Westlife are an Irish pop group formed on 3 July 1998. The group's original lineup comprised Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden (departed from the band in 2004). The group is the only act in British or Irish history to have their first seven singles go straight to Number 1, and they have gone on to sell over 44 million records worldwide which includes their studio, single, video, and compilation albums. Despite the group's worldwide success, they've only had one U.S. hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts: "Swear It Again", which made it to 20 in 2000.
Westlife were originally signed by Simon Cowell and are currently managed by Louis Walsh. They garnered 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history, tying with Cliff Richard and trailing behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The group has also broken a few top records, including "Music artist with most consecutive number 1's in the UK". It was officially announced by the Official Charts Company that they are the "2nd biggest selling artist" (trailing behind Robbie Williams) and "Biggest selling band of the decade" (beating Coldplay) in UK with 11 million album sales.
On 1 June 2008, Westlife marked their 10th anniversary with a concert in Croke Park, Dublin which had more than 83,000 fans attending the special occasion. Music Week revealed on their website that Westlife is the official third top touring act within the years 2005–2008, while they were 7th top touring act of 2008.Also in 2008, they were declared as Ireland's ninth-richest celebrities under 30 years old and 13th in general with 36 million euros as a group. In 2009, they dropped as 16th richest Irish with estimated 8 million euros each. They are named as the fourth most hard-working music artist in UK by PRS in 2010.
History
Formation (1998–1999)
Prior to becoming successful, Egan, Feehily and Filan along with fellow Sligo men Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael Garrett, were part of a six-member pop vocal group called Six as One and was later changed to IOYOU. Managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh along with two other informal managers, they released a single titled "Together Girl Forever". Walsh, the manager of the 1990s boy-band Boyzone, was contacted by Filan's mother and came to know about the group. However, IOYOU did not meet Cowell's approval for a record deal with BMG, and thus changes were needed. 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.Three members of IOYOU were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Byrne and McFadden were recruited. The new group, formed on 3 July 1998, was re-named Westside but as the name was already taken by another band, it was later changed to Westlife. In Westlife - Our Story, Byrne revealed he was keen to change the name to West High but the others wanted Westlife. Brian also changed the spelling of his name to Bryan to make it easier to sign autographs. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the group with Walsh. The band then released an EP titled Swear It AgainDreams Come True - World Of Our Own (1999–2002)
Westlife's first big break came in 1998 when they opened for the Boyzone and Backstreet Boys' concerts in Dublin. Later Act' award at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. In March 1999, the group released their first single, "Swear It Again".which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in UK for two weeks. Their second single, "If I Let You Go", released in August 1999 .Sumber: Wikipedia
