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Westlife shows noughties boy bands still have it
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Westlife's Kian Egan (left), Shane Filan (second left), Mark Feehily (second right) and Nicky Byrne perform during their 'The Twenty Tour' at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (BSD) in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday. (JP/Narabeto Korohama)
T
he crowds that have thronged to Irish boy band Westlife’s recent concerts in Indonesia have shown that nostalgia and a penchant for love songs mean that the reign of the boy band is far from over.
It is hard to think of boy bands in the late 2010s. Barring a few exceptions like Why Don’t We or 5 Seconds of Summer, the boy bands that enjoy the most widespread popularity today mostly come from East Asia, with their Western contemporaries mostly disbanded or taking a hiatus.
But in their heyday of the 1990s and early 2000s, groups like NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys dominated the airwaves and tabloids around the world. In Indonesia, however, none can compare to Westlife.
Perhaps Ireland’s most notable export to the archipelago, Westlife began their journey in 1999 with five members — Shane Filan, Markus Feehily, Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden.
The group rose to fame with their self-titled debut album in the same year, which spawned hits like “More Than Words” and “Swear It Again” and made Westlife a household name. Notably, the album is also the best-selling international album in Indonesia, with over 1 million copies sold.
A bevy of hits followed throughout the 2000s, but eventually McFadden left in 2004 to pursue a solo career, and Westlife ultimately disbanded in 2012 after a Greatest Hits album and a farewell tour.
