Westlife are an Irish boy band, which was formed 1998 in Sligo, Ireland. They disbanded in 2012 and reunited in 2018. They were originally signed by Simon Cowell in the UK, Clive Davis in the US and managed by Louis Walsh and Sonny Takhar. The group currently consists of Shane Filan, Markus Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne.
Shane Steven Filan is an Irish singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer of boy band Westlife, which was formed in 1998, disbanded in 2012, and regrouped in 2018. Westlife have released thirteen albums, embarked on twelve world tours, and won several awards, becoming one of the most successful musical groups of all time.
Kjell Åke Jörgen Elofsson is a Swedish Grammy-nominated, Brit Award-nominated, Daytime Emmy Award-nominated & Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter.
Girl Thing were an English-Dutch girl group, consisting of members Jodi Albert, Anika Bostelaar, Linzi Martin, Michelle Barber and Nikki Stuart. They were formed in 1998 by Simon Cowell and were originally intended to rival the Spice Girls, but their success was minor and short-lived. They sold two million records worldwide before disbanding in 2001.
"Swear It Again" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 19 April 1999 in the United Kingdom and on 25 February 2000 in the United States as the first and only single from their self-titled debut album Westlife (1999). This is the best-selling debut single of all-time from an Irish citizen. It peaked at number one in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in May 1999. It moved to 182,000 units in the first two weeks of its release, and spent 13 weeks on the charts. This made it the first of fourteen UK number-one singles. To date, "Swear It Again" is Westlife's only single to have charted in the US, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ranking number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end charts, in 2000. The song was performed live on Miss Teen USA 2000.
Irish pop vocal group Westlife has released twelve studio albums, two extended plays, sixteen video albums, one live album, three karaoke albums, three box sets, forty-one singles, twenty-one promotional singles, nine compilation albums and fifty-four music videos. Formed on 3 July 1998, the group was made up of singers Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden. The band was signed under Simon Cowell, Clive Davis, and Jordan Jay and under record labels' BMG, S Records, Arista Records, Sony BMG, Syco Music, Sony Music Entertainment and RCA Records from 1998-2012 and currently on Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records from 2018. The last four members remained active until their last live concert performance in the Europe's third largest stadium Croke Park on 23 June 2012 and have reunited on 3 October 2018 for new music and tour. Based on the British Phonographic Industry certifications, the group have sold more than 24 million records and videos in the United Kingdom alone across their 20-year career–10.4 million singles, 13.1 million albums and 1.3 million videos. Their biggest selling album is their first Greatest Hits compilation, followed by Coast to Coast, with seven of their albums selling one million copies or more. Their biggest selling video is "Where Dreams Come True", which has sold 240,000 copies to date.
Syco Music was a division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music releases by Robson & Jerome, Five, Westlife and Teletubbies. A year later, BMG, now named Sony BMG, bought Cowell's share in both Syco Music and Syco Television. Later in 2010, Cowell and Sony Music entered a joint venture agreement that would see Cowell and Sony each own 50% of the new Syco Entertainment company which encompassed both the previous Syco TV and Syco Music divisions. In July 2020, Sony sold the rights to the television formats and assets back to Cowell, effectively divesting all of Syco's non-music divisions. As part of the venture, Syco Music, its current roster and back catalogue remain with Sony Music as a wholly owned subsidiary. However, as of September 2020, and according to industry magazine Music Week, the label is now defunct, with staff either leaving or being redeployed elsewhere within the Sony Music group.
"Us Against the World" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife from their eighth studio album Back Home (2007). The song was released as the album's second single on 3 March 2008.
JLS are an English boy band, which consists of members Aston Merrygold, Oritsé Williams, Marvin Humes, and JB Gill, originally formed by Williams. They initially signed to Tracklacers production company New Track City and then went on to become runners-up of the fifth series of the ITV reality talent show The X Factor in 2008, coming second to Alexandra Burke. Following their appearance on The X Factor, JLS signed to Epic Records. Their first two singles "Beat Again" and "Everybody in Love" both went to number one on the UK Singles Chart.
Where We Are is the ninth studio album by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 27 November 2009 in Ireland and on 30 November 2009 in the UK through S Records, RCA Records and Sony Music, the band's tenth album under them. Where We Are is the group's first album following a break from music in 2008. It was also the band's fifth album to be released as a four-piece. This album was preceded by the lead single "What About Now" and it was released on 23 October 2009 as a digital download a day later as a CD single.
