Gravity (Westlife album)
Encyclopedia
Gravity is the tenth and final studio album by the Irish
pop band Westlife
. It was released on 22 November 2010 in the United Kingdom
. John Shanks
produced each song, barring the bonus track on the Japanese edition. The album was preceded by the lead single
, "Safe
", which was released at 14 November 2010. This is also the group's final album under Syco Music; Syco decided that there will be no second single from the album, which was one reason the group left Syco in March 2011. As of November 2011, the album had sold 358,943 in the UK.
that the group will be teaming up with Shanks. A Westlife insider said: "It's a major coup for Westlife to get this producer - he's produced all the big acts from Bon Jovi
to the Backstreet Boys
and Take That
. "They wanted him for their last album but weren't able to get him. They're thrilled that he's agreed to work with them on this album." It also stated that the recording process started in July 2010. The band also confirmed the album's recording and mixing was finished in October 2010. They recorded the songs in Los Angeles
, California
, Dublin, Ireland, and London, England
. On 17 September 2010, Egan flashed that the first single for the album was already picked by Cowell and a 30-second snippet was played on X Factor
UK. Afterwards, Feehily initiated the #westlife11album and #westlifeSAFE as a trending topic on Twitter
which was followed by others worldwide to be a top trending topic.
On 30 September 2010, they officially revealed the date of release for the album which was 15 November 2010. In addition, Egan fully expressed what he felt on during recording Gravity: “It’s hard to believe this is our 11th album but performing is our passion and it would seem like throwing it all away if we stopped."“Both us and Take That go for epic pop songs but them taking Robbie back hasn’t made us think about Brian McFadden
returning. It would feel odd to have a fifth person back on stage with us.” In addition Westlife told Digital Spy
: "We'd wanted to work with him for a long time, but all his loyalty was to Take That and he didn't want to work with another boyband," "We'd been asking him and asking, but literally within moments of Take That deciding to go and work with Stuart Price
, he said yes to us straight away. Afterwards he said he'd wanted to work with us for a long time, but he just couldn't do the Take That thing and the Westlife thing because they were too close." "John created a sound for us in the same way he created a sound for Take That, a sound for Bon Jovi and a sound for all the other incredible artists he's worked with," "He created a sound for Westlife that we haven't had before - it's not a massive departure, but it's definitely a step up in terms of production." Filan also revealed that the group is currently in the process of selecting 12 or 13 songs for the album's final tracklisting from a pool of 16, with all but "one or two" likely to be originals. In 22 October 2010, Shanks stated that they have finished the Westlife record, all approved by Cowell. Shanks stated that the album ended up with two covers in it. In 27 October 2010, the album main release date was changed to 22 November 2010. In 25 October 2010, Feehily unveiled the final tracklisting on his official twitter page as follows: On 1 November 2010, Mark confirmed the two cover songs on the album are, "Chances" by Athlete
and "The Reason
" by Hoobastank
. In the November 2010 issue of Hello Magazine they told them about their competition with Take That and Walsh and Cowell's involvement in the album,
On 2 November 2010, the 30 second snippet of each songs from the album were posted on Amazon.co.uk. On 5 November 2010, In Demand FM played exclusively the full track of "Beautiful Tonight" with an interview of the band. On 7 November 2010, they performed "I Will Reach You" on BBC Radio 2. On 14 November 2010, RTÉ 2fm exclusively played "I Will Reach You", "The Reason", and "I Get Weak" from the album for the first time worldwide.
In an interview with AOL
Music UK, Westlife described the creative process of the album as "breath of fresh air". "It's a new beginning for Westlife" is how singer Shane Filan described working with legendary pop producer John Shanks. On the band's site, they put up a new biography that talked about Gravity saying:
described some of the tracks, "Closer" as epic sounding, country-rock track "I Will Reach You", uplifting/future live hit "No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight" and the emotional "Too Hard To Say Goodbye". They also posted that the album have Savan Kotecha
, John Reid
, and Wayne Hector
in it. Glasswerk National revealed, "When you’ve comfortably shifted 44 million albums during a 12-year career that has seen you top the charts on 14 separate occasions, you could retreat into your comfort zone. Yet veterans Westlife have done the opposite on their eleventh collection. They knew they could do better than before, and with Gravity the quartet of Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan have come up with their strongest album ever. Gravity has a renewed sense of heart, soul, vigour and pride. The 12 tracks are crammed with a confidence and poise never before heard from the lads. And John Shanks, who has crafted hits for Bon Jovi, Take That and Alanis Morissette
, is the man responsible more than anyone else for this welcome turnaround in approach. His influence is inescapable over Gravity’s duration. He manned the mixing desk during the sessions and co-wrote every single track - four with the band themselves. And from the outset it’s clear this is an outfit with a renewed sense of purpose. ‘Safe’, the first single from the album showcases the awesome emotional weight of an outfit at the height of their powers. Opener Beautiful Tonight sweeps and explodes into life with electronic pulses adding to its sense of euphoria. Chances, a tender meditation on missed opportunity, echoes the grace and drama of Aerosmith
’s I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing. I Get Weak is a dark, graphic descent into despair and Too Hard To Say Goodbye a heart-tugging dissection of grief. The peerless pop craftsmanship of I Will Reach You sees the band reach epic new heights; a showcase of their best material to date. Westlife have quietly made the most triumphant album of their lives." In Philippine Star, Shane talked about the difference of Gravity from the past albums and the maturity of the album:
, the man behind their Comic Relief
's 2001 single "Uptown Girl
", suggested to Cowell the album song "Chances" for Westlife to cover. They said: "It’s ended up on Gravity. Richard said he would like to use it in one of his films, so hopefully he’ll make Notting Hill
2 and that will be the theme tune. When someone like Richard suggests a song, we all listen. If you compare the original to ours, the difference is dramatic. Athlete’s version is very cool and lo-fi whereas ours is big, cinematic and very pop.
and Feehily as the creative director. They decided to go for a chic black and white design and in the pics, the band are all dressed down in jeans and t-shirts. "Mark, Kian, Nicky and Shane stand separately in a line facing the camera on the Gravity front cover, with Shane leaning cheekily on Nicky's shoulder,"
On 13 October 2010, they announced the official album title Gravity and trended worldwide on Twitter as #westlifegravity after the announcement. Band member Mark Feehily
adopted the album title suggested by a fan and confirmed it on his Twitter account first. Redcorvette09 or Fiona Reynoldson, the chosen fan explains
Next up is current single Safe and hopefully a momentarily relapse of the band as we are treated to a ballad (a nice one nevertheless), which to be fair with its piano and soft sound is perfect for this cold season but still it’s a ballad! Anyone familiar with Westlife’s music will know that most of their tracks start of slow to then peak into the most grandiose manner and this is certainly true for I Will Reach You, which sounds suspiciously familiar (think What About Now) and follows the bands classic style. The Reason is another great track on the album and you know this one. Hoobastank’s only hit (this side of the pond anyway) sounds just as epic but if you were expecting Westilfe to be adventurous and change the track in the slightest you are in for sour disappointment. Fortunately for our Irishmen we loved the original. Didn’t we mention a few songs earlier how we liked when Westlife did the pop stuff too? Well fear not cuz it might take a few ballads to get there (8) but then you’ll reach No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight! The track isn’t what we would call Westlife’s best pop anthem but it definitely lifts the mood of the album. Highlights on the album include the really catchy Closer. The track follows Westlife’s trademark sound, quiet then massive amounts of beautiful harmonies meet your ears and for a moment you become a silly romantic again. Another favourite is I Get Weak an overly romantic and dramatic track that just doesn’t seem to get old as we put it on repeat every time. Filan’s angelic voice never ceases to capture our attention and then Mark Feehily proceeds to do the same and before you know it I Get Weak has sucked you into its world of unison harmonies and yeah better get those tissue papers ready. Westlife’s new album Gravity is a far cry from last year’s Where We Are but still these guys know what they are doing and it will be a long time before we don’t remember who Westlife are. There are definitely some outstanding tracks on this album but also a lack of variety.
Hannah Spencer from Contactmusic.com expressed, Gravity kicks off with an up-tempo pound of a pop song in 'Beautiful Tonight', complete with its catchy chorus and strong, foot-tapping beat; you can always rely on Westlife for a hefty smattering of cheesy, romantic lyrics and this album proves no exception right from the start. By the time track two rolls up, we're straight back to trademark Westlife ground with the first of Gravity 's many down-tempo piano-led pop ballads beckoning, like many that have preceded it, many a lighter/phone light waving moment. Complete with the customary slushy string arrangement, the albums' lead single, 'Safe', is a prime example of the big-budget easy listening blend that Westlife have perfected over the years; the following contents of Gravity never falter from their well-established high standard which may not be everyone's bag, but is undoubtedly well-perfected. The introduction to track three sounds great familiarity; it's clear when the vocals enter that 'Chances' is in fact Westlife's cover of the Athlete track. It has to be admitted, Westlife do the song great justice, opening with the familiar solo piano chords flanked by gorgeous solo cello, and later kicking into the chorus with a big string arrangement. The track lends itself well to become a strong pop ballad true to the Westlife blend which always seems to start sparsely before building into powerful arena-filling songs. 'I Will Reach You' is another catchy, string drenched sing-along number that follows in the same vein like much of the content of Gravity; cliché yet comforting and crowd-pleasing love songs. Track six's introduction offers the same familiarity felt with the earlier Athlete cover; this time it's Hoobastank's 'The Reason'. Maybe a less well-known track to cover, the mix keeps the rock edge of the original which is perhaps a little unusual for the ultimate clean, mother-pleasing quartet, Westlife. Gravity continues with the same mature, down-tempo pop ballads from the haunting vocal of 'I Get Weak' through 'Before It's Too Late', another piano-led ballad over a smooth and gentle bed of strings which expressively builds into a powerful arena-filling sing-along, to the albums' beautiful conclusion, 'Too Hard To Say Goodbye'. Along the way, 'No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight' and intercepts as a more up-tempo pop song and similarly, the laid back funky feel of the opening of 'Difference In Me' contrasts many an easy listening ballad. Complete with two complimentary cover versions amongst a host of blatant trademark Westlife numbers, Gravity doesn't offer anything groundbreaking, nor does it offer anything to take Westlife to another level; it's just a good, strong consistent if safe effort to maintain their high standard.
