dazzlingwestlife: Oct 23, 2009

By Nicole Lampert

Robbie Williams was bug- eyed and sweaty. Whitney Houston lost her dress and struggled to speak. Even the nation's new sweetheart Cheryl Cole has been derided for poor vocals and a ridiculous outfit.

It's fair to say the seasoned performers have not performed brilliantly on this year's X Factor. So it's not surprising that Westlife are a little nervous about their appearance on Sunday night.

It's their first gig since getting back together after a year off and they will be showcasing what they have promised is a new sound.

'There is always something a little bit scary about the X Factor stage,' says the band's Mark Feehily. 'It's so huge and you have the judges in front of you. It's like being a teenager at your first audition.

'It's strange - we've performed some massive gigs and huge TV shows but X Factor always makes me a little bit more nervous than anything else we do.'

Really, Westlife should have nothing to fear. These were the judges, after all, who gave a standing ovation to Britney Spears after her laugh-out-loud bad performance last season.

Plus Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell will laud this group to the skies whatever happens; one is their manager, the other works for their record label.

Westlife have already appeared more times than anyone else on the hit ITV show - as performers, mentors and even judges. Simon has also ensured the new single What About Now is already recognisable for X Factor fans by featuring it several times as background music on the show.

Simon is said to have loved the new single so much that he even rushed them on to the X Factor this weekend, although they were originally due to appear in a month's time.

'He went berserk and said it's too big a song - I want to get them on the show as soon as possible,' says Kian Egan.

Such is the power of the X Factor that performances from it have already produced the two biggest selling singles of the year from last year's winner Alexandra Burke and judge Cheryl Cole.

In order to get on to the X Factor gold rush there was a hurried change in release schedules with the band putting the finishing touches to their album just a few hours before flying to Iceland on Monday to shoot the video for the song which will now be released on Sunday.

But perhaps the nerves reveal just how important this comeback gig is.

'Sunday night could determine the next 18 months of our lives,' says Shane Filan, 30. 'It's going to be very important to see how the single charts and then the album. Going on X Factor is like having an album launch in front of 14 million people.'

Westlife have had 14 UK No1 singles and sold 40 million records worldwide.

Only Elvis Presleyand The Beatles have had more UK Number 1s than Westlife.

Brought together by Louis Walsh as a replacement for his hit band Boyzone they went on to be his most successful act.

A phenomenon among boybands, they have stuck together through thick and thin - even surviving the departure of band member Brian McFadden - to clock up 11 years together. But were they still enjoying it?

Many, including the band themselves, were beginning to wonder if they were running out of steam. Their last single, Us Against The World reached only number eight in the charts two years ago - a career low.

What's more Take That and Boyzone had both reunited and were proving to be able rivals in the manband stakes.

'There were a few things we knew we needed to change,' says Nicky Byrne, 31, who, despite being a father of two-year-old twins, looks as clean cut and baby-faced as when the group first started.

'Like people in every job we were feeling snowed under and a bit stale. When you are in the public eye you really have to believe in what you are doing. What people don't realise is we are our own worst critics.

'I think if you've been around for as long as we have, you can be guilty of being predictable. When you do nine albums in ten years, by the time you are on your sixth album the team that are providing you with material may have dried up.'

Mark, 29, who along with Shane sings most of the group's vocals, adds: 'I know it sounds crazy but I had even started to feel my voice was getting lost and I was forgetting how to sing.

'Everything was getting in the way; the microphones, the ear monitors, the screaming, it all over-powered me.

'I spent a lot of time on our year off just stripping everything back and sing acapella in my apartment - it was like teaching myself to sing again.'

Key to any changes had to be the songs themselves - although the band have written much of their material, their biggest hits have always come from outsiders. 'We've had songs that I haven't been behind at all,' admits Mark.

Nicky adds: 'We were blessed with amazing songs at the start of our career like Flying Without Wings, songs which immediately put us in the same category as Take That and Boyzone.

'But move on four or five years later and we maybe weren't getting as many songs of that quality and that's when the covers started to take over.'

Ah yes, the covers. Westlife have been criticised in the past for relying on cover versions, as well as doing nothing more than sitting on stools and crooning ballads.

So it is surprising then that their big comeback single What About Now is - drum roll please - a cover. It was originally released in America by rock band Daughtry.