"Safe" is a song by Irish pop group Westlife from their tenth studio album Gravity (2010) and this pop rock ballad was released on 14 November 2010 as the album's lead and only single in the United Kingdom. It was written by John Shanks and James Grundler, and the single version was produced by Shanks, Richard "Biff" Stannard, and Ash Howes. This song is the group's last physical single under the tutelage of Simon Cowell, having left Syco and Cowell in March 2011. "Safe" debuted at number four in Ireland, becoming their twenty-fifth top ten single. It charted at number ten in the UK. The song was featured in the 2011 movie Dolphin Tale starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.
Gravity is the tenth studio album release by the Irish boy band Westlife and it was released on 22 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. John Shanks produced each song, barring the bonus track on the Japanese edition. The album was preceded by the lead single, "Safe", which was released at 14 November 2010. This is also the group's final album under Syco Music; Syco decided that there will be no second single from the album, which was one reason the group left Syco in March 2011. As of November 2011, the album had sold 358,943 in the UK. It was also the band's sixth album and studio album to be released as a four-piece.
Wonderland is the self-titled debut studio album by Irish girl group Wonderland.
"Lighthouse" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife and it is the lead single from their second compilation album Greatest Hits (2011). The song is their final physical single after their announcement to disband prior to their 2018 reformation. Also the single is the group's first and last physical single not under the tutelage of Simon Cowell, having left Syco and Cowell in March 2011. The song was written by Gary Barlow and John Shanks, and was released on 11 November 2011. A music video was filmed in South Africa and premiered on 20 October 2011.
Greatest Hits is the twelfth major album release by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 18 November 2011 by RCA Records and Sony Music. Greatest Hits is the group's second greatest hits album following Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2002) and their last before their split months later and reformation six years later. The album is the group's first album not under Syco Music and not under the tutelage of Simon Cowell, having left Syco and Cowell in March 2011. It was also the band's seventh album released as a four-piece. The greatest hits album contains numerous singles that span throughout the band's career, as well as six live tracks, two from BBC Proms in the Park and four from Live at O2 Arena. Another four new songs produced by John Shanks, which includes the lead single "Lighthouse", which was released on 14 November 2011. The compilation was released in two different formats, a standard edition containing the album's eighteen tracks, and a deluxe edition featuring numerous other singles of the band's discography, as well as a DVD containing almost all of the band's music videos on the past fourteen years of their music career.
John Matthew Shanks is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist.
"Love Is a Drug" is a song by Irish singer and songwriter and former member of Westlife Markus Feehily. The song was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download On 19 April 2015 through Harmoney Entertainment. It was released as the lead single from his debut studio album Fire (2015). The song was written by Markus Feehily, Steve Anderson and Tinashé Fazakerley; and produced by Mojam. The song peaked at number 65 on the Irish Singles Chart and number 56 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Hello My Love" is a song by Irish pop vocal band Westlife. It was released on 10 January 2019 as the lead single from the band's eleventh studio album, Spectrum, and is their first single to be released under Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records. It is also their first official single in eight years since the release of their last single, "Lighthouse", in 2011. The song is written by Ed Sheeran and Steve Mac. The duo have co-written hits like the most streamed song on Spotify, "Shape of You", and also "Woman Like Me" by Little Mix, and "Thursday" by Jess Glynne. Mac had written the band's number-one hits like "Swear It Again", "World of Our Own" and "Flying Without Wings", while this being the first song released by the band written by Sheeran.
Spectrum is the eleventh studio album by Irish pop vocal band Westlife, released on 15 November 2019 through Virgin EMI Records. It includes the singles "Hello My Love", "Better Man", "Dynamite" and "My Blood", and features songs co-written by Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac, Ryan Tedder, Camille Purcell, and James Bay. It is the band's first major album in eight years, and their first album under Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI. The album debuted atop the Irish Albums Chart and UK Albums Chart.
"Dynamite" is a song by Irish pop vocal band Westlife. It was released on 5 July 2019 as the third single from Westlife's eleventh studio album Spectrum. It is their third single released under Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records. This is released on band member Shane Filan's fortieth birthday. This is written by Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac and Andrew Wyatt. Their third work released from 2019 and the 2010s decade for the group. Mac also produced the original mix and the Cahill remix of the single, his third one from Spectrum. Midnight Mix of the single were produced by Red Triangle and band member Markus Feehily. This is the second Westlife single Red Triangle co-produced while this is the first single of Westlife to be produced by Feehily and by a Westlife member.
