Maéstro

- Name : Maéstro / Basshunter
- Age : 18 years
- Occupation : ARTISTO : Proffessional Musician & Singér - Producer Look Like :

1. BASSHUNTER , The Bass Creator !!
2. ENRIQUE IGLESIAS ! Pop Maéstro ( one of my names )
3. WESTLIFE : the Best World Pop Band even known !
4. BACKSTREET BOYS : it is my 2nd Best Pop Band !
5. SHAYNE WARD : Nice Pop Songs

- I am Based On Many Fields in Music But Esspecially the EURODANCE !
And The Best Music ever known In EuroDance is for my Dude: BASSHUNTER !!
So Have a Look On The Official SKY BASSHUNTER :

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More than that, Our First Artists Groups :

- Basshunter

- Enrique Iglesias

- Westlife

- BackStreet Boys

- Shayne Ward

- Michael Jackson

and everyone who loves Tunisia Beauty ;-) ♥ ♥ , can Join This Group : TUNISIA

... i dont know the real u, i only see you on t.v, so im only a little insane, to think we actually meant to be, some people say you are gay, but i know thats not true, cause i am special, special just like you ♪ ♪




Love Listeing , Singing , making Music , essential Part Of My Life ! I See The World Beauty In Your Eyes ; Can I Touch Your Body , Let me Show How Much I Care..

This article is about the singer/songwriter. For the Uruguayan economist, see Enrique V. Iglesias.Enrique Iglesias . This is a Spanish name; the first family name is Iglesias and the second is Preysler.


Background information :

Birth name Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler
Born May 8, 1975 (1975-05-08) (age 34)
Madrid, Spain
Origin: Miami, Florida, USA
Genre(s): Pop, Latin pop, R&B
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, model, actor, musician, record producer
Instrument(s): Vocals
Years active :1995–present
Label(s): Interscope, Universal Music Latino
Associated acts :Nadiya, Lil Wayne, Sean Garrett, Ciara, Whitney Houston, Sarah Connor, Lionel Richie, Kelis, Gabriella Cilmi, Tyssem
Website: www.enriqueiglesias.com

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Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (born on May 8, 1975 Madrid, Spain), better known as Enrique Iglesias, is a Spanish singer, songwriter, model, and actor.

Iglesias started his musical career with Mexican indie label Fonovisa, which helped turn him into one of the most popular artists in Latin America and in the Latino market in the United States, selling more Spanish language albums than any other artist in that period of time.

Before the turn of the millennium he made a crossover into the mainstream English language market, signing a unique multi–album deal with Universal Music for an unprecedented $48,000,000, with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums.

Iglesias has sold over 60 million records worldwide, has had two Billboard Hot 100 #1s and one #3, and holds the record for producing 19 number #1 Spanish–language singles on the Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks.

Iglesias also has Maltese citizenship.

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Contents:

Early life and career

Iglesias was born in Madrid, the third and final child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias and Filipina socialite and magazine journalist Isabel Preysler.He is of Filipino and Spanish descent. His parents divorced in 1978, and the following year their father moved to Miami, Florida to continue with his musical career.

In 1985, Iglesias' grandfather, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped by the terrorist group ETA. Fearing for his grandchildren's safety, Enrique and his brother were sent to live with their father in Miami.[citation needed] He also lived in Belgrade, Serbia for one year with his mother, who worked as a journalist. Though his father's career kept him on the road, the young Iglesias was raised by the family nanny. In 1993 he graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School and went on to study business at the University of Miami.[citation needed]

Enrique did not want his father to know about his plans for a musical career, and did not want his famous surname to help advance his career. Citing his early inspiration from his teenage lover, Christie Debler, Iglesias borrowed money from his family nanny, and he recorded a demo tape which consisted of one Spanish song and two English songs. Approaching his father's former publicist Fernan Martinez, the two shopped the demo tape under the stage name 'Enrique Martinez' with the backstory of being an unknown from Guatemala. Iglesias was signed by a then small indie record label called Fonovisa. Dropping out of college he went to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for six months to record his first album.

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Career:

1995–1997 Enrique Iglesias

July 12, 1995, Iglesias released his first album titled Enrique Iglesias, a collection of light rock ballads, including such mega-hits as "Si Tú Te Vas", "Experiencia Religiosa", and others. The record sold half a million copies in its first week, a rare accomplishment then for an album recorded in a language other than English.

His song "Por Amarte" was included in Televisa's telenovela Marisol, but with a twist: instead of Por amarte daría mi vida (To love you, I'd give my life), the words were Por amarte Marisol, moriría (To love you, Marisol, I'd die). The CD also yielded Italian and Portuguese editions of the album, with most of the songs translated into those languages.

Five singles released from this album, such as "Por Amarte", "No Llores Por Mí", and "Trapecista" topped the Latin charts. The album went on to win Iglesias a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance.
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1997–1998 Vivir:

In 1997, Iglesias' star continued to rise with the release of Vivir (To Live), which put him up with other English language music superstars in sales for that year. The album also included a cover version of the Yazoo song "Only You", translated into Spanish as "Solo en Tí".

Insisting on stadiums, that summer, Enrique, backed by sidemen for Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, played to sold-out audiences in sixteen countries. Beginning the tour in Odessa, Texas the tour went on to three consecutive nights in Mexico's Plaza de Toros, two consecutive nights at Monterrey's Auditorio Coca Cola and two at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina to over 130,000 people as well as 19 arenas in the U.S. Three singles released from Vivir ("Enamorado Por Primera Vez", "Sólo en Ti" and "Miente") topped the Latin singles chart as well as those in several Spanish-speaking countries. Along with his father and Luis Miguel, Iglesias was nominated for an American Music Award in the first-ever awarded category of Favorite Latin Artist. It was said beforehand that the elder Iglesias would walk out if he did not win the award. Iglesias lost out to his father, but did perform the song "Lluvia Cae" at the event.

Enrique has been known to say his favorite song in the Album is the title Miente


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1998–1999 Cosas del Amor

In 1998, Iglesias released his third album, Cosas del Amor (Things of Love). Taking a more mature musical direction, the album, aided by the popular singles "Esperanza" and "Nunca Te Olvidaré", both of which topped the Latin singles chart, helped cement his status in the Latin music scene.

Iglesias did a short tour of smaller venues to accompany the release of the album, with one show being televised from Acapulco, Mexico. This was followed by a larger world tour of over eighty shows in even bigger venues. The Cosas del Amor Tour was the first ever concert tour sponsored by McDonald's.