Daily Star added: Now the lads are all in their 30s it makes sense that they move on from their wildly successful template of syrupy ballads and covers to something tougher and moodier. And they pull it off with aplomb. All tracks were produced by John Shanks, a fella who’s worked extensively with the likes of Bon Jovi. You can hear it in the vocal arrangements which are less formulaic and key change-y than previous offerings – and there’s a rawness to the guys’ voices. Some of the tracks sound like the kind of rocky power ballads Brian Adams would have sung in his hey day. But it’s no nostalgia fest, X and X nod to the synthy R&B sound which is so popular right now. But as always it’s on the big booming ballads that the lads are at their peak. Before It’s Too Late and I Will Reach You, written by Mark, are spine-tingling.
While on OK! Magazine, "With everyone talking about Take That’s reunion and reinvention as an electro pop band, you may have missed the fact that Westlife have undergone a bit of a sonic makeover themselves. Gravity is their most varied and daring album yet, mixing classic pop and rock with subtle electro wizardry. Recent single Safe is their most soaring song in ages, while Chances is a widescreen epic that could melt the hardest of hearts. Closer and Tell Me It’s Love are pretty immense, too. Impressive."
Allmusic.com stated: "But despite claims that Gravity, incredibly their tenth studio album, is the best and most varied of their career, its 12 tracks produced by John Shanks (Bon Jovi) aren't exactly a huge departure from their late-noughties output. Indeed, the likes of lead single "Safe" and "Closer" are the kind of epic Take That-esque pop/rock ballads that they've attempted on their last two releases. And while the first half of their career saw them rely heavily on covers of distinctly easy listening favorites Barry Manilow
, Bette Midler
, and Brian Kennedy
, Gravity continues their more recent tradition of reworking U.S. soft rock anthems, with Hoobastank's "The Reason" given the same MOR polish as previous renditions of tracks by Lonestar
and Daughtry. Apart from the minor flashes of electro on opener "Beautiful Tonight" and "No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight," the rest of the album is filled with the same kind of clichéd "stand up for the key change" ballads they are notoriously famous for. The only surprise appears with a faithful cover version of "Chances," the string-led epic from Brit-pop also-rans Athlete, a rather offbeat inclusion considering their predictable and unadventurous history. However, Westlife aren't exactly well known for their original streak, so hardcore fans are unlikely to be disappointed with its safe and familiar sound. But with far more exciting and inventive material from their contemporaries, it could struggle to match the success of their other multi-platinum releases."
BBC
continued: Predictably, Gravity’s 12 tracks prove not timeless, but as outside of the realms of ambition, place and time as the 10 albums that have come before. Gravity is the musical equivalent of greetings-card copy, and sees the four-piece attempting to break into a sentimental sweat... with a rockier edge. Or at least that’s how they’d like this album to be billed. The reality is a host of songs as predictable as Westlife have ever been, with the standard quota of covers (two), the standard quota of upbeat numbers (two) and the standard quota of ‘wholesome’ (throughout). They meet their own standard, sure – but Westlife are becoming their own boilerplate so much so that the style guide has gone over word-limit. Lyrically, Gravity is full of the regular wist – “so if I’m dreaming / don’t wake me up I’m so alive,” sings Shane Filan on Beautiful Tonight. But even if there is some emotion or situation-specific context to the songs on Gravity, they’re lost in that same waterbed of cliché. The songs on Gravity aren’t as de facto soppy as their previous albums, perhaps because of John Shanks (Alanis Morissette, Carlos Santana
, Bon Jovi) coming on board as producer – but this isn’t a move in any direction at all, more just a marketing strategy. There’s a cover of Hoobastank’s The Reason, and another of Athlete’s Chances, and that seems enough to set Westlife’s intentions in stone. To suggest there’s any passion for rock is as ingenious as the story that the album’s one-word title came from a suggestion on Twitter, as has been played out. For music made to sound so easy on the ear, Mark Feehily’s vocals often sound shrill; but such is the temporary nature of these songs that a trace of character outside of the middle-ground just slips by. Westlife aim for the real-instruments respect and songwriting nous of Gary Barlow, but fall flat on an overuse of words desperately trying to be genuine – it’s all about empathy, and familiar imagery alongside the cliché. There’s not an arrangement here without lilting piano suspensions, lush strings, a windswept chorus and a defiant key change – and it’s questionable what this album has to offer to anyone other than a completist.
While Financial Times
said: The same cannot be said of Take That’s old Irish rivals Westlife. Instead of Progress
’s bold modern approach, Gravity sticks with the trusty formula of big key changes and big positive choruses. It’s not a formula to discount lightly, as 44m album sales prove, but the procession of identikit ballads proves woefully one-paced and risk-averse. Expect Take That to win this chart battle.
Magic UK said: "The phrase 'if it ain't broke' was never more apt here. The guys are on familiar territory, and I mean that in a positive way - there really isn't a duff song on the whole album, and if you've loved what Westlife have released on the previous ten long-players then you're going to lap this one up! The big ballads are here, of course, they saved my favourite of the lot until last - 'Too Hard To Say Goodbye' features a haunting celtic flute which for me makes this the stand-out track. The albums two faster songs are the bright opener 'Beautiful Tonight' and 'No One's Gonna Sleep' which sounds a bit like a future Eurovision entry for the Emerald Isle. Elsewhere the single 'Safe' is one of their better releases of recent times, classic Westlife. 'I Get Weak' is another big ballad with all the Westlife hallmarks, whilst the mid-tempo 'Closer' has some really wonderful harmonies. Listen out also for the big chorus on 'Chances', which reminds me in places of 'All By Myself', the old Eric Carmen
hit. All in all a fine album which should ensure that Westlife continue to sell just as well into the next decade."
Entertainment.ie said: "Of course, Gravity is still riddled with the boys' signature ballads, produced to within an inch of their lives as always, but by upping the pace on just a couple of songs, driving the likes of opener 'Beautiful Tonight' and 'No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight' with easy-going dance pop beats, the whole tone seems to have lifted. These few upbeat moments are still the minority though, and the remaining slow numbers are predictably slathered in mountains of cheese that even the sweet stripped back piano and sweeping strings of 'Chances' can't manage to break through. An unlikely cover of Hoobastank's 'The Reason' has translated easily to its new pop format, its contrived lyrics and mushy sentimentality perhaps a little more at home in a genre that thrives on clichés. And Westlife have kept the very worst for last, as the Celtic flute on 'Too Hard To Say Goodbye' appears to have been included purely for the American contingent that believes all Irish live at the bottom of a rainbow on top of a big pot of gold. So then, 'Gravity' is still a fair way off being a halfway decent record, but as Westlife go, it could have been a lot worse."
NZ Herald continued: "The fact that the most powerful song on this 11th Westlife album is a cover of Hoobastank's pop/rock hit Reason is a good indicator of what the rest of the album holds. Clearly, after selling 44 million records the Irish boy band feels it has little to prove, and their most devout collectors might be pleased with the predictability of this release. But others will find one windswept love song rolls into another forming a puddle of melodically sound but not-the-slightest-bit-inspiring soup."
