Latest Westlife News

note: thanks to the following websites for providing some of the news items found on this site - Worldpop | MTVasia | Music365 | The Sun | BBC

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

7/28/01

Five have said in an interview that they support Westlife's decision to give up breaking the US. Five's J said he understands why the band decided to focus on European instead of American success. "It doesn't surprise me. Americans expect you to devote a year of your life to breaking America and unless you've got a burning desire to do it then it's not going to happen. You can't blame them for wanting to come home and see their families and friends. Why spend a year out there being miserable." Ritchie added, "It's not worth it. We broke America with our first album but we were between deals and record companies were fighting to sign us."

editor's comment on the Five interview: Five is pretty much a one-hit wonder in the US with "When the Lights go Out" ...and seemed to have a promising start here. I've always wondered why they didn't release a second song here. America isn't all that easy to break in part because there are so many people in this country, nearly 300 million at last count...which is about the same size as all of Europe. Plus the land mass is greater, meaning more TV and radio stations out there...and lots of travelling for promotion. Westlife did not spend a year out here in the US, but only a few months...i think about 3-4. And there are fans out here just WAITING to see Westlife!

The members of Westlife are in for a huge cash windfall after penning several of their own songs for their new album. They have written at last 4 songs on their upcoming album. Bryan and Shane have written most of the tracks. Kian said, "We've been writing songs long before Westlife came about, we've just become better at it over time. The producers are working with us on some songs that will be included on the new album. Bryan has written a new song called 'Color Of My Skin' that is something like the big hit 'We Are The World,' We're going to record it with a children's choir."

7/24/01

Nicky will be playing soccer (or football, depending on where you're from) next month in a match against his old club, Leeds United. Nicky was let go from the club for being too small, but it turned out to be fortuitous as he is now with Westlife. Nicky will be playing for the Dublin City team in Dublin's Tolka Park. He says, "I have always dreamed of playing against a big team, and it's even more amazing that the match is against my old club. Even if I just get out there for ten minutes it will be worth it. It would make my dreams come true. I was devastated when they let me go, but it was meant to be because then I got a place in Westlife. Every time I go to see Leeds play they always look after me and give me an executive box."

Also Westlife report that they have finished 10 songs for their upcoming album. But fans will have to wait a few more months before catching a glimpse of the new tunes!

7/22/01

More rumors abound in the UK. Another report from Sunday People says that an insider at RCA, Westlife's record label, says that the next single will be the last single from the group. "They are going to release one more single then have a Greatest Hits compilation out for Christmas. But the end of Westlife is inevitable. The boys will move on to solo projects like Boyzone did. The next single is going to be the last." We don't give this rumor any credence, but thought we'd pass on what's new from the UK rumor mill.

7/19/01

A quick update on Comic Relief's fundraising efforts for charities in the UK and Africa. Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2001 has raised an amazing £52 million so far. Westlife's "Uptown Girl" helped the cause by selling over one million copies of the single. In addition, over 4.83 million red noses were sold.

7/16/01

"When You're Looking Like That" will be released in Germany on August 6. Thanks to Stephan for sending the news.

Got a few petitions about wanting Westlife to come back to the US:

Hi We have started a web petition to get WL to come to Canada and the US. After we have a significant amount of signatures we will send them to BMG in hopes that they will realize how much we like the guys so please visit the site and sign the petition:) It would be great if we could get the support of the bigger wl pages. Thanxs for your time Bj and Lisa. link to this petition

Dear Friends, first of all, i would like to thank you for reading my e-mail which i think it will be boring, we all know that westlife has give up their dream to conquer america, they (if i may say) has abandon us fans, which i know have waiting soo long to meet them, but it's not their fault, many peoples in us never know about them, if i ask "do u know westlife ?" and then they'll ask "west what ?", once i ask a girl from nyc, "do u know westlife" then she answer me "yea of course i do, they sucks", i ask her "why ?" she answer me "coz i never heard any shit about them since swear it again, i use to be in love with them, but not now, they don't care about usa fans", now ! don't u realize that ! that is the major big problem, westlife never had this big promotion in usa like thet did in the rest of the world. Second thing is, peoples in usa never pay attention to other boyband (vocal group) from other country, such as westlife, they only pay attention at bsb and nsync, i don't blaming them, it's just maybe they need to open their eyes a little bit for westlife, they always said that justin is hot, justin is bla..bla..bla.. or nick is cute, nick is georgeous, what i know is justin and nick are two ordinary blondes, i don't find any cuteness or anything else that makes me feel a little bit excited, THEY SHOULD SEE SHANE'S FACE ON ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE ! ! ! ! and then they'll realize who is cute or what is cute. I have many friends from usa who happen to be love westlife as much as i do, they even order a westlife's cd from uk, and then they know that westlife has give up on states, they are soooo mad at me right now, coz i had a chance to see westlife in Jakarta, and do i have to tell u this, that many good sites about westlife are come from usa ???? that is why i need all of ur help to sign my petition or maybe put the petition on ur website which i know very very popular, we have to bring back westlife to usa !!!!!!!!!!!!!! and i need to ask u some advice, what do u think if the petiton are only for usa fans ????? or maybe everyone can sign it ??? well thanks for listening my words, see u soon, god bless ya and have a nice day ! loadsa love' Dita xoxoxoxoxo P.S: i'm from indonesia, and i already made this for the petiton ! name : age : resident : e-mail the info requested

7/15/01

Two small tidbits of news here.

For fans in Malaysia and Singapore, Westlife won 2 awards at the the Radio Music Awards. One for best album (Coast to Coast) and one for best group! Congrats guys and thanks to Linda for the info.

And in another piece of proof that Westlife do not have to personally promote themselves to gain hits, "Uptown Girl" was #1 on MTV Latin America on Wednesday and #2 for Thursday and Friday. Now when was the last time Westlife actually showed up in Latin America? A long time ago. Which behooves me as to why they won't release any song in the US. - Thanks to Kay for the info.

7/13/01

Rumors are abounding that Westlife have abandoned their plans to be stars in the US. Apparently, Louis Walsh (manager) told The Sun that "We are not sure whether it will happen for us there. Our stronghold is in Britain and Europe. We are doing really well here and don't want to be associated with failure. We are one of the biggest bands in Europe and we want to consolidate that position. As far as we are concerned the US is off." The news comes only a day after it was reported that Westlife will release a greatest hits package before the end of the year, increasing speculation that they might be heading for a split.

[this is my opinion] The article in The Sun say that the boys have spent a lot of time in the USA promoting their debut album and even collaborated with Mariah Carey in an attempt to win fans stateside. But that's where I disagree with whoever wrote that piece that was subsequently duplicated in a few more sites. In a more realistic note....the duet with Mariah Carey ["Against All Odds"] was never an attempt to win fans stateside because no one released the song here or even mentioned it. And although Westlife did spend all of the summer of 2000 here, that just isn't enough, quite frankly. UK groups have a notoriously difficult time trying to break US charts. S Club 7 cracked the top 10 after having their Fox Family show on the air for a few years. BBMak made it big after touring relentlessly for an entire year, helped in no small part by touring with 'N Sync. But hey, if you can't have the US...you still have the rest of the world. And the group is enjoying huge success around the world. But if the rumors are true, there are a good number of disappointed fans stateside, myself included. I feel like draping this site in black now.

7/12/01

Someone from MTV Networks Europe sent me an e-mail saying that MTV UK is currently filming for its new FANatic show (new for the UK, several years old in the US). In this show, fans get the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to meet and interview their idols face to face. Westlife are taking part in the series and can't wait to meet their #1 UK fan. MTV are looking for this very special fan right now. The fan that MTV chooses will be whisked away in style to meet Westlife, interview them and enjoy a day that they'll never forget. The fan will of course be heavily featured in the programme so they might even become a bit of a star themselves. Applicants need to be over 16 years of age and a resident in the UK- I can sense some jealousy now =). Click here to for more info.

Good news for US fans. BMG US Latin is releasing a compilation album of top pop and Latin smashes from the likes of Westlife, Christina Aguilera, and Joy Enriquez. Also included is "La Primavera" a remake done by Carlos Santana. "La Primavera" is the track from the compilation album that is being released to Latin and crossover radio stations on June 18.

Westlife are also set to release a Greatest Hits album next year, to coincide with a major UK tour. Louis Walsh, manager, told the Daily Star that the group have shelved plans for a Christmas single. Walsh said: "We are not going to bother doing any Christmas songs. The lads are on with so much at the moment they couldn't find the time. But they will be releasing a Greatest Hits compilation." He added: "[They] are also going to go on another massive tour next year. Things are still going brilliantly for the lads and they're very focused."

7/11/01

Most of us know by now that the whole Westlife vs. 5ive thing was a concoction of the media (i.e. the media's wishful thinking). Here's a quote from Kian that says as much...as you can probably tell it's from last spring, but mtv decided to rehash it: "Five were recording in Dublin and they came to see one of our shows. Then we all went out. Our security tried to get us to go home at 3:00 a.m. but we were having none of it. At 6:00 a.m. Abs and I were walking home along Grafton Street. Abs had his trousers around his ankles and his arms stretched wide -- he was singing 'Flying Without Wings. Abs and I get on really well. We're good mates but he'll be devastated when he reads this."

7/10/01

There's nothing that makes a parent more worried than the thought of losing a child. Kerry said that when she was 3 months pregnant, she had a meningitis scare and was fearful that she was going to lose her baby. She had gotten ill while at home in Manchester earlier this year with suspected meningitis. Fortunately, it turned out to be just a flu-like infection. She said, "It was the most traumatic week of my life. I don't think I took my hand off my tummy for more than five minutes but thank God the bleeding eventually stopped."

7/04/01

Happy Independence Day/4th of July =)

Despite the fact that no one really know what Westlife's Christmas release might be, bookmakers are already favoring Westlife as the group with the Christmas #1 single(6-5 odds). That puts them ahead of Hear'Say (6-4), Britney Spears (9-1), Boyzone (10-1) and Kate Winslet (20-1).

7/03/01

The 3 single members of Westlife (Mark, Shane, and Kian) gave an interesting interview to News of the World this past Sunday. Discussing their views on wild behaviour Mark confessed he'd happily get intimate with a groupie and Shane disclosed he thinks looks are the most important aspect in a woman stating, 'Looks are so important. Looks are like the top for me.' Kian declared that hooking up with two girls at the same time was 'every man's fantasy.

7/02/01

Billy Joel claims that Westlife missed the point when they re-recorded his smash hit "Uptown Girl." He says that the cover is almost an exact carbon copy of the original, which only heightens the error in missing the joke. "I'm flattered. I think their harmonies are good. The strange thing is that they do this in dead earnest. The song is really a spoof! I was actually trying to sing like Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, as if someone was squeezing my testicles! When I first heard Westlife, I thought 'These guys are doing this seriously!' Maybe they're too young to remember." Billy Joel might have done too good a job in his interpretation. "To this day there are people in the States who think 'Uptown Girl' is sung by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons."

According to MTVAsia, Bryan and Kerry are expecting a baby girl, who they plan on naming Molly. Bryan said, "I am so excited about being a dad. And when I found out we were expecting a girl, I was ecstatic." Congrats are in store =)

6/30/01

Thanks to Agnes for more info on the new video =)

The video was made by Cape Town's Sasani Studios. The Farm, based in Cape Town, was commissioned to facilitate the entire video production process in South Africa. The company was responsible for filming the the Westlife concerts at the Velodrome in Cape Town, Sun City and at the MTN Sundome in Johannesburg.

6/29/01

Thanks to Agnes for the following piece of news!

Westlife have finally made the video to "When You're Looking Like That". As another fan told us earlier this month, the layout is similar to "I Lay My Love on You", but this time there are video clips from the concerts in South Africa (instead of Singapore). The video isn't realeased yet, but you can see it on the German BMG site. note: you will need Windows Media Player to see it. It's gotten rave reviews from fans that have seen it =)

Westlife monthly news archives

July 2001
June 2001
May 2001
April 2001
March 2001
February 2001
January 2001
August 2000