He won an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Latin Artist against Ricky Martin and Los Tigres del Norte. The song "Nunca te Olvidaré" was also used as the theme music for a Spanish soap opera of the same name and he sang the song himself on the last episode of the series.

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1999–2000 Enrique:

By 1999, Iglesias had begun a successful crossover career into the English language music market. Thanks to other successful crossover acts, most notably that of Ricky Martin, Latino artists and music had a great surge in popularity in mainstream music. Iglesias' contribution to the soundtrack of Will Smith's movie Wild Wild West, "Bailamos" became a number one hit in the US.

After the success of "Bailamos", several mainstream record labels were eager to sign Enrique. Signing a multi-album deal after weeks of negotiations with Interscope, Iglesias recorded and released his first full CD in English, Enrique. The pop album, with some Latin influences, took two months to complete and contained a duet with Whitney Houston called "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" and a cover of the Bruce Springsteen song "Sad Eyes". The album's third single, "Be With You", became his second number one.

The final single from the album was the song "You're My #1", re-recorded and released in selected territories as a duet with local acts - Alsou in Russia, Sandy & Junior in Brazil and Valen Hsu in Asia.

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2001–2002 Escape:

Iglesias followed up in 2001 with the album Escape. Where most of the Latin crossover acts of the previous year experienced some difficulty matching the record sales of their first English language albums, Iglesias actually went on to sell even more. The album's first single, "Hero", became a number one hit in the United Kingdom, and in many other countries. The entire album was co-written by Iglesias.

Escape is his biggest commercial success to date. The singles "Escape" and "Don't Turn Off the Lights" became radio staples, fairing well and placing highly or topping various charts both in North America and elsewhere. A second edition of the album was released internationally and contained a new version of one of Enrique's favorite tracks, "Maybe", as well as a duet with Lionel Richie called "To Love a Woman".

Iglesias capitalized on the album's success with his "One-Night Stand World Tour" consisting of 50 sold-out shows in 16 countries. Including Radio City Music Hall and three consecutive nights in London's Royal Albert Hall, the tour ended with a big show at Stadium National Lia Manoliu in Bucharest, Romania. The concert launched MTV Romania, with the video for "Love to See You Cry" being the first to be shown on the channel.

The second leg of the tour, "Don't Turn Off the Lights", was completed in the summer of 2002, with two sold-out nights in Madison Square Garden and another two in Mexico's National Auditorium. The tour finished with a single show in the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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2002–2003 Quizás:

In 2002, Iglesias chose to release a fourth Spanish-language album titled Quizás (Perhaps). A more polished musical production than his previous Spanish albums and containing more introspective songs, the album's title track is a song about the strained relationship Iglesias has with his famous father.

The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the highest placement of a Spanish language album on the chart at the time. Quizás sold a million copies in a week, making it the fastest-selling album in Spanish in 5 years. The three singles released from the album all ended up topping the Latin chart, giving Iglesias a total of 16 number ones on the chart. He currently holds the record for the most number one singles on Billboard's Latin Chart. His last single from the album, "Para Que la Vida", reached a million spins on U.S. radio, the only Spanish language song to do so.

The video to the song "Quizás" was the first Spanish language music video to be added to the selection on MTV's popular show Total Request Live. Iglesias performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, becoming the first to sing a Spanish song on the show, and opening doors for other artists such as Ricky Martin, Juanes and Jorge Drexler to perform their Spanish material. Iglesias included songs from Quizás in his "Don't Turn Off the Lights Tour", and the album went on to win a Latin Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album.

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2003–2004 7:

In 2003, Iglesias released his seventh album, which he called 7, the second to be co-written by Iglesias. Among its more 1980s-inspired material, it features the song "Roamer", which he wrote with his friend and longtime guitarist, Tony Bruno. The CD also contained the song "Be Yourself", a song about independence (the chorus talks about how Iglesias' own parents didn't believe he'd ever succeed in his singing career). The first single was the song "Addicted", and was followed closely by a remix of the song "Not in Love", featuring Kelis.

With this album, Iglesias went on his biggest world tour to date. The highly publicised tour started with twelve shows in the United States ending with Iglesias playing at Houston Rodeo and continued on to several countries, most of which he'd never previously visited playing to sold-out arenas and stadiums in Australia, India, Egypt and Singapore before ending his tour in South Africa.

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2004–2006 Post Seven activities:

While recording new material ,Iglesias usually forgoes public appearances but during this period he made a number of guest appearances in the media. He was a guest on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, surprising one of his fans and spending the day with her. He also appeared at the Premios Juventud and was a musical guest on the final broadcast of Diego Maradona's television show in Argentina and few days later performed at a Christmas concert in support of the Special Olympics.

Iglesias has also attended various promotional events for the Tommy Hilfiger fragrance called True Star Men, which he is endorsing. Enrique stars in the commercial for the fragrance itself with the theme song "Ring My Bells" which was a track on his the forthcoming album. Iglesias also appeared on the season finale of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition singing a song called "Somebody's Me", also from his latest album.


Enrique Iglesias on stage in Israel.More recently, Iglesias has also performed live in one-off concerts in Italy, Uruguay and Israel, as well as performing at a festival for MTV in Málaga alongside Paulina Rubio and has completed a series of concerts in the States. The "For the Fans Tour" featured much of his older repertoire as well as new songs in both English and Spanish. Iglesias appeared on the May 7, 2007 episode of CBS' Two and a Half Men as 'Fernando' the Handyman.

The first single, "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" from his new album Insomniac released on June 12 was premiered on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on KIIS-FM on Tuesday, April 10, 2007. Enrique performed "Do You Know?" for the first time as well as "Hero" for a live taping of the U.S. series of Dancing with the Stars.

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2007–2008 Insomniac:

Iglesias released his new album Insomniac on June 12, 2007. The album was so named due to it being recorded mainly at night. The album contained a more contemporary pop style than that of previous albums with many of the tracks being described as R&B. Among the albums highlights include "Push", a hip-hop-flavored collaboration with rapper Lil' Wayne, as well as "Ring My Bells", and a cover of Ringside's "Tired of Being Sorry".

The first single "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)" became a worldwide hit peaking in the top 10 several countries and reaching #1 in many. The Spanish version of the song entitled "Dimelo" was #1 on Bilboard's Hot Latin Tracks for eleven unconsecutive weeks becoming one of his best performing songs on the chart.