Cairo 360 explained: Since their first appearance in 1998, Irish pop band Westlife have had a very successful career in the pop industry. They made their name as more than another five-person boy band with chart topping hits that were mostly modernised covers of pop and jazz icons. Following their album-a-year tradition, Gravity is the latest album by the Irish group, which is now down to four members. Although it begs to differ, the tenth album features their formula of familiar upbeat pop tunes with a hint of rock that doesn’t come out so clear. The twelve-track album contains only two covers: ‘Chances’ by Athlete and ‘The Reason’ by Hoobastank, which is exactly identically in arrangement to the original yet sounds flat and too high-pitched. On a more positive note, the pre-released single ‘Safe’ really stands out as probably the best song on the album, featuring deep lyrics and a catchy melody. ‘Beautiful Tonight’ takes it away with a more festive mood and easygoing dance beats, while ‘Too Hard To Say Goodbye’ delves into the gloomier side of suffering a loss. Many of the songs in the album follow the sing-along, acoustic melody pattern. ‘I Will Reach You’ is appealing and crowd-pleasing, but the clichéd lyrics can’t be ignored. Most of the songs in Gravity will appeal to Westlife fans. Their vocals are still neat and capturing, and they present their new pop ballad album in exactly the same formula that they’ve been following for years; they have what is needed to make it as a pop band, and it obviously seems to be working for them. However, their songs are predictable, with standardised tempo speeds and upbeat versions of pop originals with the same piano intro and orchestral backgrounds. This formula has kept them successful for eleven years; but Gravity could very well be their 100th album and still feel the same. They highlighted Safe, I Get Weak, and The Reason. Easy Mix NZ said: They started as a boy band in the 90s, but Westlife are all grown up now, and they’ve got the stubble to prove it. After forty four million albums sold over thirteen years – the last six as a four piece after Brian McFadden moved to Australia to be with Delta Goodrem, they return to our ears with their eleventh studio album: Gravity. It begins with a well crafted pop song called Beautiful Tonight, followed by the first single Safe. At the time of writing this review, the tragedy of the Pike River Mine was still fresh in my mind, so songs like I Will Reach You and the following Closer, with lyrics like “Sometimes it can be harder to remember than just let go, always seems to be something to remind me of what I miss the most, ‘cause you are the one thing I believe in when it all falls down” really strike a chord, without even trying. They’ve covered a pop/rock hit from 2003, originally by Hoobastank called The Reason. It’s interesting to hear them do a rock track, but it’s so strong vocally that it suits them. I wonder if it was executive producer (on the album) Simon Cowell’s idea. That’s the one thing about Westlife on Gravity: the vocals. The harmonies are excellent, but unless you’re a die hard fan it’s hard to tell which one is singing at any given time, so they all blend into the one sound, which I guess is the idea of a boy band. The songs are a step up technically in the fullness of sound, but the bubble gum pop on No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight doesn’t sit well with the rest of the album; they should’ve left that one to the Wiggles. The Irish lilt on the final track, Too Hard To Say Goodbye, is a nice reminder of where they’re from. Without that they could be mistake for Boyzone or Take That. Westlife fans will really enjoy this.
UrbanWire said: It’s hard to believe that Irish boyband Westlife has been around for a dozen years now, with almost as many, 11, records to their name. And unlike fellow ‘90s boybands-Take That, New Kids on the Block – who disappeared for years before making recent comebacks, Westlife (albeit less high-profile than when they first started) has been consistently releasing albums almost every year. Known for their dreamy love ballads and penchant for covers, the quartet has stayed with the formula for their latest album Gravity consisting mostly of the former, with Westlife reinterpreting rock band Hoobastank’s 2004 hit “The Reason” and indie English outfit Athlete’s single “Chances”. But the band shows you they can do better than simply dish out slow songs, by pulling off fast-tempo tracks like “Beautiful Tonight” and “No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight” with aplomb. Gravity is produced by the Grammy-award winning John Shanks who has collaborated with their boyband peers like Backstreet Boys and Take That. Although the band has emphasised in interviews that this is vastly different from their previous records, calling it “a new beginning for Westlife”. UrbanWire feels that this album sounds like something they could have released 5 years ago, or even earlier. This would be harsh criticism for most bands, but for Westlife, it’s not a bad thing at all. Seeing as how they have developed a loyal following by producing similar themed albums, a drastic change in music direction wouldn’t be worth the risk. Love it or hate it, the group’s sappy-sweet lyrics stay the same, with dependence on their other half showing through almost consistently in the album. Gravity’s only single “Safe” opens with cavity-inducing lyrics that go: “Hard to find a way to get through/It’s a tragedy/Pulling at me like the stars do /You’re like gravity.” The track “I Get Weak “ is just as guilty, going straight for a melodramatic effect with its opener: My love/My heart/Oh bruised and broken all alone / When we’re apart I die inside /Oh this room is like a battlefield of love tonight.” It was acceptable a decade ago, but now, some may find their lyrics too over-the-top in a world that progressively understands cheesy as being (gasp) un-modern. Is it a bad thing though? Well, this band has managed to survive 12 years doing just fine (44 million records sold worldwide). One thing about Westlife is that the band always manages to do justice to their covers, despite the flak that they’ve garnered for doing too many of them. This time, the band’s stirring rendition of “Chances” is definitely one of the highlights of the album. And while the quartet’s music direction is vastly different from Hoobastank’s, their ballad-like execution of “The Reason” is a refreshingly good listen. Lead singer Shane Filan, who’s a father of 3, had admitted in an interview that the band was actually uncertain of this album’s covers and that they had only stuck to it because of executive producer, longtime former American Idol judge Simon Cowell’s assurance that it would sell. Seeing as the album remained at the Number One spot for three consecutive weeks on the Irish music charts, it seems like the band’s still got it, and not just for their covers. No, Gravity isn’t anything ground-breaking, and they’re unlikely to gather a new fan base through this album. Cheesy lyrics, love ballads, and covers, done. Same tried-and-tested formula that they’ve been sticking to since Day One, check. But for their followers, that’s all that they need. This unabashed Westlife fan is satisfied.
" was the lead single from the album, released on 14 November in the UK. Their debut performance of the track was on the X Factor the day or release. It peaked at #10 in its first week consequently making it their lowest charting lead single to date in the UK, as well as their lowest sales for a lead single.
"Beautiful Tonight" was confirmed as the follow-up single on the third week of January through the Daily Star. The release date is yet to be announced. They stated, "You can imagine our next single Beautiful Tonight being played in a club. Yes, it’s that different to what we usually release. John Shanks wrote it and it’s up-tempo and will open a few eyes and ears. People who don’t usually like Westlife might like it and hopefully people who do like us won’t not like it. It’s young, fresh and exciting so we feel brilliant about it coming out. When they first hear it, some people might go: “Whoa, who is that?” and that’s why we wanted it as our first song on the album. It’d be cool to get a couple of good dance remixes off it but we won’t be coming up with a dance routine for it on tour, except for maybe a few clicks and putting one foot in front of the other. The song reminds us of the early days when we put out "World of Our Own
". The song was performed live on Irish national television show Paul O'Grady Show. After that, the track peaked at the top 40 of Irish Radio Airplay Chart.
It was later confirmed on 1 February 2011 that there will be no second single for Gravity. Byrne stated that it was out of the band's hands and it was a Syco's decision. On 14 March 2011, Westlife confirmed that they had left Syco Music with the group citing the decision not to release a second single as the reason. Despite cancelled single, "I Will Reach You" was released as a follow-up promotional radio single in April 2011 on some of the radio stations in Indonesia, Ireland and the Philippines where it charted and went to #1 on a radio station in the Philippines.
Beautiful Tonight
Safe
Chances
I Will Reach You
Closer
The Reason
Tell Me It's Love
I Get Weak
Before It's Too Late
No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight
Difference In Me
Too Hard To Say Goodbye
. Kian admitted: “I don’t think we’re going to win against JLS to be honest – they’re probably going to get the No.1. “But we’re not really bothered about chart positions. “We rate the success of an album on the overall sales.” Ironically JLS also lost the chart battle, with Take That
's second week sales of Progress
enough to keep them at number one on the UK Charts.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
pop band Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
. It was released on 22 November 2010 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. John Shanks
John Shanks
John Matthew Shanks is a modern rock writer and Grammy Award–winning producer.Born in New York City, Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17....
produced each song, barring the bonus track on the Japanese edition. The album was preceded by the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
, "Safe
Safe (Westlife song)
"Safe" is a song by Irish pop group Westlife from their eleventh studio album, Gravity. The pop rock ballad was released as the album's lead single on 14 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. It was written by John Shanks and James Grundler, and the single version was produced by Shanks, Richard...
", which was released at 14 November 2010. This is also the group's final album under Syco Music; Syco decided that there will be no second single from the album, which was one reason the group left Syco in March 2011. As of November 2011, the album had sold 358,943 in the UK.
Background, concept, and development
On 19 July 2010, it was reported by RTÉRTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
that the group will be teaming up with Shanks. A Westlife insider said: "It's a major coup for Westlife to get this producer - he's produced all the big acts from Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
to the Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys
The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
and Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
. "They wanted him for their last album but weren't able to get him. They're thrilled that he's agreed to work with them on this album." It also stated that the recording process started in July 2010. The band also confirmed the album's recording and mixing was finished in October 2010. They recorded the songs in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Dublin, Ireland, and London, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. On 17 September 2010, Egan flashed that the first single for the album was already picked by Cowell and a 30-second snippet was played on X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
UK. Afterwards, Feehily initiated the #westlife11album and #westlifeSAFE as a trending topic on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
which was followed by others worldwide to be a top trending topic.
On 30 September 2010, they officially revealed the date of release for the album which was 15 November 2010. In addition, Egan fully expressed what he felt on during recording Gravity: “It’s hard to believe this is our 11th album but performing is our passion and it would seem like throwing it all away if we stopped."“Both us and Take That go for epic pop songs but them taking Robbie back hasn’t made us think about Brian McFadden
Brian McFadden
Brian Nicholas McFadden , is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the Irish boyband Westlife...
returning. It would feel odd to have a fifth person back on stage with us.” In addition Westlife told Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
: "We'd wanted to work with him for a long time, but all his loyalty was to Take That and he didn't want to work with another boyband," "We'd been asking him and asking, but literally within moments of Take That deciding to go and work with Stuart Price
Stuart Price
Stuart Price is a three time Grammy-winning British electronic musician, songwriter, and record producer whose remixing and production skills are in demand by artists including New Order, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Missy Elliott, Scissor Sisters, The Killers, Pet Shop Boys, Brandon...
