Back Home is the eighth studio album by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 5 November 2007 through Syco Music, Sony Music and RCA Records. The album was produced by Steve Mac, Quiz & Larossi, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger and Rami Yacoub, who also produced some of the group's previous material. Back Home was the group's final album before their temporary break from music in 2008.
The album was preceded by the lead single "Home", a cover version of the Michael Bublé song, which was sent to radio stations in September 2007, and was eventually released as a digital download and CD single on 29 October 2007. Two more singles were released to promote the album, namely "Us Against the World" and "Something Right". A DVD also accompanied the album's release, including some of the group's recent music videos and exclusive footage of the group.
The album was met with mixed reviews, however the album was a commercial success. The album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, selling 132,000 copies in its first week of release and remained in the top three spots for eight consecutive weeks.UK Music Charts |The Official UK Top 75 albums BBC Radio 1 – Chart Show – The UK Top 40 Albums It also spent five weeks at number two. One of those weeks have the highest sales for a number two in a week of the year 2007 in the United Kingdom. While in Ireland, this is the third best-selling album of 2007.
Background The track listing for the album was released on the band's official website on 3 October 2007, with track-by-track videos by the band. The release date of the album was brought forward to 5 November 2007 from the initial 12 November 2007. The album contains a collection of brand new tracks along with a few covers. The cover songs on the album are "Have You Ever?", a Diane Warren penned ballad previously recorded by Brandy, and "I'm Already There", a song recorded by Lonestar. The first single from the album is a cover of the ballad "Home", originally by Michael Bublé, and was released on 29 October 2007 The song debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart.BBC Radio 1 – The UK Top 40 Singles "Us Against the World", an original song dedicated to Westlife fans worldwide, was released as the band's second single on 3 March 2008 in the UK and Ireland. Meanwhile, "Something Right", which is an original up-tempo song, was released as the third single in Asia and Europe.
An accompanying DVD was released on the week of the album's release. It featured backstage footage of the group, Up Close and Personal segments, and the music videos of "Home", "You Raise Me Up", "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", "Amazing" and "The Rose". The DVD was available exclusively at Woolworths. It charted at number one on the UK Visuals Chart and was certified Platinum.
Track listing
Credits Vocals:Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane FilanExecutive Producers:Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell, Sonny Takhar, Tim ByrneProducers:Steve Mac, Chris Law, Dan Pursey, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha, Antour, AJ, Anders Johansson, Josef Larossi, David, Jorgen Elofsson, Louis Biancanello, Sam Watters, Michael Mani, Jordan OmleyPhotography:Nino MunozManagement:Louis Walsh Management
Mixed By:Niklas Flyckt (2,3), Quiz (4), Josef Larossi (4), Louis Biancaniello (5), Michael Mani (5), Sam Watters (5), Jordan Omley (5), Ronny Lahti (9), Fredrik Andersson (11,12)Keyboards & Programming:Anders Johansson (4), Quiz (4), Romdhane (4), Josef Larossi (4), Per Magnusson (12), Jorgen Ingestrom (12)Pro Tools Editing:Chris Laws (1,6,7,8,10)Pro Tools Engineer:AJ Junior (2,3,9,11)Engineered By:Chris Laws (1,6,7,8,10), Daniel Pursey (1,6,7,8,10), Quiz (4), Josef Larossi (4), Tim Lewis (5), Fredrik Andersson (12)Mix Engineered By:Ren Swan (1,6,7,8,10)Strings Engineered By:Markus Bergqvist (4), Ren Swan (6,7)Choir Engineered By:Ian Agate (4)Backing Vocals Arranged By:Atlas (4), Emil Heiling (4), Quiz (4), Josef Larossi (4)Strings Arranged By:Dave Arch (1,6,7,8,10), Ulf (4,12), Henrik Janson (4,12)
Guitars:John Paracelli (1,8,10), Daniel Pursey (1), Esbjorn Ohrwall (2,3,4,9,11,12), Rami Yacoub (3,9), Paul Gendler (6,7,8), Fridrik 'Frissi' Karlsson (6,10)Bass:Steve Pearce (1,6,7,10), Rami Yacoub (2,3,11), Thomas Lindberg (4)Piano/Keyboards/Synths/Organ:Steve Mac (1,8,10), Dave Arch (1,6,7,10), Peter Ljung (4), Steve Mac (6), Per Magnusson (12), Jorgen Ingestrom (12)Drums:Neal Wilkinson (1), Chris Laws (1,6,8,10), Ian Thomas (7), Magnus Perssom (12)Strings:Stockholm Session Orchestra (4)Percussion:Frank Ricotti (1,7)Mellotron:Steve Mac (7)Choir:The Tuff Session Singers (1)
*Numbers in brackets represents the track number on the album.
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2007)Peak positionEuropean Albums Chart6Japanese Albums (Oricon)50Scottish Albums (OCC)1Taiwanese Albums (Five Music) Click Western Music and scroll to 2007, Week 46.1
Year-end charts Chart (2007)Position Irish Albums (IRMA)3 UK Albums (OCC)5
Certifications and sales
Release history Country / Region Date Format Label CatalogueSouth Africa26 October 2007 CD, digital downloadRCA, Syco Music, Sony MusicIreland2 November 2007Netherlandsbol.com | Back Home, Westlife|MuziekSwitzerlandWestlife – Back Home – Sony Music Entertainment Switzerland GmbH 88697176702China回家 Back Home—SONY MUSIC CHINA5 November 2007Hong KongWestlife / Back Home – Hmv Hong Kong88697176702South Korea[인터넷 교보문고] Back HomeK United KingdomBack Home: Westlife: Amazon.co.uk: MusicThailandWestlife Back Home 6 November 2007Europe7 November 2007SME-8869717-6702FinlandNorwayBack Home – Westlife – Musikk – CDON.COMSwedenWestlife back home 2007 musik – Ginza.se AustriaWestlife – Back Home – Sony Music Entertainment Austria GmbH 9 November 200788697176702GermanyWestlife – Back Home – Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbHFranceBack Home: Westlife: Amazon.fr: Musique21 November 2007 JapanBack Home(CD Extra)【CD】-Westlife｜Popular Rock｜Rock & Pop｜Music｜HMV ONLINE Online Shopping & Information SiteBVCP21573ArgentinaSony Music – WESTLIFE22 January 2008 7176702PolandBack Home – Westlife – Płyty – Muzyka w Onet.pl 11 February 2008
References