Iglesias followed up with the ballad "Somebody's Me" which was released as a single in the American Continent. The song was played extensively on AC radio with the song peaking high on Billboard's Hot AC and the Spanish version also performing well on the charts. The song was featured on the soap The Young and the Restless and Iglesias performed the track on the show. In Europe, the second single was "Tired of Being Sorry" which was a success in many countries. Recently Iglesias has recorded a version of the song with French singer Nâdiya which has reached #1 in France.

On July 4, Enrique Iglesias became the first Western artist to play a concert in Syria in three decades when he performed for a sold-out crowd of 10,000 in the capital city of Damascus and in the same week performed on Live Earth. He would also make a second appearance The Royal Variety Performance.

The Insomniac World Tour was launched at the Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa, the same venue he ended his last world Tour and took him to sold out arenas throughout Europe. It was his first arena tour of the UK with him playing venues such as Manchester's MEN Arena and Wembley Arena. The tour ended with Iglesias performing at newly opened L.A. Live at the Nokia theatre in LA. A second leg of the tour has taken him throughout Latin America from Mexico to Argentina. His concert at Belfast's Odyssey Arena was filmed for MSN Control Room and has been broadcast on television.

The song "Push" was added to the soundtrack of the movie Step Up 2 the Streets albeit without Li'l Wayne. The song was regarded as the third single from the album. A music video was shot which features the film's lead actors. Despite never being officially added to radio the song has charted in several countries and is one of his most highly rated songs amongst fans.

Enrique's song "Can You Hear Me" has been chosen as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament. He performed the song live at the June 29, 2008 final in Vienna, Austria.The song featured on a re-issue of the Insomniac album being released in certain countries

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2008 Enrique Iglesias: Greatest Hits:

After the success of his Spanish Greatest Hits compilation, Iglesias released a compilation of his English language hits on November 11.

The album includes "Can You Hear Me" as well two new songs. The first single is entitled "Away" ft Sean Garrett and was released to radio on November 11, 2008. And the second single will be a new song called "Takin' Back My Love" with R&B/Pop singer Ciara, will be released to radio in January 2009.[

The compilation includes English hit songs such as "Bailamos", "Hero", "Be With You", "Not In Love" and "Escape" which have topped the various Billboard Charts (two of which on Hot 100) as well as songs such as Rhythm Divine, Tired Of Being Sorry and Do You Know (The ping pong song) which have also topped charts in Europe.

After the successful collaboration with Nadiya, Iglesias has recorded a second duet with her called "I Miss You" which previously featured on his album Insomniac. The duet will be on the French Edition of the album.

The album debuted at #3 on The Official Uk Album Chart and sold over 80,000 copies in its first 2 weeks alone.

Enrique was the winner for two World Music Awards in the categories of "World's Best Selling Latin Performer" and "World's Best Selling Spanish Artist", in the ceremony held in Monaco on November 9, 2008. He also won an American Music Award (AMA) for "Favorite Latin Artist of 2008".

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2009:

January 17, Iglesias was named Best International Male Artist at the 2009 NRJ Music Award in France. The same week Iglesias entered in the French top 3 of singles chart with his song "Takin' Back My Love". On February 6, Enrique's latest songs ("Takin' Back My Love") music video was released.

Enrique completed another tour in April, May, June and July of this year. The Greatest hits tour started in Minsk then followed onto Vilnius, Riga, Tallin, Helsinki, Horsens, Paris, Rotterdam, Doha, Newcastle, Manchester, Cardiff, Belfast, Dublin, London, Hsselt, Batislava, Ksice, Belgrade, Monte Carlo and Milan. This tour had support acts Esmee Denters and Alesha Dixon.

On June 7, Enrique Iglesias along with other artists such as The Saturdays, Ciara, Kelly Clarkson and Blue, attended and headlined capital radio's Summertime Ball.

At the moment Enrique is working on two new albums one Spanish and one English.

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Songwriting, producing, and acting:

Iglesias has collaborated with songwriter Guy Chambers to write "Un Nuovo Giorno", the lead single from Andrea Bocelli's first pop album. The song was later translated into English as "First Day of My Life" and recorded by Spice Girl Melanie C. The song has since gone to become a huge hit throughout Europe, and peaked in the number one spot in numerous countries. Iglesias also wrote the single "The Way" for American Idol runner up Clay Aiken. Four songs co-written by Iglesias appear on the UK band The Hollies' current album. Many times Iglesias has said that should he ever retire, he wants to write and produce songs for other artists.

In 2000, Iglesias co-produced an off Broadway musical called Four Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer Named Maria. In the musical, four Americans of Latin heritage possess a common interest in music and meet and decide to put on a show. The show contained many references and allusions to many classic and contemporary Latin and pop songs by the likes of Carmen Miranda, Selena, Ritchie Valens, Santana, Ricky Martin and Iglesias himself.

Iglesias also developed an interest in acting, starring alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Johnny Depp in the Robert Rodriguez film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in which he played the foul-mouthed gun-wielding Lorenzo. In 2007, he had a cameo role in the TV comedy Two and a Half Men, starring Charlie Sheen. He says that he would act again if given small roles that he could fit in between his musical commitments.

He also guest starred as Gael, an Argentinean guitar playing/surfer/massage therapist love interest on the CBS TV show How I Met Your Mother.

Iglesias also played the part of an evil Roman emperor in an ambitious TV commercial for Pepsi, which sponsored his last world tour. He starred alongside Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Pink, who turn the tables on him in the commercial

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Public Image:

From the beginning of his career Iglesias's public image has been that of a heartthrob with a lot of his early music videos portrayed him as a Boy next door. This image proved instantly popular with fans, and after Iglesias's first television performance he was mobbed by crowds of young girls and he had to resort to lying on the floor of a taxi to leave the studio undetected[citation needed].

This would become the norm for Iglesias when promoting his music but reached fever pitch In 1999 in support of the Cosas Del Amor album Iglesias visited Chile to perform at Viña del Mar International Song Festival. His visit to the country was highly publicised for the Beatlemania-esque reaction it caused, with thousands of young girls packing the streets of the airport and outside Iglesias's hotel. Iglesias drew record crowds to the event and received much praise for his set.

His visit to the festival the following year however would be remembered for much different reasons. When presented with the award called La Gaviota, Iglesias lightly tossed the award into the first few rows of the audience. At first this evoked no visible reaction from the audience but when the presenter expressed offense and demanded that the award be passed back the crowd reacted negatively. The next day the media reacted negatively to what was seen as a slight by Iglesias, at a press conference Iglesias explained that he meant to show that the award was for his fans. Despite continued strong sales in Latin America Iglesias has never been invited back to the Festival and the incident is often brought up when he visits Chile.