, he said yes to us straight away. Afterwards he said he'd wanted to work with us for a long time, but he just couldn't do the Take That thing and the Westlife thing because they were too close." "John created a sound for us in the same way he created a sound for Take That, a sound for Bon Jovi and a sound for all the other incredible artists he's worked with," "He created a sound for Westlife that we haven't had before - it's not a massive departure, but it's definitely a step up in terms of production." Filan also revealed that the group is currently in the process of selecting 12 or 13 songs for the album's final tracklisting from a pool of 16, with all but "one or two" likely to be originals. In 22 October 2010, Shanks stated that they have finished the Westlife record, all approved by Cowell. Shanks stated that the album ended up with two covers in it. In 27 October 2010, the album main release date was changed to 22 November 2010. In 25 October 2010, Feehily unveiled the final tracklisting on his official twitter page as follows: On 1 November 2010, Mark confirmed the two cover songs on the album are, "Chances" by Athlete
Athlete (band)
Athlete are a British rock band formed in Deptford, London, comprising Joel Pott , Carey Willetts , Stephen Roberts and Tim Wanstall...
and "The Reason
The Reason (Hoobastank song)
"The Reason" is the 2004 hit single by the modern rock band Hoobastank, off their album The Reason. The song is Hoobastank's most commercially successful single, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart , and #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks. In addition, it topped the singles charts in both...
" by Hoobastank
Hoobastank
Hoobastank is an American rock band, best known for their 2004 hit "The Reason" and other hits "Crawling in the Dark" and "Running Away". They formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, with singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They...
. In the November 2010 issue of Hello Magazine they told them about their competition with Take That and Walsh and Cowell's involvement in the album,
“You need competition to keep you on your toes,” Nicky Byrne told HELLO!. “I love Take That and have been a fan since secondary school. Everything those boys do turns to gold and I sometimes look at them and think, ‘I wish we had that song,’ but we’ve done OK.’ They have no intention of becoming a five-piece again like their chart rivals, and wouldn’t be inviting ex-bandmate Brian McFadden to join them again. “He left because he didn’t like what Westlife were,” Shane Filan told HELLO!. “RobbieRobbie WilliamsRobert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
got kicked out of Take That, but Brian left of his own accord. He wasn’t happy. If he did come back, we’d be thinking every day, ‘Is he happy with what we’re doing now?’" Nicky reveals how they had dinner with Brian during a recent trip to LA and got on well. “It was great fun,” he said. “He’s been out of the band for nearly seven years and I couldn’t see him fitting in now. "We’ve done more tours without him than Robbie ever did with Take That and we didn’t split up after he left. It’d be great to get on stage and do a song with Brian for the fans, but I can’t see him rejoining.”
“Louis is on the phone to us every day,” said Shane. “Simon is also very involved. When he is passionate about something, he’ll say, ‘Trust me on this, guys,’ but if we’re opposed to something, he listens to our opinions. He doesn’t need us financially, but he has a genuine love for the band. “Simon and Louis bitch to each other on The X Factor and they do that in real life, too. They fight tooth and nail, even in front of us, and it’s funny to watch.”
On 2 November 2010, the 30 second snippet of each songs from the album were posted on Amazon.co.uk. On 5 November 2010, In Demand FM played exclusively the full track of "Beautiful Tonight" with an interview of the band. On 7 November 2010, they performed "I Will Reach You" on BBC Radio 2. On 14 November 2010, RTÉ 2fm exclusively played "I Will Reach You", "The Reason", and "I Get Weak" from the album for the first time worldwide.
In an interview with AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
Music UK, Westlife described the creative process of the album as "breath of fresh air". "It's a new beginning for Westlife" is how singer Shane Filan described working with legendary pop producer John Shanks. On the band's site, they put up a new biography that talked about Gravity saying:
The quartet’s eleventh offering, Gravity, sees the Irishmen sail into uncharted waters, wrestle an unprecedented level of creative control and most critically of all – start believing in themselves again. “It’s a really good album,” insists Nicky Byrne. “It’s one producer. It’s one sound. Maybe it’s taken us twelve years to get there. But it doesn’t matter. We’re here now.On a Daily Star interview they told them how was the recording of the album:
“It’s the kind of record we knew we could make and we just needed the right person to deliver it with us.”
And that individual was legendary producer John Shanks. He steered Take That’s last two collections, was responsible for Bon Jovi’s recent reinvention and sculpted some of Kelly ClarksonKelly ClarksonKelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
, Celine DionCeline DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
and Sheryl CrowSheryl CrowSheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
’s most enduring hits.
As sessions sprang into life this summer, first in London and then Los Angeles, it quickly became clear that the recording process would be radically different from anything the lads had ever done before.
Nicky recalls, “From day one John said, ‘I’m not going to be ringing Shane up and saying I want him in on Wednesday lunchtime and Kian in on Friday morning.
“’’If I’m going to do this, we’re all going to be in the studio together.’
“That was the first time anyone had ever said that to us. He made us feel like a real band again.”
And injecting that sense of coherence, togetherness and freedom was critical for the group.
They had to confront some painful truths about how much creative steam they were lacking.
Shane admits, “We made some choices over recent years that we weren’t happy with. We got to a point where we were selling so much, we didn’t think twice about doing a Rat Pack albumAllow Us to Be Frank-Singles:"Smile" was released as the album's first single on 4 November 2004. The physical single features the video, and B-sides "White Christmas" and "When I Fall In Love". "Fly Me To The Moon" was released as the album's second single on 20 December 2004...
or an album of covers of love songsThe Love Album (Westlife album)The Love Album is the seventh studio album and second cover album by boy band Westlife from the Republic of Ireland and it was released on 20 November 2006. The songs on the album centers around the theme of "love". During their Face To Face Tour, the band performed "The Dance". The song was said...
. They were selling millions, but we eventually realised we needed some original songs again.
“For us to keep going as a band, for us to remain excited, we had to write our own material, not just record other people’s songs.”
And collaborating with Shanks saw the lads flex song-writing muscles that had been little-employed over the previous decade.
Nicky explains: “It’s not like it was in the past where we had a lot of covers. John insisted we get involved. Now we’ve got an album of twelve tracks and four are co-written.”
Shane reiterates: “It was very natural the way we bonded with John. He really wanted to get us involved in each song. We really feel like we’ve made this album together. We were there from the start to the finish. It feels like we were in the happiest place we have ever been making an album.”
Yet, one track confronts one of the most painful experiences two of the lads’ had ever gone through.
Kian and Nicky’s respective fathers both passed away over the last twelve months and they explore their grief in the most personal song the group have ever recorded.
Too Hard To Say Goodbye is a tender, tear-jerking ballad that many will identify with.
“Myself and Kian lost our dads last year. My dad died of a heart attack over night and Kian’s dad died over the course of a year” says Nicky. “We were discussing the loss with John over lunch one day and he said, ‘Let’s write a song about it’. We had tears in our eyes when we were putting it together. But it’s one song we’re all really, especially proud of.”
Elsewhere on the collection can be found the results of a conscious effort to erase some of the preconceptions that have weighed heavily around the four piece’s necks for many a year.
Nicky explains, “I’m not boring. I know I’m not boring.
“I’ve never liked the fact we got tarred with the brush that we were just these four lads who sit on stools, wear suits and sing slow songs.”
Beautiful Tonight echoes the crisp, euphoric electronic pop of Erasure, claims Shane, while banger No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight is “Westlife does The Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
.”
“We’re twelve years in and all at least thirty years of age,” says Mark Feehily. “We could all go home now and we’d be alright for the rest of our lives. “So, if we are going to make more records we want to do it well otherwise we don’t want to do it at all.” And Gravity shows these four individuals to be men of their words...
"We met John Shanks (producer), got on immediately and the album was done — from not having one song written to being finished, inside three months. We just went for it and we think it’s one of the best albums we've ever done. It’s exciting getting the feedback that’s coming in now. I think we were nervous, not because we didn’t think it was going to work but because of his success rate and who he has worked with before — Jon Bon JoviJon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
, Take That, Backstreet Boys, Sting, Sheryl Crow, you name them. He's a big producer and has had 45 number ones in America. We get distracted in London. In LA, we go over there and we work. Sure it's nice being there. It's amazing. We're not going home each night like when we're here and we have a finite amount of time there. We try to sack off early and go for a beer in the afternoon and things, but we know we have work to do when we're there.
