Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Sligo in 1998. The group was originally known under the names '6as1' and 'I.O.YOU' with several other members. Westlife consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member of the band before leaving to pursue a solo career in March 2004. Mark Feehily is a member, but is temporarily away from the group due to health issues. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reunited in 2018.
In Ireland and United Kingdom, the group has 11 number-one albums, 16 number-one singles, and 34 Top 50 singles. They have sold over 55 million records and are holders of four Guinness World Records. Westlife has received numerous accolades including one World Music Award, two Brit Awards, four MTV Awards, and four Record of the Year Awards. As of October 2026 they were certified for 10.2 million singles, 12.5 million albums and 1.525 million Music DVDs. That's a total of 24,225 million certified sales in the UK only.
The group has released twelve studio albums: four as a five-piece and eight as a four-piece. They rose to fame with their debut international self-titled studio album, Westlife (1999). It was followed by Coast to Coast (2000), World of Our Own (2001), and Turnaround (2003). Following the departure of McFadden, the group released the cover albums ...Allow Us to Be Frank (2004) and The Love Album (2006), the albums Face to Face (2005), Back Home (2007), Where We Are (2009), and Gravity (2010), followed by a six-year split. After reforming in 2018, the quartet released the studio albums Spectrum (2019) and Wild Dreams (2021). The group had three major compilation album releases as well: Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2002), Greatest Hits (2011), and 25: The Ultimate Collection (2026). The band are currently operating as a trio with Filan, Byrne and Egan as Feehily is currently taking an extended break due to multiple bouts of illness since 2022.
History
Formation and early years (1997–1998) Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, and Shane Filan, all schoolmates at Summerhill College in Sligo, Ireland, participated in a school production of Grease with fellow Sligo men Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron, and Michael Garrett. The sextet formed a pop vocal group called Six as One in 1997, later renamed IOYOU. The group, managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh and two other informal managers, released a single titled "Together Girl Forever" and "Everlasting Love" under Sound Records. McDonagh first encountered Egan as a six-year-old student at her weekly dance classes and came to know Filan and Feehily in their early teens as they starred in shows such as Oliver! and Godspell for Sligo Fun Company.
Louis Walsh, the manager of fellow Irish boy band Boyzone, came to know the group after Filan's mother Mae contacted him, but the group failed to secure a BMG record deal with Simon Cowell. Cowell told Walsh: "You are going to have to fire at least three of them. They have great voices, but they are the ugliest band I have ever seen in my life." Lacey, Keighron, and Garrett were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden were recruited.
The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was originally named Westside but renamed themselves as Westlife due to an existing band with that name. They signed a four-million-pound record deal with RCA Records. Westlife's first big break came in 1998 when they opened for Boyzone and Backstreet Boys' concerts in Dublin. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Louis Walsh. Their first live television performance as a group was on the Irish TV series The Late Late Show broadcast on 13 November 1998. They performed "Flying Without Wings".
Westlife, Coast to Coast, and World of Our Own (1999–2001) In April 1999, the group released their first single, "Swear It Again", which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in the UK for two weeks. It was the biggest-selling single in the first week by a debut artist. Their second single, "If I Let You Go" was released in August 1999, which made them the first boy band to hit No. 1 with their first two singles. Their third single, "Flying Without Wings" (their first 'Record of the Year' and their third No. 1 single), was released in October of the same year. "Flying Without Wings" was also included on the soundtrack of the Warner Brothers film, Pokémon: The Movie 2000. Their first album, simply titled Westlife, was released in November 1999 and went to No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in Ireland. The album was the biggest chart dropper on the Top 40 in UK music history when in its 58th week on the charts it leaped from No. 79 to No. 3 before falling to No. 37 the following week. In Scotland, the album debuted at number 6 in 1999 but subsequently peaked at number one in 2001. This year, they also started their own promotional tour outside the UK and Ireland in Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Netherlands, and Sweden.
In December 1999, a fourth single was released, the double A-side "I Have A Dream"/"Seasons in the Sun". It was the 1999 UK Christmas number-one single and their fourth No. 1 single. They are one of only five acts to achieve four number ones in the UK Singles Chart in one calendar year. The fifth and final single from the album, "Fool Again", also peaked at No. 1. They became the only male band to have every single released from an album reach No. 1 in the UK. Afterward, Westlife signed to Arista Records for the North American release of their debut. On 1 July 2000, they were honored as Freemen of the Borough of Sligo. An honor given to people who have promoted the town and county of Sligo, Ireland.
