The Best of Westlife

With their DVD marking 10 years of countless hits and their break almost halfway through, I'll be listing down the most iconic Westlife songs during the past ten years, in no particular order. There are a lot of Westlife songs that I adore, but aren't on this list, because they weren't really as instrumental in shaping their career as much as these songs have been.

There will be maybe one or two(two in the case of the Westlife era) iconic songs from each era, so read away!

• Everybody Knows was the first of three songs(Forever and A Good Thing were the other two) that they recorded prior to their infamous audition in front of Simon Cowell that lead to him signing them. Amazing song, amazing melody, amazing harmonies and amazing vocals. No wonder Simon signed them 30 seconds into the song!
• Swear It Again is still to this day, an amazing song and a brilliant debut single choice. Suggested by Simon and solidified by his father, Swear It Again debuted at number one in Ireland and the UK, making them the only boyband to debut at number one. The song itself showed what Westlife is about, amazing songs, simple melodies, outstanding vocals and monumental key changes. Swear It Again made the formula for every other Westlife song, and it did it well.
• Flying Without Wings has become Westlife's most iconic song, and it sure deserves to be called that. Prior to this, people thought Westlife were just another boyband who happened to have two number one singles but when this song came out, they took it all back. Flying Without Wings(Or FWW as fans call it..) was extremely mature for them at the time, they were only 18/19/20 year-olds at the time, and solidified their success. And it the perfect example of the Westlife formula.
• My Love was Westlife's seventh consecutive number one single, and it was a smash. The whole Coast To Coast(or C2C as we call it..) era brought Westlife to new territories, most prominently Asia. I remember hearing the singles from the C2C era a lot here, only I didn't know they were Westlife(I was what, 6 at the time?) until years later. They literally just exploded. Their debut album told people that they had arrived, but C2C just planted them firmly into the industry, and My Love led the way.
• When You're Looking Like That is one of the more uptempo songs, and it's always been a favorite during concerts, mainly because it's got the rock edge and it's relatively easy to make dance routines for it(watch: the opening of their GH Tour). Plus the fact that Kian said the song has some 'mean' electric guitar on it(read: the end of Chapter 23 of their autobiography)
• World Of Our Own(Or WOOO, for both the album and the song..) sustained the success C2C had, and they attempted to break the US market for the second time with this song. It's certainly edgier than their other songs, but you can really hear Westlife's identity in the song. They tried to write their own songs with this album, but as Bop Bop Baby proved, they didn't go down too well with the British public. Back to the song, WOOO has become the staple Westlife uptempo song(Watch: Dancing On Ice performance, and maybe every tour since the song was released..). When they need to perform an uptempo song, this is the one to sing. 
• Unbreakable was the very first Westlife song I downloaded, and once again, it's a song created with the unmistakeable Westlife formula. Another ballad, but isn't that what Westlife do? They make amazing ballads, ballads that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, and they do it extremely well. A perfect ballad for their Greatest Hits album.
• No, I'm not going to write about Mandy because I hate the song. On the Turnaround album, there's a track called Turnaround(duh.), and I personally think it should've been the lead single. It really had the possibility to be the next WOOO, with the edgy instrumentals and the fact that it's not a ballad! It's iconic in the sense that it would've been iconic, had it been released as a single.
• Then, Brian left. Allow Us To Be Frank(AUTBF) was released in 2004, but there's no really iconic song from that era, so I won't write much about it. The first of two themed albums, AUTBF is to this day, their lowest charting album.
• After AUTBF, Westlife went back to their roots, releasing You Raise Me Up, but that's not the iconic song from the Face To Face era, it's Amazing. Amazing is probably one of the most underrated Westlife songs ever. It's a brilliant pop song that reminds me of the days when Westlife weren't doing that many covers. Amazing was the song that made me buy my first Westlife album, and Amazing was the reason I became this big a fan. I don't see why the British didn't like the song, because it's downright brilliant!
• The Love Album came a year later, and it was another smash. The Rose was a beautiful version, but the iconic song of the TLA era is All Or Nothing. All Or Nothing was originally intended for Westlife to record, but Simon Cowell hated it, so it was given to O-Town and it became a hit. Years later, here they are, recording the song Simon rejected. Oh well, it's a gorgeous song, and a beautiful version.
• My personal favorite from Back Home is When I'm With You, but the iconic song from this era has got to be Catch My Breath. The song marks a new sound for Westlife, an updated sound with the same Westlife formula we all know and love. I seriously think this should've been the third single(fourth if you count Something Right) from Back Home, it would've left people wanting more from Westlife, and left all of us waiting for more next year.