Music and lyrics
In an interview on OK! Magazine they told how would Gravity sound, "We just spent three months making the album with John Shanks and I actually - just for comparison - played our last album (which we really loved and we were genuinely really proud of) and there is a massive difference in quality of production on this album. We've definitely moved up quite a bit. And because we’ve done it all with one guy it has a sound from start to finish (our last album was done with five or six people). More of a solid sound. We’ve also written on this album." In another interview with Digital Spy, they said: "The lead single 'Safe' is the most Westlife-sounding song on the album. It's kind of like the starting point for the album," Feehily explained, before Filan added: "There are different styles of ballads on there - some of them are really mellow and have really low-sung vocals - and there are lots of midtempo tracks too. "There's a song I love called 'No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight' that's an uptempo dancey record, and another called 'Tell You I'm Dreaming' that's a bit like an Erasure track." Sony Music PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
described some of the tracks, "Closer" as epic sounding, country-rock track "I Will Reach You", uplifting/future live hit "No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight" and the emotional "Too Hard To Say Goodbye". They also posted that the album have Savan Kotecha
Savan Kotecha
Savan Kotecha is an American songwriter and vocal producer from Austin, Texas of Indian descent. Kotecha has sold over 60 million records with artists such as Usher, Enrique Iglesias, Carrie Underwood, Britney Spears, One Direction and Celine Dion...
, John Reid
John Reid
-Politics:* John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan , Former British Home Secretary and former Chairman of Celtic F.C.* John William Reid , U.S. Representative from Missouri...
, and Wayne Hector
Wayne Hector
Wayne Hector is an English songwriter.Wayne Hector has had over 30 number ones around the globe under his belt and numerous movie soundtrack credits, Wayne Hector is one of the UK’s most successful songwriters....
in it. Glasswerk National revealed, "When you’ve comfortably shifted 44 million albums during a 12-year career that has seen you top the charts on 14 separate occasions, you could retreat into your comfort zone. Yet veterans Westlife have done the opposite on their eleventh collection. They knew they could do better than before, and with Gravity the quartet of Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Mark Feehily and Kian Egan have come up with their strongest album ever. Gravity has a renewed sense of heart, soul, vigour and pride. The 12 tracks are crammed with a confidence and poise never before heard from the lads. And John Shanks, who has crafted hits for Bon Jovi, Take That and Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, is the man responsible more than anyone else for this welcome turnaround in approach. His influence is inescapable over Gravity’s duration. He manned the mixing desk during the sessions and co-wrote every single track - four with the band themselves. And from the outset it’s clear this is an outfit with a renewed sense of purpose. ‘Safe’, the first single from the album showcases the awesome emotional weight of an outfit at the height of their powers. Opener Beautiful Tonight sweeps and explodes into life with electronic pulses adding to its sense of euphoria. Chances, a tender meditation on missed opportunity, echoes the grace and drama of Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
’s I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing. I Get Weak is a dark, graphic descent into despair and Too Hard To Say Goodbye a heart-tugging dissection of grief. The peerless pop craftsmanship of I Will Reach You sees the band reach epic new heights; a showcase of their best material to date. Westlife have quietly made the most triumphant album of their lives." In Philippine Star, Shane talked about the difference of Gravity from the past albums and the maturity of the album:
“I think Gravity is better not only lyrically but also production-wise. I think the songs are of higher quality. There’s a lot more variety in this album. Safe is probably the only really Westlife sound in the album and all the other tracks have something different about them, although still basically very Westlife. We needed to move a step higher. It’s very important to us and to our producer, John Shanks because we’ve been planning to do that for a long time. We are amazed that we’ve finally done it.” “Yeah, I think it is, actually. As a band, we have grown up, you know, and you will notice it in some of our songs. We feel that we just get better and better as we go on every year. The lyrics of our songs are more mature, especially the last song called Too Hard To Say Goodbye. It’s quite an emotional song.”Play.com added: Littered with pop gems and glittering dancefloor liveliness, Gravity is the superb eleventh studio album from record-breaking boyband pioneers Westlife. With Simon Cowell serving as executive producer, the lively quartet are as tuneful as ever with arguably their most uplifting release to date. For the first time, the band have worked with just one producer on the album. Thanks to the legendary John Shanks (Take That, Sting), the result is a consistently innovative effort that comfortably dips into dance, rock and country while never deterring from their trademark pop ethics. While hit single "Safe" and the electronic opener, "Beautiful Tonight", offer upbeat moments, the four-piece continue to revel as fine performers of epic ballads. "I Will Reach You" and "Too Hard To Say Goodbye" find Messrs Byrne, Egan, Feehily and Filan at their most romantic, swooning best among the joyous frivolities of the album's up-tempo moments. Eleven million UK album sales later, Gravity finds Westlife with their feet firmly on the ground on a triumphant modern pop record of the highest order. Westlife revealed on 3 January 2011 article of Daily Star that Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
, the man behind their Comic Relief
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is an operating British charity, founded in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Lenny Henry in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is Red Nose Day, a biennial telethon held in March, alternating with sister project Sport Relief...
's 2001 single "Uptown Girl
Uptown Girl
"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by musician Billy Joel, first released in 1983 on his album An Innocent Man. The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl." The single peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts in the US, and #1 in the UK,...
", suggested to Cowell the album song "Chances" for Westlife to cover. They said: "It’s ended up on Gravity. Richard said he would like to use it in one of his films, so hopefully he’ll make Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
2 and that will be the theme tune. When someone like Richard suggests a song, we all listen. If you compare the original to ours, the difference is dramatic. Athlete’s version is very cool and lo-fi whereas ours is big, cinematic and very pop.
Album name and artwork
The album cover was first displayed on the music record sites as "Westlife" with black background and white-colored lettering. In 22 October 2010, they released an exclusive video of the album photo shoot to the press and on their official sites. The official photographer of the shoot was Kevin McDaidKevin McDaid
Kevin McDaid was brought up in Newcastle, England. He was best known as member of the British boy band V, which he joined in 2003 along with four other boys...
and Feehily as the creative director. They decided to go for a chic black and white design and in the pics, the band are all dressed down in jeans and t-shirts. "Mark, Kian, Nicky and Shane stand separately in a line facing the camera on the Gravity front cover, with Shane leaning cheekily on Nicky's shoulder,"
On 13 October 2010, they announced the official album title Gravity and trended worldwide on Twitter as #westlifegravity after the announcement. Band member Mark Feehily
Mark Feehily
Markus Michael Patrick Feehily is one of the lead singers of the Irish boyband Westlife.-Early life:Feehily was born in Sligo, Ireland, to Marie Verdon and Oliver Feehily. He has two younger brothers, Barry and Colin .-Career:Feehily rose to fame as one of the two lead singers of the boyband...
adopted the album title suggested by a fan and confirmed it on his Twitter account first. Redcorvette09 or Fiona Reynoldson, the chosen fan explains
"Gravity" from the Safe lyrics. Maybe it's a dedication to your partners and how they've kept you grounded...or maybe about the music always drawing you back in for another album! Could have several meanings."Egan said to the press people that the band will give something special to the chosen fan but it was yet undecided.
Critical reception
Entertainment Focus said: "First up is Beautiful Tonight and if you were expecting Westlife to keep on doing ballads and sound like choir boys you are in for a surprise as the first track on the album is a very popy and fresh. The song which could easily be released as a single really comes to life during the chorus. This is the Westlife we fell in love with a decade ago.Next up is current single Safe and hopefully a momentarily relapse of the band as we are treated to a ballad (a nice one nevertheless), which to be fair with its piano and soft sound is perfect for this cold season but still it’s a ballad! Anyone familiar with Westlife’s music will know that most of their tracks start of slow to then peak into the most grandiose manner and this is certainly true for I Will Reach You, which sounds suspiciously familiar (think What About Now) and follows the bands classic style. The Reason is another great track on the album and you know this one. Hoobastank’s only hit (this side of the pond anyway) sounds just as epic but if you were expecting Westilfe to be adventurous and change the track in the slightest you are in for sour disappointment. Fortunately for our Irishmen we loved the original. Didn’t we mention a few songs earlier how we liked when Westlife did the pop stuff too? Well fear not cuz it might take a few ballads to get there (8) but then you’ll reach No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight! The track isn’t what we would call Westlife’s best pop anthem but it definitely lifts the mood of the album. Highlights on the album include the really catchy Closer. The track follows Westlife’s trademark sound, quiet then massive amounts of beautiful harmonies meet your ears and for a moment you become a silly romantic again. Another favourite is I Get Weak an overly romantic and dramatic track that just doesn’t seem to get old as we put it on repeat every time. Filan’s angelic voice never ceases to capture our attention and then Mark Feehily proceeds to do the same and before you know it I Get Weak has sucked you into its world of unison harmonies and yeah better get those tissue papers ready. Westlife’s new album Gravity is a far cry from last year’s Where We Are but still these guys know what they are doing and it will be a long time before we don’t remember who Westlife are. There are definitely some outstanding tracks on this album but also a lack of variety.
