What Makes a Man

This article is about the song by Westlife. For the 1972 song by Charles Aznavour, see Charles Aznavour.

"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".

The song was the 39th-best-selling single of 2000 in the UK and received a gold sales certification for over 400,000 copies sold. It is the band's fifth-best-selling single in paid-for sales, and seventh-best-selling single in combined sales as of January 2019. ^[2]

Background

"What Makes a Man" was composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in B major, with Filan and Feehily's vocal ranging from the chords of E₄ to Bb₅. ^[3]

Reception

Brian McFadden of Westlife had little faith in the release. ^[4] Speaking in an interview with Worldpop.com, he remarked: "It's a weak song, and we didn't do much promotional work. Bob [the Builder] deserved it." ^[5]

Track listings

UK CD1 and cassette single ^{[6] [7]}

1. "What Makes a Man" (single remix)
2. "I'll Be There"
3. "My Girl"

UK CD2 ^[8]

1. "What Makes a Man" (single remix)
2. "I'll Be There"
3. "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"

"What Makes a Man"
Single by Westlife
from the album Coast to Coast
Released	18 December 2000 (2000-12-18) [1]
Studio	Rokstone (London)
Length	3:52
Label	RCA BMG
Songwriter(s)	Wayne Hector Steve Mac
Producer(s)	Steve Mac
Westlife singles chronology
"My Love" (2000) "What Makes a Man" (2000) "I Lay My Love on You" (2001)
"What Makes a Man CD2"

Weekly charts Chart (2000–2001) Peak position Croatia (HRT) [9] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [10] 10 Ireland (IRMA) [11] 2 Scotland (OCC) [12] 2 UK Singles (OCC) [13] 2 UK Airplay ( Music Week ) [14] 14

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Ireland (IRMA) [15] 37 UK Singles (OCC) [16] 39

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [17]	Gold	400,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Sexton, Paul (16 December 2000). "Novelty Tunes Have Good Shot at Top Spot on Brit Christmas List" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 112, no. 51. p. 15. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
2. Copsey, Rob (12 January 2019). "Westlife's Top 20 biggest songs on the Official Charts". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 12 January 2019.
3. "What Makes a Man bY Westlife – Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes.
4. "Famous last words". T2 . No. 93. London. 20 January 2001. p. 13.
5. "Westlife 'don't care' about No 1s". Worldpop.com. 8 January 2001.
6. What Makes a Man (UK CD1 liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 2000. 74321 823862.
7. What Makes a Man (UK cassette single sleeve). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 2000. 74321 823864.
8. What Makes a Man (UK CD2 liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 2000. 74321 82625 2.
9. "HR Top 20 Lista". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on 4 February 2001. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 18, no. 2/3. 13 January 2001. p. 13. Retrieved 10 October 2020.See last week column.
11. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – What Makes a Man". Irish Singles Chart.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
14. "Top 50 Airplay Chart" (PDF). Music Week . 6 January 2001. p. 10. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
15. "Top 100 of 2000". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
16. "Yearly Best Selling Singles" (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
17. "British single certifications – Westlife – What Makes a Man". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 10 October 2020.