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot this important song!

• During Westlife's first attempt at breaking the US market, they recorded a song specially for their US re-release called My Private Movie. Lyrically and melody-wise it was more for the US market, it sounded a lot like a typical Nsync song. It would've been huge, had they released this as a single, but as they said in their autobiography, if they had cracked the US, they wouldn't have lasted this long and had this much success, because the success would all go to their heads.

New Music!

What's been going on these past few days? Quite a lot, actually.

• The new Christina Aguilera album is out, but the only track I'm really addicted to is Keeps Gettin' Better. Oh well.
• The new Hilary Duff album is out as well, and I'm seriously loving Holiday! It's the perfect combination of her old, teen pop sound and her new dance sound(ala-Dignity). Brilliant! Plus, the melody's just amazing, so that's an even bigger plus!
• The new Beyonce album is also out, and it includes a track called Halo. Simon Cowell wanted it for Leona Lewis, but she was too busy to record it. The song sounds very generic, any R&B artist can sing it, but I can't imagine Leona singing it. There are some parts in Beyonce's vocal that I hear hints of JoJo in it, and the song would really, really fit JoJo's voice. Maybe she can record something that sounds like Halo for her new album?
• It's Mariah week on The X Factor. I wonder how Daniel will murder another song for the fifth week in a row and not get eliminated. I'm excited to see what JLS and Rachel did, but Diana couldn't perform! I hope she gets well soon, but she did get in to next weeks show, which is good! Eep!
• WHEN will I ever get to hear the new Same Difference single in full? It's driving me nuts!
• Archuleta's album is out as well. I don't like it, but I don't hate it. Sounds like a pathetic excuse for an album. Seriously? Right now I'm confused as to who Archuleta really is as a singer. I loved him during the early stages of AI, so why didn't I hear anything like that on his album? I wonder how Cook's album turns out.
• Well, Taylor Swift's new album is out this week! I'll be continuing The Countdown to Fearless sometime today or tomorrow. I've got homework! Gar.
• There's a new Deluxe Edition of Alicia Keys' album, but I haven't had the chance to listen to the new tracks yet. Will do in the next few days..
• Strange. The Popjustice X Factor Playsheet hasn't been posted yet, and the show already aired. I wonder why.. 
• It's been out for ages already(I've seen it like a million times..), but the trailer for Westlife's new DVD(shot in front of 80 THOUSAND PEOPLE! Practically the pinnacle of their career) is amazing! Out on November 24! Eep!

• I've adored Bayje since I heard about her(can you believe I actually thought this was a JoJo song? That's what one of my favorite blogs said..), and I really, really adore this song! Have I mentioned that it's got a brilliant middle-8? Brilliant, sounds very Ne-yo - ish with a JoJo edge.

This week's top tracks!

1. The Loving Kind - Girls Aloud

2. Insomnia - Craig David

3. Release Me - Agnes Carlsson

4. Work - The Saturdays

5. Don't Miss You - Amy Pearson

6. Stay My Baby - Amy Diamond

7. You Make It Real - James Morrison

8. Halo - Beyonce

9. Forever - Chris Brown

10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Carrie Underwood

11. Holiday - Hilary Duff

12. So Hard, So Far - Clique Girlz

13. Side Chick - Sugababes

14. Ordinary Days - Leon Jackson

15. You Can - David Archuleta

Apologies for not posting since Wednesday, school just started and I had lots of stuff going on. But I'm back, and the weekly top ten is now the weekly top FIFTEEN! Yes! Bigger and better!

A lot of new entries this week from David Archuleta, Hilary Duff, Beyonce, James Morrison, Amy Pearson and Amy Diamond! Still, not that much movement within the top three, except that Agnes Carlsson rises to number three. Below though, a lot of songs have fallen to make way for the new entries! Quite a few exits as well. Recap the top fifteen for the rest of the week on the sidebar!

Flashback: Taylor Swift

Will post quite a lot today, so make the most out of it since school's starting tomorrow!

Part of the Countdown to Fearless!

So just how good is an album that produced four singles in the top five and one single in the top ten of the country charts and hit number one on the country albums before being certified 3x Platinum? In Taylor Swift's case, it's very, very good.

2006 was the year that Taylor Swift would being blowing us away. At sixteen, she released Tim McGraw and it hit the top ten on the country charts. The song was a hit, and it deserved to be, it was amazing. Then another single was released at it hit the top five.

Now, Taylor Swift's career-making song was her third single, Our Song. The single hit number one on the country charts, making her the youngest sole-writer of a number one single. This was the song that made me stop and notice her, the country elements mixed with the uptempo pop elements produced an amazing melody for an amazing song. Suddenly, Taylor Swift became the next big thing. She finished off her album with a bang, the last single hit number one.

This album just proves to people her age in the industry that you CAN make an amazing debut album. She wrote a lot of stuff on the album, and she did it well. It just goes to show that the consumers aren't stupid, they know a good song when they hear one, and they react even better if the artist wrote the song(s) themselves.

Let's see, how many number one singles did Vanessa Hudgens' debut album produce? None, not even a top 20 single(Come Back To Me peaked at 55). How many number one singles did Miley's debut album turn out? None, See You Again peaked at number ten. How many number one singles did Ashley's debut produce? None, she did worse than Vanessa, He Said, She Said peaked at number 58.

Taylor Swift's debut produced two number one singles, and there's more! She was the SOLE writer of the two number ones. Vanessa, Ashley and Miley don't write their singles without outside writers, because they can't.

This is another important thing that every debut album should have, at least one song that the artist him/herself wrote without the help of professionals. I think it's important that consumers like us know exactly who we're listening to. It's sort of related to the identity issue, but it deserves more attention.

An artist not writing his/her own songs becomes replaceable. The best example of that are the Sugababes. They co-write a lot of stuff, but there's no one who really writes all the songs so when someone leaves, she's replaced. I guess pop is like that, but Taylor Swift just proves otherwise.

Which is why I'm eagerly anticipating Fearless! Enjoy the countdown to the album release every day until November 11!

New Music!

School for me's starting tomorrow, so let's recap on stuff that's come out since the last post!

• A new Taylor Swift song just came out, and it's confirmed my thoughts, Taylor Swift is going to wow us with her second album. If we all thought her first album was amazing, this one's looking to be mind-blowing!
• Why has almost everyone in the blogging world heard the new Same Difference single in full? WHY? I'll wait, but beware, I'm not that patient!
• New Hannah Montana songs have been circulating, and I absolutely loathe them. She's trying to do something she can't, mix country with Britney-like pop. I know that kind of pop is popular now, but look at Taylor Swift! Hannah/Miley has forgotten how she became popular in the first place, nice, catchy, distinctly Disney songs. Oh, well. Let's hope there's at least one good song on the soundtrack.
• Sara Bareilles has a new live album. I'm loving it! Obviously, I adore the songs! Some new songs were included, and I'm once again loving them!
• Not directly related to music, but Kian Egan from Westlife, Anthony Costa from Blue, Kenzie from Blazin' Squad, some guy from East 17, Jenny Frost from Atomic Kitten, Mutya Buena from the Sugababes, A girl from All Saints and someone from this 80's girl band were all on Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong. I love the part when Ant and Coleen mimed Flying Without Wings in mid-air! Plus the fact that Kian was there(eep!).
• A new Corbin Bleu song's out. It's an OK song, but it's slowly growing on me.
• I'm loving Amy Diamond's Music In Motion. Seriously! I might review it later in the week if I have the time..
• Natalie Bassingthwaighte's new single, Alive is amazing! I wonder if her album will be any good..
  