Coast to Coast, their second album, was released a year later and was their first No. 1 UK album, beating the Spice Girls' Forever album by a large margin; the chart battle was widely reported by British media. It became the country's 4th biggest-selling album of 2000. This is their second No. 1 album in Ireland. The album was preceded by the duet with Mariah Carey "Against All Odds" and the original song "My Love" (their second Record of the Year award). Both singles reached No. 1 on the UK charts, their sixth and seventh number ones respectively. With this, Westlife broke the record of the most consecutive No. 1 singles in the UK with their first seven singles. However, in December 2000, their eighth single "What Makes a Man", debuted at No. 2, breaking their string of consecutive number ones. The single "My Love" was controversially used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as part of a torture program in Afghanistan. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), "the music pounded constantly as part of a scheme to assault prisoners' senses".
Outside the UK and Ireland, they gained chart success with "I Lay My Love on You" and "When You're Looking Like That". They were included in the top ten earners list of all acts in the UK and Ireland and sold over 2.5 million units in the Asia Pacific region. In February 2001, they began their first world tour, "Where Dreams Come True Tour". A recording of a concert from the tour live from Dublin was released on 19 November 2001. Aside from their biggest concert tour dates and venues at that time, they went to Italy, Mexico, and Vatican City for promotional tour.
On 12 November 2001, Westlife released their third album, World of Our Own, peaking at No. 1 in the UK and Ireland. "Uptown Girl" (their first single to be on the List of million-selling singles in the United Kingdom), "Queen of My Heart" and "World of Our Own" were released as singles, all of which peaked at No. 1 in the UK. "Bop Bop Baby" was also released as a single and peaked at No. 5 in the UK. In 2002, Westlife went on their second world tour, the World of Our Own Tour. By the end of the year, IRMA awarded the band for 1 million units sold in Ireland. The group sold more than 12 million records in a span of three years.
Despite massive success overseas with their three albums, Westlife were unable to break into the North American market. Although "Swear It Again" charted at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live, and Arista releasing a North American edition of their debut album, all attempts flopped. In 2002, RCA Records tried to promote and release a remix of "World of Our Own" to the States, but was unsuccessful. Billboard attributed Westlife's blacklist to corporate politics, citing market oversaturation as two American boybands: Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, went on hiatus that same year. When asked about it in 2003, Nicky Byrne stated:
Unbreakable, Turnaround, and McFadden's departure (2002–2004)
Westlife released their eleventh UK No. 1 single, "Unbreakable" in 2002. Amidst rumors of a split, Westlife released their first greatest hits album in November of that same year titled Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1, which peaked at No. 1 in the UK and Ireland. During this time, Westlife achieved a Guinness World Record for most public appearances by a pop group in 36 hours. The band made stop-offs in five different cities (Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester) to promote their then-new album. They also continued their promotions in California and France. The release was followed by the double A-side single "Tonight"/"Miss You Nights", which debuted at No. 3 in the UK and No. 1 in Ireland. Following this release, the group premiered a TV documentary titled "Wild Westlife". Iain MacDonald directed it and features their daily life as musicians and their tour experiences. It was aired on BBC Choice. In 2003, Westlife went on their third world tour, the Unbreakable Tour. A recording of a concert from the tour in Manchester was released in November 2003. Then went on to have promo for the first time in Austria and India.
In September 2003, Westlife released "Hey Whatever", which peaked at No. 4 in the UK. Their fourth studio album, Turnaround, was released in November 2003, earning the group another No. 1 album in the UK and Ireland. "Mandy", was released a week before the album and became the band's twelfth No. 1 single. It also won them their third Record of the Year award. "Mandy" is the single with the longest leap to the top (from No. 200 to No. 1) in UK music history. "Obvious" was released as the final single from the album, charting at No. 3.
On 9 March 2004, just three weeks before embarking on their fourth world tour, McFadden left the group, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. McFadden's final public performance as part of Westlife was at Newcastle upon Tyne's Powerhouse nightclub on 27 February 2004. He subsequently began a solo career, and reverted the spelling of his first name back to its original 'Brian'.
Less than a month after McFadden's departure, the group began their Turnaround Tour. A recording of a concert from the Turnaround Tour, live from Stockholm, Sweden, was released in November 2004.
Face to Face, Back Home, and cover albums (2004–2008)