Kian Egan, 29, the unofficial leader of the group is quick to insist: 'It doesn't feel like a cover because it's not known outside the U.S. - and everything else on the album is original material.'

Indeed Simon has given Westlife the Leona Lewis treatment. He flew the band to LA where they were given the same producers and writers as the X Factor winner who has become a global star. And all are certain that this is their biggest and best album to date.

'The whole thing was done in the States with - I hate to say it - better quality producers,' says Nicky. 'We were happy for that. The production speaks for itself. We can't wait for the whole world to hear it.'

Hardcore fans however, don't need to worry too much: 'It's still got plenty of ballads but they just have a fresher feel,' says Kian. Phew.

He, in particular, has a poignant reason for wanting this album to succeed, as he made it while deep in mourning for his beloved father Kevin, who died aged 64 in July, after a year-long battle for survival.

'He had a brain haemorrhage the previous August and they found a massive brain tumour,' he says. 'He had two brain surgeries and enough chemotherapy to kill a horse and everything else. But then there was nothing else to try.'

Kian is perhaps the most controlled of the group, the one who doesn't like to give away too much emotion.

It is clear he is still trying to come to terms with his father's death saying only: 'It's hard to talk about it. It was pretty tough. It feels completely unfair.'

But Shane, a father-of-two who is married to Gillian, Kian's first cousin, says getting back to work was the best thing his friend could do: 'Kevin died just as we were about to go into the studio and we immediately postponed it.

'Kian tried to get us to go without him but we couldn't. It was only when his mum told him, "go on, make your dad proud", that we started working again. I think we all did this for his dad - he was a great man - it means it is extra special.'

There will be more poignancy on Sunday night as the band will be there to support Louis, the man who discovered and nurtured them, as he returns to X Factor after the sudden tragic death of his friend, Boyzone star Stephen Gately, at the age of 33.

'I think it is good we will be there,' says Shane. 'He's still very upset and will be for a very long time. It's so sad. Ronan [Keating] told me: "We can't believe he's gone."

'I rang Louis as soon as I found out and he was in a state, crying and very upset. Of course, we all think about what happened if one of us died. You can't help but think about it as we are so similar to them. I don't know how Boyzone are going to deal with it.'

It's just under a week since all the band joined Louis at Stephen's funeral. Mark says he is still haunted by the service.

'In the middle of the church there was a picture of Stephen smiling and it made me think about his friendly nature and how everywhere we saw him he always had the same little smile for you,' he says.

'Everyone was saying the same thing that day - that they couldn't believe it is true. It is so strange, it still hasn't sunk in.'

Mark, who came out as gay in 2005, says Stephen was also an inspiration to him.

'He was extremely brave,' says Mark. 'He was the first member of a boyband to come out and in hindsight it helped me and probably lots of other gay lads understand their sexuality and come out.

'There is a cliche about gays and every time a celebrity who is admired by millions of people comes out it is one more blow to the negative cliche - and people understand there is not a whole lot of difference between gay people and themselves.'

Despite any sadness, at least on Sunday night, John and Edward - Louis's Irish singing twins - should raise a smile.

The exuberant pair were controversial finalists as they seem unable to hold a tune, but they have proved one of the talking points.

'Their last performance was TV gold,' says Mark. 'They are pure entertainment and I can't wait to see what they get up to on Saturday.'

Of Simon Cowell, who has known Westlife for all of their 11 years in showbusiness, Shane says: 'He's always been the same. Very confident, very business minded and knew exactly what he wanted in life and with the band. Now he's just a lot richer and more powerful.

'He's also always liked to take credit. With the 14 number ones, as far as he is concerned, they are as much his as they are ours. Despite everything he has achieved you always have to give him a pat on the back.

'But he doesn't always get it right. When Louis first got us to audition in front of Simon he didn't like me at all and said I had to go. I'd had a big night and hadn't performed well and Louis was furious with me.

'So nine months later, when we had to go and see him again, we dyed my hair blond and I grew it long. I went in disguise, basically. And Simon told Louis: "I love the new guy." '

- Westlife's single What About Now is available to download on Sunday and in the shops Monday. The album Where We Are is out in November. The band will be on Sunday night's X Factor, ITV1

Credit/Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

dazzlingwestlife

Friday, October 23, 2009

X Factor? We're terrified! Westlife scared stiff as they follow Robbie and Whitney onto the 'cursed slot' on Sunday's show...

Westlife on TV