Hannah Spencer from Contactmusic.com expressed, Gravity kicks off with an up-tempo pound of a pop song in 'Beautiful Tonight', complete with its catchy chorus and strong, foot-tapping beat; you can always rely on Westlife for a hefty smattering of cheesy, romantic lyrics and this album proves no exception right from the start. By the time track two rolls up, we're straight back to trademark Westlife ground with the first of Gravity 's many down-tempo piano-led pop ballads beckoning, like many that have preceded it, many a lighter/phone light waving moment. Complete with the customary slushy string arrangement, the albums' lead single, 'Safe', is a prime example of the big-budget easy listening blend that Westlife have perfected over the years; the following contents of Gravity never falter from their well-established high standard which may not be everyone's bag, but is undoubtedly well-perfected. The introduction to track three sounds great familiarity; it's clear when the vocals enter that 'Chances' is in fact Westlife's cover of the Athlete track. It has to be admitted, Westlife do the song great justice, opening with the familiar solo piano chords flanked by gorgeous solo cello, and later kicking into the chorus with a big string arrangement. The track lends itself well to become a strong pop ballad true to the Westlife blend which always seems to start sparsely before building into powerful arena-filling songs. 'I Will Reach You' is another catchy, string drenched sing-along number that follows in the same vein like much of the content of Gravity; cliché yet comforting and crowd-pleasing love songs. Track six's introduction offers the same familiarity felt with the earlier Athlete cover; this time it's Hoobastank's 'The Reason'. Maybe a less well-known track to cover, the mix keeps the rock edge of the original which is perhaps a little unusual for the ultimate clean, mother-pleasing quartet, Westlife. Gravity continues with the same mature, down-tempo pop ballads from the haunting vocal of 'I Get Weak' through 'Before It's Too Late', another piano-led ballad over a smooth and gentle bed of strings which expressively builds into a powerful arena-filling sing-along, to the albums' beautiful conclusion, 'Too Hard To Say Goodbye'. Along the way, 'No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight' and intercepts as a more up-tempo pop song and similarly, the laid back funky feel of the opening of 'Difference In Me' contrasts many an easy listening ballad. Complete with two complimentary cover versions amongst a host of blatant trademark Westlife numbers, Gravity doesn't offer anything groundbreaking, nor does it offer anything to take Westlife to another level; it's just a good, strong consistent if safe effort to maintain their high standard.
Daily Star added: Now the lads are all in their 30s it makes sense that they move on from their wildly successful template of syrupy ballads and covers to something tougher and moodier. And they pull it off with aplomb. All tracks were produced by John Shanks, a fella who’s worked extensively with the likes of Bon Jovi. You can hear it in the vocal arrangements which are less formulaic and key change-y than previous offerings – and there’s a rawness to the guys’ voices. Some of the tracks sound like the kind of rocky power ballads Brian Adams would have sung in his hey day. But it’s no nostalgia fest, X and X nod to the synthy R&B sound which is so popular right now. But as always it’s on the big booming ballads that the lads are at their peak. Before It’s Too Late and I Will Reach You, written by Mark, are spine-tingling.
While on OK! Magazine, "With everyone talking about Take That’s reunion and reinvention as an electro pop band, you may have missed the fact that Westlife have undergone a bit of a sonic makeover themselves. Gravity is their most varied and daring album yet, mixing classic pop and rock with subtle electro wizardry. Recent single Safe is their most soaring song in ages, while Chances is a widescreen epic that could melt the hardest of hearts. Closer and Tell Me It’s Love are pretty immense, too. Impressive."
Allmusic.com stated: "But despite claims that Gravity, incredibly their tenth studio album, is the best and most varied of their career, its 12 tracks produced by John Shanks (Bon Jovi) aren't exactly a huge departure from their late-noughties output. Indeed, the likes of lead single "Safe" and "Closer" are the kind of epic Take That-esque pop/rock ballads that they've attempted on their last two releases. And while the first half of their career saw them rely heavily on covers of distinctly easy listening favorites Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
, Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
, and Brian Kennedy
Brian Kennedy (singer)
Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author, known for his ballads, and has represented Ireland at Eurovision 2006. He is the younger brother of musician Bap Kennedy.-Personal life:...
, Gravity continues their more recent tradition of reworking U.S. soft rock anthems, with Hoobastank's "The Reason" given the same MOR polish as previous renditions of tracks by Lonestar
Lonestar
Lonestar is an American country music group consisting of Richie McDonald , Michael Britt , Keech Rainwater , Dean Sams , and Michael Hill . McDonald left the band in November 2007 for a solo career before returning in 2011...
and Daughtry. Apart from the minor flashes of electro on opener "Beautiful Tonight" and "No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight," the rest of the album is filled with the same kind of clichéd "stand up for the key change" ballads they are notoriously famous for. The only surprise appears with a faithful cover version of "Chances," the string-led epic from Brit-pop also-rans Athlete, a rather offbeat inclusion considering their predictable and unadventurous history. However, Westlife aren't exactly well known for their original streak, so hardcore fans are unlikely to be disappointed with its safe and familiar sound. But with far more exciting and inventive material from their contemporaries, it could struggle to match the success of their other multi-platinum releases."
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
continued: Predictably, Gravity’s 12 tracks prove not timeless, but as outside of the realms of ambition, place and time as the 10 albums that have come before. Gravity is the musical equivalent of greetings-card copy, and sees the four-piece attempting to break into a sentimental sweat... with a rockier edge. Or at least that’s how they’d like this album to be billed. The reality is a host of songs as predictable as Westlife have ever been, with the standard quota of covers (two), the standard quota of upbeat numbers (two) and the standard quota of ‘wholesome’ (throughout). They meet their own standard, sure – but Westlife are becoming their own boilerplate so much so that the style guide has gone over word-limit. Lyrically, Gravity is full of the regular wist – “so if I’m dreaming / don’t wake me up I’m so alive,” sings Shane Filan on Beautiful Tonight. But even if there is some emotion or situation-specific context to the songs on Gravity, they’re lost in that same waterbed of cliché. The songs on Gravity aren’t as de facto soppy as their previous albums, perhaps because of John Shanks (Alanis Morissette, Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
, Bon Jovi) coming on board as producer – but this isn’t a move in any direction at all, more just a marketing strategy. There’s a cover of Hoobastank’s The Reason, and another of Athlete’s Chances, and that seems enough to set Westlife’s intentions in stone. To suggest there’s any passion for rock is as ingenious as the story that the album’s one-word title came from a suggestion on Twitter, as has been played out. For music made to sound so easy on the ear, Mark Feehily’s vocals often sound shrill; but such is the temporary nature of these songs that a trace of character outside of the middle-ground just slips by. Westlife aim for the real-instruments respect and songwriting nous of Gary Barlow, but fall flat on an overuse of words desperately trying to be genuine – it’s all about empathy, and familiar imagery alongside the cliché. There’s not an arrangement here without lilting piano suspensions, lush strings, a windswept chorus and a defiant key change – and it’s questionable what this album has to offer to anyone other than a completist.
While Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
said: The same cannot be said of Take That’s old Irish rivals Westlife. Instead of Progress
Progress (Take That album)
Progress is the sixth studio album by British band Take That. It is the band's first album to feature Robbie Williams since 1995. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2010. The album received positive reviews, with most critics commending the influence of electronic music and...
’s bold modern approach, Gravity sticks with the trusty formula of big key changes and big positive choruses. It’s not a formula to discount lightly, as 44m album sales prove, but the procession of identikit ballads proves woefully one-paced and risk-averse. Expect Take That to win this chart battle.
Magic UK said: "The phrase 'if it ain't broke' was never more apt here. The guys are on familiar territory, and I mean that in a positive way - there really isn't a duff song on the whole album, and if you've loved what Westlife have released on the previous ten long-players then you're going to lap this one up! The big ballads are here, of course, they saved my favourite of the lot until last - 'Too Hard To Say Goodbye' features a haunting celtic flute which for me makes this the stand-out track. The albums two faster songs are the bright opener 'Beautiful Tonight' and 'No One's Gonna Sleep' which sounds a bit like a future Eurovision entry for the Emerald Isle. Elsewhere the single 'Safe' is one of their better releases of recent times, classic Westlife. 'I Get Weak' is another big ballad with all the Westlife hallmarks, whilst the mid-tempo 'Closer' has some really wonderful harmonies. Listen out also for the big chorus on 'Chances', which reminds me in places of 'All By Myself', the old Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.He scored numerous hit songs across the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Raspberries , and then with his solo career, including hits such as "All By Myself", "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", "She Did It",...
hit. All in all a fine album which should ensure that Westlife continue to sell just as well into the next decade."
Entertainment.ie said: "Of course, Gravity is still riddled with the boys' signature ballads, produced to within an inch of their lives as always, but by upping the pace on just a couple of songs, driving the likes of opener 'Beautiful Tonight' and 'No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight' with easy-going dance pop beats, the whole tone seems to have lifted. These few upbeat moments are still the minority though, and the remaining slow numbers are predictably slathered in mountains of cheese that even the sweet stripped back piano and sweeping strings of 'Chances' can't manage to break through. An unlikely cover of Hoobastank's 'The Reason' has translated easily to its new pop format, its contrived lyrics and mushy sentimentality perhaps a little more at home in a genre that thrives on clichés. And Westlife have kept the very worst for last, as the Celtic flute on 'Too Hard To Say Goodbye' appears to have been included purely for the American contingent that believes all Irish live at the bottom of a rainbow on top of a big pot of gold. So then, 'Gravity' is still a fair way off being a halfway decent record, but as Westlife go, it could have been a lot worse."
NZ Herald continued: "The fact that the most powerful song on this 11th Westlife album is a cover of Hoobastank's pop/rock hit Reason is a good indicator of what the rest of the album holds. Clearly, after selling 44 million records the Irish boy band feels it has little to prove, and their most devout collectors might be pleased with the predictability of this release. But others will find one windswept love song rolls into another forming a puddle of melodically sound but not-the-slightest-bit-inspiring soup."
