"Flying Without Wings" | ||||
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Single by Westlife | ||||
from the album Westlife and Pokémon: The Movie 2000 soundtrack | ||||
B-side |
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Released | 18 October 1999 [1] | |||
Studio | Rokstone (London, England) | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Steve Mac | |||
Westlife singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Flying Without Wings" on YouTube |
"Flying Without Wings" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 18 October 1999 as the third single from their self-titled debut studio album (1999). It is the band's fourth-best-selling single on both paid-for and combined sales in the United Kingdom as of January 2019. [2]
The song was written by Wayne Hector and Steve Mac. In an interview with HitQuarters, Hector said the basic idea for the song came to him while on a break from working on a hip hop session with Ezi Cut in Los Angeles:
I came up with a couple of lines for the first verse and then phoned my mama's house, left it on the answering machine, and said, “Don't get rid of this!” [3]
Upon returning to England, Hector went into the studio to work on the idea with long-time songwriting partner and producer Steve Mac. [3] When the two discussed what the song was about they agreed that "this is about our wives. This is about the things that make our lives complete." [3] According to Hector the lyrics were completed in about half an hour. [3] He added, "Flying Without Wings was a life-changing moment, and a song he says he is particularly proud of. A big moment for me was when Flying Without Wings came out, I’d had a few Number 1s at that point, but that convinced people I could write good pop songs. After that, I started working with bigger acts and over a more diverse range of genres, including country and rock, which helped me pick up some credibility." The band's manager later revealed the song had been planned as the first solo single for Boyzone's Stephen Gately. "Stephen did the demo and he thought it was going to be his song," Walsh recalls. "I'll be quite honest, I missed it, but as soon as Simon heard it he just went bananas. It was really difficult because Westlife were on tour with Boyzone, as the support act." [4]
In a documentary aired on UTV called Westlife Back Home, band member Shane Filan said it is probably the best song of their career, while former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (band member Nicky Byrne's father-in-law) revealed it is his favourite tune from the chart-topping band. The song also won the band their first of four Record of the Year prizes on the annual televised ITV music awards on 11 December 1999, scoring a total of 159,590 votes to beat Boyzone's Ronan Keating to the title. [5]
The Official Charts Company stated, "Flying Without Wings wasn't the first boyband ballad, nor is it the biggest selling, but it was certainly influential. After Flying Without Wings, what self-respecting boyband would dare stay seated on a stool for a key change? Stand, boys! Flying Without Wings has soundtracked births, proposals, marriages, funerals, and untold TV talent show montages over the last two decades."
The song became the group's third UK number-one single, spending 13 weeks on charts. [6] It also received a platinum sales certification in the UK and has sold over 800,000 copies with 37 million streams there as of November 2021. [7] [8]
UK and Australian CD1 [9]
UK and Australian CD2 [10]
| UK cassette single and European CD single [11] [12]
European maxi-CD single [13]
|
Credits are lifted from the UK CD1 and Westlife liner notes. [9] [14]
Studios
Personnel
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Sweden (GLF) [34] | Gold | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [7] | Platinum | 800,000 [8] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Flying Without Wings" | |
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Promotional single by Westlife featuring BoA | |
from the album Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (Asian edition), Shine We Are! and Next World | |
Released | 2003 | (Asia)
Recorded | 2002 |
Genre | Pop |
Length | 3:36 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
|
Music video | |
"Flying Without Wings" on YouTube |
"Flying Without Wings" | |
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Promotional single by Westlife featuring Cristian Castro | |
from the album Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (Spanish/Mexican edition) | |
Released | 2002 | (Mexico)
Genre | Pop |
Length | 3:36 |
Songwriter(s) | |
Music video | |
"Flying Without Wings" on YouTube |
In 2002, as part of the promotion of their album Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 , the song was re-recorded as a duet with Mexican singer Cristian Castro and South Korean pop singer, BoA. Each duet was included on the Spanish & Asian editions of the album. Both duets were also released as singles in their two respective regions. [35]
In 2004, as part of the promotion for their Turnaround Tour , the band released the live version of the song. It was recorded during their tour in Stockholm Globe Arena. Their live version peaked at number one in UK Singles Chart and was the first ever number one in the UK downloads chart. [38]
Charts (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles Downloads (OCC) [40] | 1 |
A karaoke version of "Flying Without Wings" was released on DVD in 2000 and debuted at number one. It includes lyrics, photographs, and interactive menus. It has a running time of 45 minutes. [41]
Arranged by (strings) | : Richard Niles |
Arranged by (vocals) | : Steve Mac, Wayne Hector |
Arranged by, mixed by | : Steve Mac |
Artwork by (design) | : Root |
Photography | : Brian Aris |
Bass guitar | : Steve Pearce |
Guitar | : Paul Gendler |
Performer (Choir Md) | : Benny Diggs |
Engineer (Mix) | : Matt Howe |
Engineer, Programmed by | : Chris Laws |
Other (management) | : Louis Walsh, Ronan Keating |
The Westlife song has appeared in the 2000 Warner Bros. Pictures film Pokémon: The Movie 2000 as the final song of the credits in the film and on the official movie soundtrack. [42] It also featured in the 2000 Australian film The Magic Pudding and 2000 French film Archibald the Koala: The Movie . It also appeared in the Korean drama I'm Sorry, I Love You and its soundtrack as well.
On 12 May 2018, the song was performed on Korean music programme 'Immortal Songs 2' by Ali who placed second place that night. Band member Shane Filan was the featured 'Legend' and judged the participants.
In 2020, the song appeared as a music background on one of McDonald's UK and Ireland advertisements.
"Flying Without Wings" | ||||
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Single by Ruben Studdard | ||||
A-side | "Superstar" [43] | |||
Released | 10 June 2003 | |||
Recorded | 2003 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Ruben Studdard singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Flying Without Wings" on YouTube |
"Flying Without Wings" was covered by American Idol winner Ruben Studdard as his debut single in 2003. The single was released on 10 June and charted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 on 28 June, behind "This Is the Night" by American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken. "Flying Without Wings" also appeared on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, peaking at number 13, and the Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number 27. The double A-side single with "Superstar" was released in Canada and New Zealand, peaking at number two in both countries, behind Aiken's release.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"Let's Dance" is the first single from English boy band Five's third studio album, Kingsize. The song was written by Richard Stannard, Julian Gallagher, Ash Howes, Martin Harrington, Abz Love, Jason "J" Brown, and Sean Conlon and produced by Stannard and Gallagher. Released on 13 August 2001, "Let's Dance" charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Five's third and final number-one single, and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The song also peaked at number two in the Irish Singles Chart and became a top-10 in hit in Australia, Flanders, Greece, and Romania.
"When the Lights Go Out" is the second single released from British group Five's debut studio album, Five. It was released in early 1998. The song was co-written by the group alongside Eliot Kennedy, Tim Lever and Mike Percy, and John McLaughlin. It was co-produced by Eliot Kennedy, Tim Lever and Mike Percy.
"World of Our Own" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 18 February 2002 as the second single from their third studio album of the same name (2001). The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their 10th number-one single. "World of Our Own" was the 40th-best-selling single of 2002 in the UK and received a platinum sales certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for over 600,000 sales and streams. It is the band's fourth-most-streamed song and 12th-best-selling single in both paid-for and combined sales in the United Kingdom as of January 2019.
"That Day" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, released as the first single from her second album, White Lilies Island (2001). In Australia, the song reached number 10, while in the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 11. The song also charted well in Italy, peaking at number 14, and in Sweden, where it reached number 34. RCA Records chose not to release "That Day" in the United States, where "Wrong Impression" served as the album's lead single instead.
"Hey Whatever" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 15 September 2003 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Turnaround (2003). The song is a re-written version of "Rainbow Zephyr", a popular song by Irish rock band Relish. Released on 15 September 2003, the song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart.
"17 Again" is a song by British pop duo Eurythmics from their eighth studio album, Peace (1999). It was released as the album's second single on 10 January 2000. The lyrics to "17 Again" find the duo reminiscing about their long-standing career in pop music. The closing of "17 Again" contains an interpolation of 1983's "Sweet Dreams ".
"Queen of My Heart" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 5 November 2001 as the first single from their third studio album, World of Our Own (2001). It was released as a double A-side single with "When You're Looking Like That" in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
"Swear It Again" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. The ballad was released on 19 April 1999 in the United Kingdom as the first single from their debut album, Westlife (1999). The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, giving Westlife their first of 14 UK number-one singles. "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 chart in 2000.
"If I Let You Go" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released in the United Kingdom on 9 August 1999 as the second single from their self-titled debut album (1999). It became the second number-one hit, spending 11 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. The song has received a gold sales certification in the UK for selling over 400,000 in combined sales of purchased and streaming-equivalent sales. It is the band's 10th-best-selling single in paid-for sales and combined sales in the UK as of January 2019.
"Fool Again" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 27 March 2000 as the fifth and last single from their self-titled debut album (1999). The song debuted and peaked at number two in the band's native Ireland, making it the first Westlife song not to top the Irish chart. It became the band's fifth consecutive UK number-one single and spent 12 weeks on charts. To date, it has sold over 215,000 copies in UK, and it is the band's 14th-best-selling single in paid-for sales as well as their 13th-best-selling single in combined sales as of January 2019.
"You and I" is a song by English singer Will Young. It was written by Ed Johnson, Henry Johnson and Mike Peden and recorded by Young for his on his debut studio album, From Now On (2002). Produced by Peden, the song was released as Young's fourth single and 2002's official Children in Need single on 18 November 2002 along with the track "Don't Let Me Down". It reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, number three in the Netherlands, and the top thirty in Ireland and Italy.
"Amazing" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 20 February 2006 as the third and final single from their sixth studio album, Face to Face (2005). The song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. It debuted with 16,316 sales in the UK alone.
"My Love" is a song by the Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 30 October 2000 as the second single from their second studio album, Coast to Coast (2000). The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their seventh UK number one. The song was the 35th best-selling single of 2000 in the UK. It also won The Record of the Year in 2000. It has sold 400,000 copies in the UK.
"Bop Bop Baby" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife and it was released on 20 May 2002 as the third and final single from their third studio album, World of Our Own (2001). The single peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart; during an interview, the band claimed this was due to the obscure choice of single, as they would have much preferred to release "Why Do I Love You", for which they had recorded a video. It is the band's 18th-best-selling single in paid-for sales and in combined sales in the United Kingdom as of January 2019. Billboard named the single one of the "Top 15 Underrated Boy Band Jams" in 2015.
"What Makes a Man" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 18 December 2000 in the UK and Ireland as the third single from their second studio album, Coast to Coast. The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was their first single not to peak at number one, being beaten to the Christmas number-one spot by "Can We Fix It?", the theme to the cartoon series Bob the Builder. It also debuted and peaked at number two in Ireland, held off the top spot by Eminem's song "Stan".
"Obvious" is the third and final single released from Irish boy band Westlife's fourth studio album, Turnaround (2003). The track was written by Pilot, Savan Kotecha, and Andreas Carlsson and was produced by Jake Schulze, Kristian Lundin, and Karl Engström, with additional production from Quiz & Larossi. It is composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in E major, with the group's vocals ranging from the chords of C♯4 to A5. This was the last Westlife single to be recorded with their full original lineup, as Brian McFadden left the month after its release.
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"Tonight" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released together with "Miss You Nights" as a double A-side single on 24 March 2003 in the UK. It was the second and final single from their first compilation album, Unbreakable – The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2002). In other countries, "Tonight" was released without "Miss You Nights" as separately with an emphasis more on the "Tonight" release. The double A-side peaked at No. 1 in Ireland, becoming Westlife's 10th number-one single in their home country. In the United Kingdom, the single reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Everything's Gonna Be Alright" is a song by German group Sweetbox. It was released in October 1997 as the second single from their debut album, Sweetbox (1998), the only album that had American singer Tina Harris as the group's frontwoman. The song is based on "Air" from Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3, played on the track by the German Symphony Orchestra. "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" is the most successful song of Sweetbox worldwide; it reached the top five in Austria, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Outside Europe, the song peaked at number 46 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Until the Time Is Through" is the sixth single from English boy band Five from their debut studio album, Five (1998). Written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, the ballad was released on 16 November 1998, reaching number two in the United Kingdom and Spain, number three in Ireland, and number eight in Australia. The single features both Ritchie Neville and Scott Robinson on lead vocals, whereas on the UK album version features vocals from Scott.
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