In June 2000, radio personality Howard Stern received a tape of a supposedly off-key MP3 of Iglesias singing, along to the track "Rhythm Divine". Stern played this humorous clip throughout the week on his radio show insinuating that Iglesias lip synched and couldn't sing well outside the studio, even suggesting that Iglesias himself did not sing on his albums, comparing him to Milli Vanilli. Iglesias flew straight in to New York from Italy where he had just performed with Pavarotti, and appeared on Stern's show, singing acoustic versions of "Rhythm Divine" and "Be with You", after which Stern told Iglesias he had silenced his critics. Iglesias would go on to say that controversy and his appearance on the show was the best promotion he could have

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Personal life:

Since the beginning of his career the media have linked Iglesias to many women, though due to his generally private nature it is difficult to know which claims are true and which are fabrications. Most notably Iglesias has been linked with Sofia Vergara, Alexandra Cheron, Samantha Torres, and allegedly dated Alicia Machado for a brief period. After crossing over into English he was strongly linked in the media to Jennifer Love Hewitt, with whom he remained friends and who co–starred in the music video for Hero a year later.

For six years now he publicly has dated tennis star Anna Kournikova, whom he met on the set of his music video Escape. Many reports showed up since 2007 of their splitting. In 2008, after Enrique made a publicity joke, there were reports of the couple's having been married formerly and now divorced. Enrique has stated subsequently in interviews that it was simply a joke, and that they are still very much together.

Iglesias has publicly stated he suffers from insomnia, and that even heavy-duty sleep aids often do not work for him.

In 2003, Iglesias had his trademark facial mole removed

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Awards & Nominations:

Urban Music Awards:

- 2009, Best International Latino Act: (Won)

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Discography:

Studio Albums in Spanish:

1995: Enrique Iglesias
1997: Vivir
1998: Cosas del Amor
2002: Quizás

Studio Albums in English:

1999: Enrique
2001: Escape
2003: 7
2007: Insomniac

Compilations:

1998: Remixes
1999: Bailamos Greatest Hits
1999: The Best Hits
2008: Enrique Iglesias: 95/08 Exitos
2008: Greatest Hits

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External links:

- EnriqueIglesias.com — Enrique Iglesias official website

- Enrique Iglesias on YouTube

- Enrique Iglesias at MySpace

- Enrique Iglesias on Twitter

- Enrique Iglesias at Allmusic

- Enrique Iglesias profile at NNDB

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This article is about the Famous , best Pop Band Westlife ,, so Listen to me :

Background information

Origin :Dublin and Sligo, Ireland
Genre(s): Pop R&B
Years active :1998–present
Label(s) Sony BMG, RCA, Syco Music, Arista
Website : www.westlife.com
Members :
Nicky Byrne
Kian Egan
Mark Feehily
Shane Filan
Former members
Bryan McFadden (1998–2004)

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Westlife is an Irish pop band formed on July 3, 1998. The group's original lineup comprised Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Bryan McFadden. The band is the only act in UK history to have their first seven singles go straight to Number 1, and they have gone on to sell over 40 million records worldwide which includes their studio, single, video, and compilation albums.

They were signed by Simon Cowell and are currently managed by Louis Walsh. In 2008, they were declared as Ireland's ninth-richest celebrities under 30 years old and 13th in general. They garnered 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom, the third-highest in UK history, tying with Cliff Richard and trailing behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The band has also won numerous awards such as "Best Irish Pop Act" at the annual Ireland Meteor Awards and is the only band to win the ITV "Record of the Year" award in the UK four times in a row. The band has also broken a few top records, including "Music artist with most consecutive number 1's in the UK" and the "Biggest selling arena act in the UK".

Over years of their career, Westlife's music has evolved from teen pop to a pop sound, with an emphasis on ballads. All of the band members are songwriters, although most of their hits have been composed by external writers, most notably Steve Mac and Wayne Hector. On July 3, 2008, Westlife marked their 10th anniversary with a concert in Croke Park, Dublin which saw more than 82,000 fans attending the special occasion. Music Week revealed on their website that Westlife is the official third top touring act within the years 2005–2008, while they were 7th top touring act of 2008.

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History:

Formation:

Prior to Westlife, Kian, Mark and Shane along with fellow Sligonians Derrick Lacey, Graham Keighron and Michael Garrett, were part of a six-member pop vocal group called IOYOU. Managed by choreographer Mary McDonagh along with two other informal managers, they released a single titled "Together Girl Forever". Louis Walsh, the manager of the 1990s boy band Boyzone, was contacted by Shane's mother and came to know about the band. However, IOYOU did not meet Simon Cowell's approval for a record deal with BMG, and thus changes were needed. Three members of IOYOU were told they would not be part of the new band, and auditions were held in Dublin where Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden were recruited. The new group, formed on July 3, 1998, was re-named Westside but as the name was already taken by another band, it was changed to Westlife. Also changing Brian's name to Bryan. Boyzone singer Ronan Keating was brought in to co-manage the band with Walsh. Westlife then released an EP titled Swear It Again, though only in Asia.


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Dreams Come True - World Of Our Own (1998-2002)

Westlife's first big break came in 1998 when they opened for the Boyzone and Backstreet Boys' concerts in Dublin. Later that year, they won the 'Best New Tour Act' award at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. In March 1999, the band released their first single, "Swear It Again" which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in UK for two weeks. Their second single, "If I Let You Go", released in August 1999 along with the highly acclaimed "Flying Without Wings" (their first 'Record of the Year'), released in October the same year, also followed suit. "Flying Without Wings" was also included on the soundtrack of the Warner Brothers film, "Pokemon 2000". The first album, simply titled Westlife, was released in November 1999 and peaked at #2 in the UK. Ironically, the album was the biggest chart dropper in the music history of UK, falling from #3 to #37, and is also the band's only original studio album that never reached #1. In December 1999, the double a side fourth single was released,"I Have A Dream"/"Seasons In The Sun", knocked Cliff Richard's "The Millennium Prayer" off the top spot and earning them the 1999 UK Christmas number-one single. The fifth and last single from the album, "Fool Again", also peaked at #1. Then, the band went on a short UK and Asian tour in support of their debut album before releasing a second album.


Coast to Coast was released a year after and was another #1 UK album beating the Spice Girls' Forever album. It became the country's 4th biggest selling album of 2000 and is Westlife's biggest selling album to date. The album was preceded by a duet with Mariah Carey on the Phil Collins' classic "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and the original song, "My Love" (the song that bagged their second 'Record of the Year' award). Both singles reached #1 on the UK charts. With this, Westlife broke an unexpected record of having their first seven singles debut at the top of the UK charts, tying with The Beatles. However, in December 2000, they failed to secure their eighth chart-topper in a row with their UK and Ireland only single "What Makes A Man" when kid's favourite, Bob The Builder's "Can We Fix It", was crowned as the Christmas number-one single of that year. Outside the UK/Ireland territories, they have released "I Lay My Love on You" and "When You're Looking Like That" and gained chart success. In 2001, the boys launched their first world tour, "Where Dreams Come True Tour", unofficially nicknamed "The No Stools Tour" due to the band's reputation of performing while perched on stools.


Westlife released World Of Our Own, their third album, in November 2001. "Uptown Girl", "Queen of My Heart" and "World of Our Own" were released as singles, as of which all peaked at #1 in the UK. "Bop Bop Baby" was also released as a single but it peaked at #5 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2002, Westlife went on their second world tour, the World Of Our Own Tour (In The Round)


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Unbreakable - Departure of Bryan (2002-2004)

The band released their eleventh UK #1 single, "Unbreakable", in 2002. Amidst rumours of a split, Westlife released their first greatest hits album in November that same year entitled, Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 zoomed all the way to #1 in the UK. The release was followed by the double a side single, "Tonight/Miss You Nights", which debuted at #3 in the UK. At this era, Because Films Inspire... made a TV Documentary titled as "Wild Westlife" directed by Iain MacDonald and starred by the band itself. It reveals how was their musical life on a daily basis and when on tour. In 2003, Westlife went on to their third world tour, The Greatest Hits Tour, shrugging off rumours of a split.


In September 2003, Westlife released "Hey Whatever", which peaked at #4 on the UK Charts. Their fourth studio album, Turnaround, was then released in November, earning the band another UK #1 album. "Mandy", a cover of the Barry Manilow hit, was released in November 2003. Their version won them their third Record of the Year award in under five years. Their version of Mandy is also considered as the highest single leaper to the top (from #200 to #1) in the UK music history. "Obvious" was released as the final single from the album, charting at #3.On 9 March 2004, just three weeks prior to embarking on their fourth world tour, Bryan McFadden left the band to spend more time with his family and work on solo projects. On that day, a press conference was held where all the band's members were present and gave emotional individual speeches. Bryan's final public performance as part of Westlife was at Newcastle Upon Tyne's Powerhouse nightclub on 27 February 2004.He subsequently began a solo career, deciding to revert the spelling of his first name back to its original 'Brian', he released his first solo single, "Real To Me" which entered the UK chart at #1 and soon after, he released his first solo album, "Irish Son" under Sony Music. He went on to release more singles but those releases made moderate success only.

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Allow Us To Be Frank - 10 years (2004–2009)

Less than a month after McFadden's departure, the band kicked off their "Turnaround Tour". A live version from the said tour of "Flying Without Wings" was released as an official UK download, earning them the title of the very first UK Downloads #1. They then put out a Rat Pack-inspired album, Allow Us to Be Frank, peaking at #3. No singles were released in the UK from this album. "Ain't That A Kick In The Head", accompanied with a music video, was released as a physical single in other European countries. "Smile" and "Fly Me To The Moon", with music videos as well, were released as digital downloads only. Prior to the album release, Westlife scouted for "the perfect fan" to help promote their album from their one-season special show "She's The One", presented by Kate Thornton. After X Factor-style auditions, they found Joanne Hindley, who recorded "The Way You Look Tonight" with the band.To mark this special collaboration, a special programme was televised, showing auditions and live performances. Performers included Joanne, Westlife members' fathers and glamour model Katie Price, Il Divo and Kevin Spacey. Westlife continued to tour Europe as part of their "The Number Ones Tour", before taking a four-month break from work. On 4 May 2005, Westlife lost their battle for European trademark from the German trademark "West".


In 2005, Westlife returned with their comeback single, "You Raise Me Up", which was taken from their Face To Face album. On 6 November 2005, both the album and the single were at #1 in the UK at the same time at the second week of the single. It was the first time that Westlife have held both top album and single position in the same week. "You Raise Me Up" was awarded as their fourth Record Of The Year in UK for 2005. In December that year, the band released "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", a duet with Diana Ross, as the second single and it debuted at its peak position of #2.Westlife then released a third single, "Amazing", which debuted at #4 and marked as the band's lowest-selling single yet. After that, Westlife embarked on the "Face To Face Tour", travelling extensively to the UK, Ireland, Australia and Asia. This tour marked the first time that Westlife have travelled to mainland China for a concert.


In late 2006, Westlife signed a brand new five-album deal with Sony BMG. Their eighth album, The Love Album, was a "love" concept album which consisted of popular love song covers. The album outnumbered other compilation albums by Oasis, The Beatles, and U2 in its first week of release and went straight to #1. The first single from The Love Album was a cover version of Bette Midler's classic, "The Rose", which became their 14th UK #1 single. This made Westlife the third act (along with Cliff Richard) in the UK to have the most #1 singles, tailing behind Elvis Presley (21) and The Beatles (17). Westlife then kicked off their eighth world tour, "The Love Tour", in Perth, Australia. The band then went on to other Australian cities before moving on to South Africa, the UK and Ireland. The band played their last major concert of 2007 at Bitts Park in Carlisle, England.


On 5 November 2007, Westlife released their ninth album, Back Home, which contained nine new original songs along with three cover songs. The album debuted at #1 on the UK Music Charts and it was also 2007's fifth biggest selling album in the UK. The first single released from the album was a cover of Michael Bublé's "Home", which peaked at #3 in the UK. "I'm Already There", not released as a single, managed to chart in the UK based on downloads alone following a performance on an The X Factor episode. On 15 December 2007, they had a two-hour show called The Westlife Show where they performed 10 of their songs, some voted by the fans through online and some from Back Home. It was hosted by Holly Willoughby. This time, Westlife together with Tesco brought out "The Definitive Westlife Quiz" that asked about the whole history about the band. It was participated by thousands of fans worldwide. Months later, "Us Against The World" was announced and released as their second single in UK and Ireland. It peaked at #8 and is the band's lowest charting single to date. Before the release of the second single, they embarked on the Back Home Tour on 2008 February 25. This tour marked the first time that the group have traveled and performed to New Zealand, performing four sold-out shows in Auckland, Wellington, New Plymouth and Christchurch. Meanwhile, "Something Right" was released as the second single and "Us Against The World" became the third single in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. Both songs performed well on several music charts.


To mark their tenth year in music, Westlife staged a special 10 Years Of Westlife sold-out concert at the world's thirty-third and Europe's fourth biggest stadium, Croke Park, on 1 June 2008. With a capacity of 82 300, it was the band's biggest show to date. Shayne Ward filled in as a support act for the concert, which Kian described to be of a "pop extravaganza". Shane confirmed that a corresponding live concert DVD will be released. The band announced that they will be on hiatus for a year after their Back Home Tour and that there would not be an album release in 2008 as they would be spending more time on the production of their tenth album. On June 16, 2008, HarperCollins UK will release Westlife's autobiography, 'Westlife - Our Story', as part of their 10th year celebration. The book was said to be written by each member of the band for three months. It contains the life they have for the past ten years in the business. It features also some of the private pictures from the lads. As promised, the band's official website confirmed on 27 September 2008 the release of a DVD on 24 November 2008 entitled 10 Years Of Westlife - Live at Croke Park Stadium which went straight to #1 on UK, Ireland, South African, Hong Kong and New Zealand Music DVD charts.


As the group ended their successful Back Home tour, Louis Walsh announced in the show Xpose that 1 July 2008 is the official start of the longest hiatus of the band so far. He said that it will be a one-year break, from that day up to 1 July 2009. On 13 December 2008, while on a break, Westlife made an unexpected appearance on X Factor Final Performance Night where they performed "Flying Without Wings" with JLS. After the presentation, Shane and Nicky were interviewed on Xtra Factor with Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately of Boyzone. As JLS performed also "I'm Already There", Westlife's version of the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #63 while a new entry on Ireland Singles Chart at #47 due to extensive downloads only.

Before Christmas 2008, they wrote a letter to their website saying that 2009 was going to be the most exciting year yet for Westlife. With that, the fans[who?] more strongly speculated that one of the reasons is because of their possible collaborations with Leona Lewis and Britney Spears. While on a hiatus, Westlife was reported[by whom?] to have a closed deal for their upcoming 70-concert tour with 10 million Euros worth by the end of 2009.

On the last week of January 2009, a DVD entitled The Karaoke Collection was released. It contains some of their music video hits. In 27 February 2009 issue of Herald Ireland, Louis revealed that Simon already picked three new songs which he reckons to be instant hits. Nicky spread the world last 8 March 2009 that the band will come back to music charts when they start recording in June 2009 when he received his VIP Style Awards as the Most Stylish Man on X-pose, TV3. On 18 March 2009, they won the Best Irish Pop Act on 2009 Meteor Awards for the ninth consecutive time. On 28 May 2009, they re-released Westlife - Our story autobiography, adding their Croke Park experience and first time in a paperback edition.

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New album (2009-present):

Walsh has revealed that after a year's break with their friends and family Westlife will return to hit the charts once more in June when they work on their tenth studio album. Walsh also said that while he met up with Simon Cowell they jointly managed to mastermind Westlife's comeback. At the time three songs had already been chosen which he believes will be big hits when they are released by the boy band. Westlife will be revealing their 2010 tour dates with two new dates in Croke Park on their minds. In total the band plans to play 70 concerts coming towards the end of the year including 8 dates at Dublin's 02 arena and other huge venues across Ireland, the United Kingdom and other countries. Shane Filan told the Irish Mirror that they want to make the next album one of their best. Westlife have vowed to work for 100% new material, no more cover songs and to continue performing as a band until they have more #1 hit singles than The Beatles who are the only band with more hit singles than Westlife. Shane Filan said they would like to have 20 #1's before they would ever consider splitting up. The Band have also said that the new album will have a more rockier sound and wont be as ballad driven.

Irish Evening Herald revealed that Louis Walsh's new girlband, which includes Kian's wife Jodi Albert, will be supporting Westlife when they return to the international stage in late 2009. Westlife plans to play more dates at Croke Park, and the new girlband will be the support act for at least one of the shows, to experience playing in a major venue. Walsh has confirmed that his band touring with Westlife is definite.

The recording process of their tenth album started on July 1, 2009 on Telefunken studios in London. Nicky said that there will be many first time producers and writers for the upcoming album. He also wanted to have collaboration works with Chris Martin of Coldplay, a big fan of the band's music. Ryan Tedder of the group OneRepublic and a well-known writer/producer also have done a song for them called "Beautiful", which may appear on their forthcoming album. Another song has been found for them was entitled "Leaving". On the latest, there are already prepared 5 songs given by Simon Cowell for them to record. Darren Hayes, Desmond Child, Tommy Denander, Guy Chambers, Leonard Cohen, Andreas Carlsson, Calvin Harris, JC Chasez and Ben Adams of the reunited boyband A1 were also about to work with the pop band. A song entitled "As Love Is My Witness" surfaced the internet and rumored to be included on the upcoming album.

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US market:

Westlife have so far been unable to break into the US market. Their debut single and music video "Swear It Again", released in the US in 2000, was a hit on mainstream radio and the band even made an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. The song peaked at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was #75 on the Billboard Hot 100 year end chart in 2000. A US edition of their debut album, Westlife was also released. In 2002, an attempt was made to promote and release a US version of Westlife's World Of Our Own album but was scaled back as the band decided to concentrate promotions in other foreign markets where they had a larger fan base. This was a questionable decision as the band may have been able to capitalize on opportunities left behind when the two most prominent boy bands in the US, the Backstreet Boys and N' Sync, went on hiatus that year. The Westlife hit song "Flying Without Wings" peaked at #2 in the US when American Idol Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard recorded and released it as his debut single. The band was disappointed when they heard of the news as they were planning on bringing that song to the American audiences in the near future. In 2003, Westlife went to Nashville to film a TV documentary for the BBC called "Swapping Notes: Westlife go Country". While they were there, they gave a live performance of the song "Daytime Friends", originally by country music legend Kenny Rogers, which won them much critical praise.

Recently, an interview with Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell was held saying that the group will try to break into the music market of the United States in their comeback in 2009-2010. Produced by Simon Cowell's America's Got Talent were avidly using Westlife songs like "Us Against the World", "Flying Without Wings" and "What Makes a Man" as the background music of the said show.