Cairo 360 explained: Since their first appearance in 1998, Irish pop band Westlife have had a very successful career in the pop industry. They made their name as more than another five-person boy band with chart topping hits that were mostly modernised covers of pop and jazz icons. Following their album-a-year tradition, Gravity is the latest album by the Irish group, which is now down to four members. Although it begs to differ, the tenth album features their formula of familiar upbeat pop tunes with a hint of rock that doesn’t come out so clear. The twelve-track album contains only two covers: ‘Chances’ by Athlete and ‘The Reason’ by Hoobastank, which is exactly identically in arrangement to the original yet sounds flat and too high-pitched. On a more positive note, the pre-released single ‘Safe’ really stands out as probably the best song on the album, featuring deep lyrics and a catchy melody. ‘Beautiful Tonight’ takes it away with a more festive mood and easygoing dance beats, while ‘Too Hard To Say Goodbye’ delves into the gloomier side of suffering a loss. Many of the songs in the album follow the sing-along, acoustic melody pattern. ‘I Will Reach You’ is appealing and crowd-pleasing, but the clichéd lyrics can’t be ignored. Most of the songs in Gravity will appeal to Westlife fans. Their vocals are still neat and capturing, and they present their new pop ballad album in exactly the same formula that they’ve been following for years; they have what is needed to make it as a pop band, and it obviously seems to be working for them. However, their songs are predictable, with standardised tempo speeds and upbeat versions of pop originals with the same piano intro and orchestral backgrounds. This formula has kept them successful for eleven years; but Gravity could very well be their 100th album and still feel the same. They highlighted Safe, I Get Weak, and The Reason. Easy Mix NZ said: They started as a boy band in the 90s, but Westlife are all grown up now, and they’ve got the stubble to prove it. After forty four million albums sold over thirteen years – the last six as a four piece after Brian McFadden moved to Australia to be with Delta Goodrem, they return to our ears with their eleventh studio album: Gravity. It begins with a well crafted pop song called Beautiful Tonight, followed by the first single Safe. At the time of writing this review, the tragedy of the Pike River Mine was still fresh in my mind, so songs like I Will Reach You and the following Closer, with lyrics like “Sometimes it can be harder to remember than just let go, always seems to be something to remind me of what I miss the most, ‘cause you are the one thing I believe in when it all falls down” really strike a chord, without even trying. They’ve covered a pop/rock hit from 2003, originally by Hoobastank called The Reason. It’s interesting to hear them do a rock track, but it’s so strong vocally that it suits them. I wonder if it was executive producer (on the album) Simon Cowell’s idea. That’s the one thing about Westlife on Gravity: the vocals. The harmonies are excellent, but unless you’re a die hard fan it’s hard to tell which one is singing at any given time, so they all blend into the one sound, which I guess is the idea of a boy band. The songs are a step up technically in the fullness of sound, but the bubble gum pop on No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight doesn’t sit well with the rest of the album; they should’ve left that one to the Wiggles. The Irish lilt on the final track, Too Hard To Say Goodbye, is a nice reminder of where they’re from. Without that they could be mistake for Boyzone or Take That. Westlife fans will really enjoy this.
UrbanWire said: It’s hard to believe that Irish boyband Westlife has been around for a dozen years now, with almost as many, 11, records to their name. And unlike fellow ‘90s boybands-Take That, New Kids on the Block – who disappeared for years before making recent comebacks, Westlife (albeit less high-profile than when they first started) has been consistently releasing albums almost every year. Known for their dreamy love ballads and penchant for covers, the quartet has stayed with the formula for their latest album Gravity consisting mostly of the former, with Westlife reinterpreting rock band Hoobastank’s 2004 hit “The Reason” and indie English outfit Athlete’s single “Chances”. But the band shows you they can do better than simply dish out slow songs, by pulling off fast-tempo tracks like “Beautiful Tonight” and “No One’s Gonna Sleep Tonight” with aplomb. Gravity is produced by the Grammy-award winning John Shanks who has collaborated with their boyband peers like Backstreet Boys and Take That. Although the band has emphasised in interviews that this is vastly different from their previous records, calling it “a new beginning for Westlife”. UrbanWire feels that this album sounds like something they could have released 5 years ago, or even earlier. This would be harsh criticism for most bands, but for Westlife, it’s not a bad thing at all. Seeing as how they have developed a loyal following by producing similar themed albums, a drastic change in music direction wouldn’t be worth the risk. Love it or hate it, the group’s sappy-sweet lyrics stay the same, with dependence on their other half showing through almost consistently in the album. Gravity’s only single “Safe” opens with cavity-inducing lyrics that go: “Hard to find a way to get through/It’s a tragedy/Pulling at me like the stars do /You’re like gravity.” The track “I Get Weak “ is just as guilty, going straight for a melodramatic effect with its opener: My love/My heart/Oh bruised and broken all alone / When we’re apart I die inside /Oh this room is like a battlefield of love tonight.” It was acceptable a decade ago, but now, some may find their lyrics too over-the-top in a world that progressively understands cheesy as being (gasp) un-modern. Is it a bad thing though? Well, this band has managed to survive 12 years doing just fine (44 million records sold worldwide). One thing about Westlife is that the band always manages to do justice to their covers, despite the flak that they’ve garnered for doing too many of them. This time, the band’s stirring rendition of “Chances” is definitely one of the highlights of the album. And while the quartet’s music direction is vastly different from Hoobastank’s, their ballad-like execution of “The Reason” is a refreshingly good listen. Lead singer Shane Filan, who’s a father of 3, had admitted in an interview that the band was actually uncertain of this album’s covers and that they had only stuck to it because of executive producer, longtime former American Idol judge Simon Cowell’s assurance that it would sell. Seeing as the album remained at the Number One spot for three consecutive weeks on the Irish music charts, it seems like the band’s still got it, and not just for their covers. No, Gravity isn’t anything ground-breaking, and they’re unlikely to gather a new fan base through this album. Cheesy lyrics, love ballads, and covers, done. Same tried-and-tested formula that they’ve been sticking to since Day One, check. But for their followers, that’s all that they need. This unabashed Westlife fan is satisfied.
Schedule
| Date | Country | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promo Tour | |||
| 25 October 2010; 11:00 | 111 Broad Street, Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a... |
Heart FM | Pre-recorded interview for Heart Breakfast |
| 25 October 2010; 11:00 | 4 Oozells Square, Birmingham | BRMB Brmb brmb is a local radio station based in Birmingham, UK, owned and operated by Orion Media. The station broadcasts on 96.4 FM, DAB Digital Radio in the West Midlands and online... |
Pre-recorded interviews for BRMB Breakfast Show, Mercia Breakfast, Wyvern Breakfast, Beacon Breakfast and Heart Nottingham |
| 25 October 2010; 15:30 | Stoke Road, Stoke-On-Trent Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area... |
Signal Radio | Pre-recorded interviews for UTV Network and The Wave (Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands... ) |
| 26 October 2010; 07:50 | Castlefield Quay, Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... |
Key 103 Key 103 Key 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Manchester and the north west of England. Its output is principally contemporary pop and dance music. Formerly owned by Trans World Communications, EMAP and now by Bauer Radio, Key 103 is part of Bauer's Place Network of... |
Live interviews with Key 103 (08.00) and Radio City (09.00) and pre-recorded interviews for Aire FM, Viking FM, Rock FM and Hallam FM Hallam FM Hallam FM is an independent local radio station serving South Yorkshire and the North Midlands from studios in Sheffield. The station is owned and operated by Bauer Radio and forms part of Bauer's Place Network of stations.-History:... |
| 26 October 2010; 10:50 | Waterfront Quay, Salford | Real Radio Real Radio Real Radio is a network of adult contemporary independent local radio stations in England, Scotland and Wales and is operated by . Each station broadcasts local breakfast through to drive time shows and network programming in the evening and through the night... |
Pre-recorded interview for Real Breakfast Show, Real Radio Wales, Real Radio NE, Real Radio Yorkshire, Network Special and Networked Evening Show |
| 26 October 2010; 15:00 | Castlefield Quay, Manchester | Key 103 | Pre-recorded In Demand IN DEMAND In Demand is a provider of pay-per-view and subscription video-on-demand services, jointly owned by Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks... Special - Westlife on Westlife |
| 27 October 2010; 10:00 | Forth Road, Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... |
Radio Forth Radio Forth Radio Forth is a group owning two radio stations based in Edinburgh. The stations broadcast to Edinburgh, The Lothians and Fife.-History:Radio Forth was launched on 22 January 1975 by current chairman Richard Findlay. His opening speech included "This, for the very first time is Radio Forth"... |
Pre-recorded interview for Radio Forth Breakfast Show |
| 27 October 2010; 12:00 | Glasgow Business Park, Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... |
Real Radio | Live interview for Real Radio |
| 27 October 2010; 14:45 | Clydebank Business Park, Glasgow | Radio Clyde Radio Clyde Radio Clyde is a division of Bauer Radio based in Glasgow, Scotland. They currently operate an FM station and an AM station from studios in Clydebank West Dunbartonshire.- History :... |
Pre-recorded interview for In Demand (networked evening show) |
| 27 October 2010; 16:00 | Pacific Quay, Glasgow | STV | Live interview with The Hour Show |
| 5 November 2010 | England | In:Demand FM | |
| 6 November 2010 | England | The Crush on 4Music 4Music 4Music is a music and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and available on some digital television providers in the Republic of Ireland - its web component can be found at with its own and pages. It is the only channel within the Box Television Network to be branded under Channel 4 and... |
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| 7 November 2010 | England | Weekend Wogan | |
| 8 November 2010 | England | Pride of Britain Awards Pride of Britain Awards The Pride of Britain Awards is an annual event in the United Kingdom, honouring ordinary people who have acted bravely or extraordinarily in challenging situations.... |
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| 9 November 2010 | England | Daybreak Daybreak (ITV) Daybreak is the weekday breakfast television programme on the British commercial ITV network that broadcasts on weekday mornings from 06:00 to 08:30 and is currently presented by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley from Monday to Thursday with Dan Lobb and Kate Garraway on Fridays... |
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| 11 November 2010 | England | The Crush on Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... |
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| 14 November 2010 | London, England | The X Factor The X Factor (UK) The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date... |
Exclusive performance of "Safe" |
| 14 November 2010 | London, England | The Xtra Factor | |
| 15 November 2010 | London, England | Lorraine Lorraine (TV programme) Lorraine is the early weekday morning, lifestyle and entertainment show for the British ITV network, presented by Lorraine Kelly. ITV Breakfast produces Lorraine, which airs every weekday from 08:30 until 09:25, following Daybreak... |
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| 17 November 2010 | London, England | The Alan Titchmarsh Show The Alan Titchmarsh Show The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime TV chat show broadcast between 3 and 4pm weekdays on the ITV Network.-Format:The programme made its debut on ITV in 2007. It focused on the theme of "The Best of British" focusing on food, entertainment and celebrities in a mid-afternoon slot... |
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| 19 November 2010 | Belfast, Northern Ireland | Children In Need Children in Need Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long... |
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| 3 December 2010 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | The Late Late Show The Late Late Show The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ... |
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| 18 December 2010 | Dublin, Republic of Ireland | Childline | |
Singles
"SafeSafe (Westlife song)
"Safe" is a song by Irish pop group Westlife from their eleventh studio album, Gravity. The pop rock ballad was released as the album's lead single on 14 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. It was written by John Shanks and James Grundler, and the single version was produced by Shanks, Richard...