• Not so hot about this week's episode of Britannia High, but it might get better later in the series. No particular songs that I'm loving, and the dance routine in the canteen was all too predictable. But Nicola and Kimberly(GA!)'s visit was nice. But Danny(is it Danny?) screwed the whole thing up. Gar.
• Mariah Carey has a new song, but I haven't heard it yet. Downloading at the moment, so it'll take a few minutes. Will edit the post when I've listened to it already. EDIT: I don't like the song. It's a ballad, but the melody just doesn't cut it for me. Plus it reminds me a bit of When You Believe or some Spanish-like song(Westlife's I Cry? something like that..)
• The video for David Cook's Light On is out. It's a generic video, with clips of the story and Cook singing, nothing special. The song is OK, but I expected more from Cook. I adored him on AI so what happened to that guy? Right. He got controlled by a bunch of record company executives who know nothing about music!

• Darin has a new single out, and the video premiered sometime last week. The song is nice, I haven't listened to it enough to say it's amazing, but I like it.

What to expect this week:

• MAYBE a review of Amy Diamond's Music In Motion
• My very own countdown to Taylor Swift's Fearless, out next week!
• MAYBE a review of Sara Bareilles' new live album, Between The Lines: Live At The Fillmore
• Something to get us all into a Christmassy mood, maybe?

Stay My Baby

Call me ignorant or just plain stupid but I just found out a few minutes ago that Stay My Baby from the iCarly soundtrack is a cover of an Amy Diamond song(another one of my favorite blogs featured an Amy Diamond song so I got curious..).

It's good to know that the Sugababes weren't the only ones whose song was murdered. I mean, the version isn't that bad, but seriously, if Miranda Cosgrove records a song by European artists who have never gotten a shot at the US and then the songs get really popular, it's like she's stealing the fame that's rightfully theirs, mainly because the song she used was someone else's.

OK, that might not happen, but I like Amy's version better. There's something about the original version of a song that makes me go wow. Plus, I like the way she delivers her vocals, and the fact that she doesn't look or sound old like Miranda, and so the juvenile lyrics suit Amy more. The song is a perfectly crafted pop song. It's got a somewhat catchy chorus, some OK verses, and a very standard pop video.

I'm slowly adoring this song, and getting a hold of the album as we speak! Below are the videos to both versions, Amy's first then Miranda's. I personally adore Amy's version more! haha. enjoy!

the RATING(for the song as a song, not the versions..): 4.6

X Factor 5 Live Shows - Week 4

Here we go again! Let's get this recap rolling..

The Boys: Well, Simon and Louis are now equal, with one act each remaining. The only difference is that Eoghan sucks and JLS rock! Haha. I still think that Simon's patterning Eoghan after David A., and the similarities are obvious. Still, he could've done something different with the song choices. Austin's performance was so-so, and the song was really difficult but someone had to go(haha.)

The Girls: Diana was once again amazing. I mean, the way she handled the vocals on that song amazingly but I've got to agree with Simon, the routine was a bit cheesy, but isn't disco cheesy? Alexandra's vocals were consistent, and the song choice was OK, once again, enough to let her through to next week. Laura was brilliant tonight, and the song choice was good as well. Which is why all three girls still deserve to stay for another week!

The Group: JLS were amazing for yet another week! A bit rough at the start but they did what they had to do. They showed that they could definitely sing a song, and do it well minus all the choreography and stage design.

The Over 25's: WHY DID DANIEL JUST SAIL THROUGH TO NEXT WEEK? His vocals were too lounge singer-y, his song choice was just bad and he just sucked this week. Let me get this straight, Daniel is not very versatile, he can't successfully pull off a disco song or something a bit more on the fast side, and that just can't cut it in music. Rachel wasn't as good as last week, and everybody noticed it but I don't think she should've been in the bottom two, it should've been Daniel(again!). Ruth was OK this week, and the song really fit her voice.

The results show performance: Will Young's Grace. Good performance, but I still can't forgive him for murdering Westlife's Evergreen!

The sum-up in one sentence: JLS definitely stood out this week, but disco week is finally done and over with so we can go back and concentrate on the less cheesy elements of the music industry.

What I want to happen next week: Once again, I want Daniel to suck, so he can finally go, and my favorites to keep being amazing!