and get ideas – choosing the dress is one of the most exciting parts! But I’ve set my heart on Irish designer Synan O’Mahony creating it. Actually he’s going to design two dresses as I want a different one for the evening. Having a stable family home with children is really important to us. We both can’t wait to have children – Nicky wants five but I’d be happy with three. Nicky will make a brilliant dad I know, he loves kids, but we’re not planning anything just yet. There are still plenty of things we both want to do in life, but when the day eventually comes we’ll both be over the moon with excitement.”

Westlife at the Belfast Odyssey

Review from the Belfast Telegraph

Westlife brought the house down at the Odyssey arena last night when they kicked off the Belfast leg of their Unbreakable tour. It took just one line of lyrics to let the girls know that the boys were back in town.

Westlife returned to the Odyssey Arena in Belfast last night for the first of an 11-date stint in the city - and, as ever, brought the house down. In a move designed to tease their fans, the band burst onto stage among fireworks, sang the first few words of When You're Looking Like That, then fell silent. It was all too much for the thousands of fans who packed into the Arena.

As Nicky, Mark, Kian, Shane and Bryan stood back to lap up the adulation, the fans went crazy, screaming for more. Then the music started up again - and the lads launched into a string of their number one hits. Single after single followed - If I Let You Go, Tonight and Flying Without Wings. Each performance was fast, furious and rather funky.

There were a few little surprises served up too - an acoustic set accompanied by bongo drums and a medley of oldies from the Beach Boys to Prince. The five boys leapt about the stage, obviously having fun, even bringing a group of fans up to join them for Queen of My Heart. As usual, Bryan McFadden was the joker of the pack, but his singing was stronger than ever.

An unsuspecting man was dragged up onto stage too, with Bryan poking fun at his choice of attire. "Who dressed you tonight?" he asked the poor man. "Your wife," came the quick retort. The highlight of the night came when the boys, suspended on a wheel above the Arena, hovered over their fans - letting them get close, but for most, not close enough.

From tiny tots to fun-loving pensioners, they loved it. Eleven-year-old Emma Vaughan from Londonderry said it was the best performance she'd seen to date. And Portadown great-grandmother Ethel Hutchinson was thrilled she had come. "I'd heard so much about them, I just had to see them for myself. They're brilliant," she said.

Answering their critics who claim they won't be around for much longer, Westlife announced that another album will be released later this year, followed by a return visit to Belfast in 2004. This was the band's Unbreakable tour - and if last night's performance was anything to go by, the five Irish lads proved that they are, indeed, just that.

Westlife help's again

Westlife have made a dream come true for a fan who has battled back to health after a brain operation. Nicole Malloy, 11, had surgery on a tumour last week and thought she would miss out on tonight's gig. Doctors told her she would be able to get out of hospital for one night if she was strong enough.

Westlife heard Nicole's story when a family friend contacted the group's website asking them to mention the brave girl on stage. Instead, the band sent Nicole five tickets for tomorrow's show at Glasgow's SECC and have invited her backstage to meet them.

Nicole, who is rarely able to leave her ward at Edinburgh's Royal Sick Children's Hospital, was overwhelmed yesterday. She said: "I have never been to a concert before, so I am really excited. Brian is my favourite but I don't know what I will say to him. A kiss on the cheek will be enough. I was just so worried I would not be well enough, but I am determined to get strong for it. My favourite song is World Of Our Own so I will be singing along."

Nicole's mum Angela, of Polbeath, Dunfermline, said it will be her daughter's dream come true. She said: "The last year has been really hard for Nicole after she was diagnosed with cancer. She has had lots of ups and downs and has had to be very brave. Nicole is undergoing a course of chemotherapy and has lost so much weight. But she was so desperate to go to the Westlife concert, we wanted to make it possible. Nicole has all the CDs and posters. She is a big fan. But she had to have emergency surgery last week after a pressure tube to her brain became blocked. She was devasted because she thought she might not be able to go. But the surgeons have worked so hard to get her better on time. They have been fantastic."

Angela, who also has a three-year-old son called Grant, said she bought Westlife tickets for her sister Linda and Nicole several weeks ago. She said: "I knew it would mean a lot to Nicole to see Westlife. It is not often I see Nicole smile now because of what she is going through, but she has been so excited."

Line up for Lansdowne

Girls Aloud will be joining Busted, Six, Simon Casey and Mankind as part of the line-up for Westlife's Lansdowne Road concerts on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 June. Tickets, priced from €39.50 to €44.50, are available from Ticketmaster.

Soccer Six

Westlife - last year's winners - and Blue went head-to-head in the competition, which raised money for the Prince's Trust, as did glamour models Jordan and Leilani Dowding. The competition, held at Upton Park, home to recently relegated West Ham United, was hailed a great success by organisers who said that 12,000 fans had paid to watch the day's matches.

"It's been a great day," said the spokeswoman. "The weather has held off and it's been fun and everybody has taken part. There's been no tantrums either."

Among the top scorers were Westlife's Bryan McFadden and Footballers' Wives star Gary Lucy. The event, in its ninth year, is to raise money for The Prince's Trust.So Solid and Mis-teeq were crowned kings and queens of the celebrity footy world yesterday at the annual Soccer Six event.

The third and final day of this year's Soccer Six roadshow took place at West Ham's Upton Park stadium on Sunday as pop's finest descended to show off their silky skills in front of a packed stand of fans.

results

Westlife - featuring band members Kian, Nicky and Bryan - were looking to retain the trophy they won last year at Chelsea but were well and truly beaten 5-1 in the final by the outstanding team of the day, So Solid. The match was given extra spice by the history of tension between the bands after their fracas at the Brits last year.

Going into the match, Nicky had described the possibility of the encounter as "interesting, to say the least" while Harvey told the pitch-side reporter for the official site: "We're gonna win this, no contest".

In the end, So Solid - featuring MC Neutrino in goal plus Megaman and Harvey - did their talking on the pitch with Harvey emerging as arguably the tournament's star player and the fastest man in pop!

Melanie v. Louis

Former Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm argued in a TV debate with Westlife manager, Louis Walsh on Sat. May 17.

Discussing boyband One True Voice''s new single on pop show CD:UK, Mel C made no attempt to hide her feelings. She said, "I think this song is really poor. I think Westlife are the same genre. They are back in the dark ages. They could release any old crap and it would sell.

Walsh retaliated by saying, "They sell out every arena everywhere. And you'd love to be doing that, Mel." He then called his band GIRLS ALOUD the "Spice Girls with voices and personalities.

Mel C said, "Well, when they rack up 37 million albums world wide, come back and talk to me.

The Robin O'Reilly column: Into the Westlife

Perhaps it was appropriate that Westlife chose When You’re Looking Like That as the opening track for their performance in Copenhagen, because the band voted the crowd the best-looking audience they’ve had so far on their current tour.

Westlife’s Greatest Hits European Tour kick-started in Cardiff and is currently drawing sell-out crowds throughout Scandinavia, which is proving to be their most successful market in Europe.

The venue for the evening, The Forum, was filled to its 10,000-strong capacity and girl power clearly rocked the stadium. The strikingly beautiful young women, teens and mother/daughter combos far outnumbered the few brave boyfriends and fathers who’d dared to show up. On my arrival at the backstage entrance the queue of blondes stretched nearly a kilometre away from the Juliusthomson Plads. Once inside, the audience purchased T-shirts and posters of their favourite boy band, donned flashing headbands with illuminated Ws and grabbed their flashlights while avidly cheering for Westlife to appear.

I arrived early in the evening to interview Bryan and Nicky. I had already thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Mark, Kian and Shane back at our hotel. We were all staying in the Phoenix Copenhagen, which dates back to the 17th century and is used regularly to host guests of the Danish Royal family.

I knew I must be the envy of lots of teenage girls back home. Bryan had just flown in from Dublin after escaping from the tour for a day to see his family, in particular his 14-week-old little girl Lily. Nicky was busy doing his daily bench press workout.

The band are some of the nicest guys you will ever meet and it was a real pleasure to talk to them about music, life in Ireland and their futures. I had been listening to their latest release Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits for the last week straight and I was really looking forward to seeing them in action! This album consists of 11 number one hits and six new songs and it was with its release that Westlife hysteria in Copenhagen really took off in earnest. It sold over 50,000 copies in the first week, propelling it to platinum status, much to the delight of their record company BMG Records.

The audience got a special treat with a performance from Fifth Avenue who were the support act. This band are now poised for the big time. After three years together they have just signed a world record deal with Warner Music and are releasing their debut album entitled A Different Life at the end of May.

Their latest single Infidelity launched two weeks ago in Ireland and hit the charts at number four. Westlife’s Bryan liked it so much he performed it with Fifth Avenue at the recent star-studded Childline concert at the Point.

Finally, the stage ignited with an impressive fireworks display on a background of a starlit sky. The boys emerged in black combat gear from behind a screen that concealed them in Darth Vader-like cloaks.

Security was madly passing back cups of water into the crowd as the screams got louder and louder and the body temperatures rose. After a fantastic version of their opening number the band took the pace down a bit and sang a few of their classic ballads. This included If I Let You Go and Flying Without Wings. Often they didn’t even have to sing a note as all of us in the venue did it for them! The acoustic set followed. The band changed into casual attire and arranged a sitting area on stage with plush leather armchairs and velvet cushions. “Bring on the fans” Kian yelled. This heralded the entrance of six pretty girls dressed in trendy sports gear and skimpy camisole tops.

While Kian and Bryan dazzled us with their strumming on the guitar and Nicky relaxed on the floor at the girls’ feet, we were serenaded with Bop Bop Baby and Queen Of My Heart. This must be a night these girls will always remember.

A quick costume change later the boys really showed off their dance moves and their love of great classic songs. Each wore a white suit with a cartoon-like image of themselves on the back of it. They performed fantastic versions of I Get Around, Do You Love Me, Twist and Shout, and that fabulous Prince classic Kiss. All the time, the projection screens flickered Andy Warhol-esque images of the band and cartoon cuts of sexy girls, cars and jukeboxes and my favourite, the blue Super Girl who does high split kicks showing off her yellow knickers and who glowed over the stage.

The most emotional set came next with performances of Fool Again and Written In The Stars. An Irish flag was thrown from the crowd to Nicky who proudly waved it overhead. I am certain I saw Mark with tears in his eyes during this set. He has a spectacular voice perfectly suited to these lyrics. As the crowd swayed and sang along I couldn’t help but feel immensely proud of these guys. They work harder than most people realise and manage to keep their priorities straight; their energy is directed into their music but their families always take precedence.

The final song Unbreakable was a perfect choice amidst all the rumours of the band splitting up. After each band member gave a special thank you to their supporters an enormous black and white banner reading Unbreakable stretched across the stage just in case there was any doubt over these boys’ commitment.

One of them gave a special thank you to all the Norwegian teachers; what that means is anybody’s guess! And just to make a spectacular day with the band even better, Bryan gave me a special mention to the crowd as having come all the way from Ireland and wished me a safe trip home. Wow!

Not a single doe-eyed girl in the place was going home yet, including me. The deafening screams and foot stomping convinced me these Westlife fans were anything but docile!

While the video screen displayed images of racing down the highway in to Las Vegas the band re-emerged. How handsome the boys looked in black suits and ties. Shane gave a rockin’ rendition of Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl, one of the band’s most successful cover versions.

Last but certainly not least was the quintet’s tenth number one hit, World Of Our Own, accompanied by more pyrotechnics and a spectacular instrumental finale. “Love you guys! See you next year!” reverberated as the last chorus faded. I can’t wait to catch up with them again when they return home.

[quoted from the internet]

On the day the school reopened, girls walked to Al Wethba in clusters of three or four. Anxious parents accompanied some of them. The girls wore their uniforms - navy blue ankle-length jumpers over long-sleeved white shirts. Some came in fashionable high-heel shoes and many also had scarves covering their hair. The backpacks slung over their shoulders were like those that are common in American schools.

Spc. Michael Donohue, 23, of Nashua, N.H., searched the students' bags, looking for weapons but finding only books. Some girls giggled but others appeared anxious as he rummaged through their packs. Donohue, the tank driver, sleeps with the tank, lives off MREs (meals ready to eat) and takes a shower when the gardener of the museum lets him use the hose.

There was a collective "buzz" when the girls assembled. Gossip that had stacked up for weeks had to be communicated. Telephones had not been working in most sections of Baghdad.

"I'm so glad that students are coming," said Sara Adnan, 16, who hopes to be a teacher someday. She said that while staying at home she had been reading and "working for my parents like a maid."

Some students said that among the musical groups they liked were Westlife and the Backstreet Boys.

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