" was the lead single from the album, released on 14 November in the UK. Their debut performance of the track was on the X Factor the day or release. It peaked at #10 in its first week consequently making it their lowest charting lead single to date in the UK, as well as their lowest sales for a lead single.
"Beautiful Tonight" was confirmed as the follow-up single on the third week of January through the Daily Star. The release date is yet to be announced. They stated, "You can imagine our next single Beautiful Tonight being played in a club. Yes, it’s that different to what we usually release. John Shanks wrote it and it’s up-tempo and will open a few eyes and ears. People who don’t usually like Westlife might like it and hopefully people who do like us won’t not like it. It’s young, fresh and exciting so we feel brilliant about it coming out. When they first hear it, some people might go: “Whoa, who is that?” and that’s why we wanted it as our first song on the album. It’d be cool to get a couple of good dance remixes off it but we won’t be coming up with a dance routine for it on tour, except for maybe a few clicks and putting one foot in front of the other. The song reminds us of the early days when we put out "World of Our Own
World of Our Own
World of Our Own is the third studio album by the Irish boyband Westlife, released on 12 November 2001. It reached number one in the United Kingdom and includes the singles "Queen of My Heart" , "World of Our Own" , "Bop Bop Baby", and the final single from the group's last album,...
". The song was performed live on Irish national television show Paul O'Grady Show. After that, the track peaked at the top 40 of Irish Radio Airplay Chart.
It was later confirmed on 1 February 2011 that there will be no second single for Gravity. Byrne stated that it was out of the band's hands and it was a Syco's decision. On 14 March 2011, Westlife confirmed that they had left Syco Music with the group citing the decision not to release a second single as the reason. Despite cancelled single, "I Will Reach You" was released as a follow-up promotional radio single in April 2011 on some of the radio stations in Indonesia, Ireland and the Philippines where it charted and went to #1 on a radio station in the Philippines.
Track listing
Other credits
- Art Direction [Creative Direction] – Mark Feehily
- Contractor [Musician], Coordinator [Production] – Shari Sutcliffe
- Design – Steve Stacey
- Management – Louis Walsh Management
- Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
- Photography – Kevin McDaid
Beautiful Tonight
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Keyboards [Additional] – Dan Chase
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, John Shanks
- Programmed By – Dan Chase, Jeff Rothschild
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums – Jeff Rothschild
Safe
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, Jamie Muhoberac, Shanks
- Recorded By [Strings] – Richard Woodcraft
- Arranged By [Strings] – Wil Malone
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums – Jeff Rothschild
Chances
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, John Shanks
- Recorded By [Strings] – Richard Woodcraft
- Arranged By [Strings] – Wil Malone
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums – Jeff Rothschild
I Will Reach You
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, Jamie Muhoberac
- Recorded By [Strings] – Helen Atkinson
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums, Programmed By – Jeff Rothschild
- Arranged By [Strings] – Wil Malone
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
Closer
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, Jamie Muhoberac, John Shanks
- Recorded By [Strings] – Richard Woodcraft
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums, Programmed By – Jeff Rothschild
- Engineer [Additional] – Dan Chase
- Arranged By [Strings] – Wil Malone
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
The Reason
- Recorded By, Mixed By – Jeff Rothschild
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Bass – Paul Bushnell
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, Dan Chase, Jamie Muhoberac
- Programmed By – Dan Chase, Jeff Rothschild
- Electric Guitar – John Shanks, Tim Pierce
- Synthesizer [Strings] – Charles Judge
- Drums – Jeff Rothschild, Josh Freese
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
Tell Me It's Love
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, John Shanks
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums, Programmed By – Jeff Rothschild
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
I Get Weak
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Bass – Pino Palladino
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, Dan Chase, John Shanks
- Guitar – John Shanks
- Programmed By – Dan Chase, Jeff Rothschild
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums – Jeff Rothschild
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
Before It's Too Late
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, Dan Chase, Steve Anderson
- Programmed By – Dan Chase
- Recorded By [Strings] – Helen Atkinson
- Arranged By [Strings] – Wil Malone
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums – Jeff Rothschild
No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Dan Chase, John Shanks
- Programmed By – Dan Chase
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums – Jeff Rothschild
Difference In Me
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, John Shanks
- Recorded By, Mixed By, Drums, Programmed By – Jeff Rothschild
- Piano – Jamie Muhoberac
- Guitar, Bass – John Shanks
Too Hard To Say Goodbye
- Recorded By, Mixed By – Jeff Rothschild
- Engineer [Protools Editing] – Lars Fox
- Engineer [Assistant] – Helen Atkinson, Nicolas Essig
- Keyboards – Charles Judge, Dan Chase
- Recorded By [Strings] – Helen Atkinson
- Bagpipes [Uilleann Pipes], Whistle [Low] – Eric Rigler
- Arranged By [Strings] – Wil Malone
- Piano – John Shanks
Chart performance
In a November 2010 interview with Daily Star, Westlife have already admitted defeat in their chart battle with JLSJLS
- Music :* JLS, an English boyband** JLS , debut album by JLS* JLS a Spanish Rock band based in Zaragoza , Spain formed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by lead Leo Susana.- Organizations :...
. Kian admitted: “I don’t think we’re going to win against JLS to be honest – they’re probably going to get the No.1. “But we’re not really bothered about chart positions. “We rate the success of an album on the overall sales.” Ironically JLS also lost the chart battle, with Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
's second week sales of Progress
Progress (Take That album)
Progress is the sixth studio album by British band Take That. It is the band's first album to feature Robbie Williams since 1995. The album was released in the United Kingdom on 15 November 2010. The album received positive reviews, with most critics commending the influence of electronic music and...
enough to keep them at number one on the UK Charts.
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
1 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
3 |
| Scottish Albums Chart Scottish Singles and Albums Chart The Scottish Singles Chart and Scottish Albums Chart are charts compiled by The Official Charts Company, based on physical and digital sales in the STV North, STV Central and ITV Border regions.... |
4 |
| European Top 100 Albums European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
12 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 22 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
46 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 50 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 76 |
| Mexican Albums Chart AMPROFON Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in Mexico. Established on April 3, 1963, it groups phonographic companies that represent more than 70 percent of the market in Mexico... |
90 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
15 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
34 |
Main release
| Country / Region | Date | Format | Label | Catalogue |
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| Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... |
19 November 2010 | CD, Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
RCA Records RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... , Sony Music |
88697724482 |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
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| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
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| Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... |
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation.... Ivory Music and Video |
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| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation.... |
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| Thailand Thailand Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... |
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| Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
22 November 2010 | |||
| Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
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| Malaysia | ||||
| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
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| South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
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| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
S/Syco Music | |||
| South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
23 November 2010 | Sony Music Entertainment | ||
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
24 November 2010 | |||
| Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... |
26 November 2010 | |||
| Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... |
30 November 2010 | |||
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
3 December 2010 | |||
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
15 December 2010 |
Import release
| Country / Region | Date | Format | Label | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
22 November 2010 | CD, Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
RCA Records RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... , Sony Music, Syco Music |
88697724482 |
| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
23 November 2010 | |||
| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
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| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |