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Westlife shows noughties boy bands still have it
All together: Westlife's Kian Egan (left), Shane Filan (second left), Markus Feehily (second right) and Nicky Byrne perform during their 'The Twenty Tour' at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday
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ll together: Westlife's Kian Egan (left), Shane Filan (second left), Markus Feehily (second right) and Nicky Byrne perform during their 'The Twenty Tour' at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday.
The 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.
In 2019, however, the boy band reunited.
The release of the group’s latest single “Hello My Love” in January marks the return of the boy band — minus McFadden — into the changing landscape of pop music. Reactions have been overwhelmingly positive, with fans excitedly awaiting the release of the band’s 11th studio album Spectrum in November.
With Indonesia, the effect is amplified. Westlife’s latest concert tour dubbed The Twenty Tour, so named for the group’s 20th anniversary, includes five scheduled dates in Indonesia, three more than any other Asian country.
Though sell outs and additional dates are common, the fact that Westlife is making stops in four cities in Indonesia — Jakarta, Palembang, Yogyakarta and Semarang — speaks to the group’s humongous fan base here, many of whom grew up with Westlife posters and cassettes in their bedrooms.
Westlife’s first stop in Indonesia was at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition in Tangerang, Banten, around two hours’ drive from Jakarta.
After one show was announced for Aug. 6 demand was so enormous the promoters added a second date on Aug. 7.
Though the setlist can be readily found online and has been consistent throughout the tour, the collective nostalgia has been made manifest through the opening notes of “Swear It Again”, hyping up the room before the four members open the night proper with the group’s 2019 release “Hello My Love”.
This is followed by “Swear It Again”, marking a perfect twenty years between their latest venture and one of their first hits.
The nostalgia fans share for Westlife’s greatest hits is clearly the main attraction of the concert, partly because only three singles have been released this year.
Still, it was quite heartening to see a room full of adults forget life’s worries and sing along to their teenage selves’ favorite songs like “My Love” and “When You’re Looking Like That” with the same enthusiasm they had years ago.
One lucky fan even had the chance to come on stage to be serenaded, with the group singing their 2019 release “Better Man”. One could almost feel the pure jealousy in the crowd’s screams as Filan didn’t let go of the lucky gal’s embrace even as the song reached the middle.
While still nostalgic, the setlist also includes covers from other musicians, like Billy Joel’s 1983 hit “Uptown Girl”, which was part of their 2001 album World of Our Own.
Also notable is a medley of songs of legendary British band Queen. While “Bohemian Rhapsody” is notably absent in Westlife’s Asian tour, the medley still serves up some upbeat moments to break up the mellowness, with songs like “Another One Bites The Dust”, “Radio Ga Ga”, and “Don’t Stop Me Now” being a hit with the crowd.
Audience participation was also enthusiastic, from the designated moment in “We Will Rock You” to other moments of nostalgia like “Queen of My Heart” and ABBA’s “I Have a Dream”.
After closing with “You Raise Me Up”, the four returned after a brief costume change for a rousing encore. From the rapture that greeted the final two songs of the night, “Flying Without Wings” and “World of Our Own”, it was more than apparent that the early 2000s teen heartthrobs never truly went away, they just grew up with their now middle-aged fans. (hdt)
— Photos by JP/Narabeto Korohama