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Collaborations:

The band is signed under the management of the major record label Sony Music. Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell, Sonny Takhar, Tim Byrne are some of Westlife's management and production team. Aside from Steve Mac and Wayne Hector, the lads have the opportunies to work for their original songs with some of the well-known songwriters/producers. Here are some of them that we can widely see on their studio albums: Savan Kotecha, Rami Yacoub, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Max Martin, Anders Johansson, Josef Larossi, Jorgen Elofsson, Andreas Carlsson, Arnthor Birgisson, Kristian Lundin, Jake Schulze, Diane Warren and most recently Ryan Tedder, Darren Hayes, and Ben Adams. For their remixed songs, Rokstone, Orphanz, Ashanti Boyz, Wideboys, Soul Seekerz, and Jim Steinman have already worked for the band to complete their single releases.

The group had studio recorded and live collaborations in some of the most renowned music acts such as Mariah Carey ("Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)"), Lulu ("Back at One"), Joanne Hindley ("The Way You Look Tonight"), Diana Ross ("When You Tell Me That You Love Me"), Donna Summer ("No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)"), Delta Goodrem ("All Out of Love"), and "If I Had Words" with The Vards. "I Have A Dream", with Indonesian childstar Sherina and "My Love" with Amr Diab. These songs were also recorded and included on the various albums. In 2002, Westlife re-recorded their hit song "Flying Without Wings" with Cristian Castro and Korean singer BoA as two separate duets.

They had performed live duets with some of the biggest names in the music industry including Sinéad O'Connor ("Silent Night"), Donny Osmond ("Crazy Horses"), Mariah Carey ("Never Too Far/Hero Medley"), Secret Garden ("You Raise Me Up"), Lionel Richie ("Easy"), Ronan Keating ("The Dance"), Dolores O'Riordan of The Cranberries ("Little Drummer Boy"), Roy Orbison ("Pretty Woman"), Delta Goodrem ("All Out Of Love"), Raymond Quinn ("That's Life"), Wang Lee Hom ("You Raise Me Up"), Mary Black ("Walking In The Air"), Kevin Spacey ("Fly Me to the Moon"), Do ("Heaven"), various artists "All-Stars" ("That's What Friends Are For"; "Merry Christmas Everybody"; "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday") and even their fathers ("That's Life").

Some of the famous music video directors have got the chance to work with Westlife. WIth the likes of Cameron Casey, Wayne Isham, Nigel Dick, Stuart Gosling, Phil Griffin, Antti Jokinen, David Mould, Alex Hemming, Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini. Prominent stars Claudia Schiffer, Robert Bathurst, James Wilby, Ioan Gruffudd, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Tim McInnerny, Vinnie Jones and Alexa Chung have also starred in their music videos.

Shayne Ward, No Way Out, K-otic, Natural, Six, Totally Spies, D-Side and Lauren Waterworth, Bellefire, The Conway Sisters, V, Twen2y4se7en, Zoo, Kwest, Pop, No Way Out, Sub Bass 5, Traphic, Mark Dakriet, 4th Ba5e, Reel, Peter Andre, Girls Aloud, Eton Road, Gareth Gates, Roxanne, Alsou, The MacDonald Brothers, Billiam, Cushh, The Unconventionals, Dyyce, Lady Nada, Code 5, Annabel Fay and Hope have supported the band on different tours. It is reported that Louis Walsh newly signed girl group will be the support act of Westlife on their upcoming international concert tours.

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Philanthropy:

While each member of the band has had his own individual humanitarian advocacies and activities, Westlife has been supporting various projects for a charity cause from the start. One of which was when the group re-recorded "I Have A Dream" with Indonesian star Sherina for a UNICEF fund raising. Aside from that, the band released their cover version of "Uptown Girl" as a Comic Relief single, which was one of their biggest selling singles to date. Apart from it, they have also helped the S.I.R.F. organization in aid of the South Asian tsunami victims.

On 4 November 2005, they performed together with Christina Aguilera and Diana Ross at Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa for The “Unite of the Stars” Gala Banquet charity concert that supports four charities: the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, Unite Against Hunger, St. Mary's Hospital and the Topsy Foundation. They've also been actively helping both the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID), ChildLine and Children in Need, Cancer Research UK organizations. Most recently, they performed "Us Against the World" live on Sports Relief, of Bluebell Wood and participating in Galway's Irish Water Safety Campaign by doing an advertisement. They are also an official supporter of One World Beat.

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Discography:

Albums:

- Westlife (1999)
- Coast to Coast (2000)
- World of Our Own (2001)
- Unbreakable (2002)
- Turnaround (2003)
- Allow Us To Be Frank (2004)
- Face to Face (2005)
- The Love Album (2006)
- Back Home (2007)
- TBA (2009/2010)

UK No. 1 Singles:

- Swear It Again (April 1999)
- If I Let You Go (August 1999)
- Flying Without Wings (October 1999)
- I Have a Dream/Seasons in the Sun (December 1999)
- Fool Again (March 2000)
- Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) (September 2000)
- My Love (October 2000)
- Uptown Girl (March 2001)
- Queen of My Heart (November 2001)
- World of Our Own (February 2002)
- Unbreakable (November 2002)
- Mandy (November 2003)
- You Raise Me Up (October 2005)
- The Rose (November 2006)

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External links:

- Official Westlife Website

- Westlife on Myspace

- Official Westlife YouTube


Album:

Westlife: 1999

Swear It Again
If I Let You Go
Flying Without Wings
I Have A Dream
Seasons In the Sun

Westlife (US Version) 1999

Fool Again
Swear It Again (US Version)
My Private Movie (US Version)

Coast To Coast 2000:

Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) (Feat. Mariah Carey)
My Love
What Makes A Man
I Lay My Love On You
Uptown Girl
When You're Looking Like That 2001

World Of Our Own: 2001

Queen Of My Heart
Angel
World Of Our Own
Bop Bop Baby

World Of Our Own (US Version) 2001

World Of Our Own (US Version)


Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1: 2002

Flying Without Wings (With BoA)
Flying Without Wings (With Christian Castro)
Unbreakable
Tonight
Miss You Nights
Tonight (Metro Mix) 2003

Turnaround: 2003

Hey Whatever
Mandy
Obvious

Allow Us To Be Frank: 2004

Ain't That A Kick In the Head
Smile
Fly Me To the Moon

Face To Face: 2005

You Raise Me Up
You Raise Me Up (Version 2)
When You Tell Me That You Love Me (Feat. Diana Ross)
Amazing

The Love Album: 2006

The Rose (Black & White Version)The Rose (Colour Version)

Back Home: 2007/2008

Home
Us Against The World
Something Right

TBA: 2009

This article is about the Best band: Backstreet Boys , For their self-titled album !
When i say best that means really BEST ! for me as a S&Musician, it's my second favorite Pop band

Background information :

Origin : Orlando, Florida, United States
Genre(s) : Pop , Pop Rock , Teen Pop , Adult Contemporary , R&B
Years active : 1993-present
Label(s) : Jive Records
Associated acts: Akon, T-Pain, Ryan Tedder, Claude Kelly, Pitbull
Website: www.backstreetboys.com
Members :
- Brian Littrell
- Nick Carter
- Howie Dorough
- A. J. McLean
Former members:
- Kevin Richardson: (1993–2006)

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The Backstreet Boys are a Grammy-nominated American boy band. They were the first group launched by boy band mogul Lou Pearlman, and have been together since April 20, 1993. They have had 13 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and have sold over 100 million albums making them the best selling boy band of all time.

After returning to the music scene in 2005, their sound changed dramatically, incorporating only live instruments (some of which they play themselves) and a more guitar and piano driven pop rock sound. The four-member group consists of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell and A. J. McLean. Original member Kevin Richardson left the group on June 23, 2006 to start a family, but the four-piece refused to rule out a possible return for the singer.

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Musical career:

Beginnings and international successes: 1993–1996:

Lou Pearlman was inspired by New Kids on the Block in the 1980s and Steve Kinde (The Back Door Boys) to create his own clean-cut boy band. After a series of newspaper advertisements and auditions in 1992 and 1993, he recruited A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, and Nick Carter who met each other in several auditions and became friends. Following the departure of three previous members, Burk Parsons (pursued a career in ministry), Sam Licata (later performing as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards, Kevin Richardson came on board. He met the other guys through a co-worker, and the four decided to form a group, naming themselves after an Orlando flea market. The group took its final member on April 19, 1993, when Brian Littrell, Richardson's cousin, joined the group after a phone audition. Pearlman had spent around $3.5 million of fraudulently obtained money (he has been convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme during this time frame) on his search to form the group, and then spent more to launch their career.

Afterward Pearlman called on his friend Bob Curiano to be the first to write and produce for the Backstreet Boys. Their first two songs ever recorded were "Lover Boy", written and produced by Curiano, and "Get Ready", a cover tune. The hit, 'Lover Boy' was inspired by Ana Legen, Bob Curiano's, first teenage crush, later Ana came back into the picture when she became a short term girlfriend to Howie in 1995. Their first concert, on July 8, 1993, was performed for 3,000 teenagers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Pearlman later booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright and Donna Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block. Wright is often credited by industry insiders for being the man who actually made the Boys famous.

European popularity grew, and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No. 1 international group by TV viewers in Germany - "I'll Never Break Your Heart" went gold there and hit No. 1 in Austria. The group earned their first platinum record in Germany and toured Asia and Canada. They became one of the most successful debut artists in the world.

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Breakthrough in the United States: 1997–1999:

By 1997, pop music was returning to the forefront in United States with the likes of the Spice Girls and Hanson. Jive Records and Pearlman decided to bring the boys back to their home country. They began recording their second album in January 1997, Backstreet's Back, releasing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" in June. They also recorded the song, If You Stay, for the Booty Call soundtrack in January 1997. Coinciding with the release of their second international album, the band released a self-titled album in the US which collected songs from both international albums. They hit big on the U.S. charts and debuted at No .1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria. The two albums sold more than 28 million copies worldwide (14 million copies in the U.S)

In December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour.

In 1997, Littrell (soon joined by McLean, Richardson and Dorough) brought a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, as he was taking an unusually high percentage of the profits made by the band (75 percent), leaving the Boys barely enough to survive after credits to writers and performers were given separately. The lawsuit also claimed that Pearlman had hidden and misused money earned by the band and prompted similar lawsuits from other prominent boy bands such as 'N Sync. The case was settled in 1998.

In 1998, Littrell underwent open-heart surgery in the middle of their sold-out US 39-city tour, at the insistence of his then girlfriend (and now wife) Leighanne Wallace; he had twice postponed the surgery in the past. He had been struggling with a heart murmur since he was born, almost dying at the age of 4 due to a bacterial infection. Shortly after, the Backstreet Boys cancelled an appearance in Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of lupus. In September 1998 the group began work on their next album. In October 1998, the band received the keys to the city from the mayor of Orlando in honor of the tornado relief concert the group headlined in March that raised over $250,000.

On February 17, 1999, the Boys received their first Diamond award from the RIAA for shipment of 10 million copies of their self-titled album. At that time, they had hired a new manager team called "The Firm", famous for managing bands including Limp Bizkit and Korn. Along with their new management team, the Backstreet Boys sued Pearlman several more times, until he renegotiated the settlement on terms more favorable to the band. Executives of the Firm stated that the Backstreet Boys had bought out Pearlman's stake in the band.

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Millennium and Superstardom: 1999–2000:

Work on Millennium began in September 1998, with recording taking place from October 3, 1998 to March 1, 1999 in multiple cities. A sneak preview of the tracks "The One", "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely", and "I Need You Tonight" was released on November 17, 1998 on the A Night Out with the Backstreet Boys concert video, as well as on the All I Have To Give U.S. single in December 1998. Preceded by the worldwide hit single "I Want It That Way", anticipation for Millennium was high. On May 18, 1999, Millennium was released. The day of the album's release, the Backstreet Boys made a heavily publicized appearance on MTV's Total Request Live. Millennium entered the Billboard 200 at #1, where it remained for 10 non-consecutive weeks. It sold 1,134,000 copies in its first week of release, breaking the previous Nielsen SoundScan record held by Garth Brooks for single-week record sales. Millennium sold nearly 500,000 copies in the U.S. on its first day alone, setting a record for first-day sales. This record was subsequently overtaken in 2000 by Britney Spears, and then again by 'N Sync with No Strings Attached. Four singles were released from Millennium: "I Want It That Way", "Larger Than Life", "Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely", and "The One".

Millennium became the best-selling album of 1999 in the U.S., selling 9,445,732 albums.] Millennium remained on the Billboard chart for 93 weeks, eventually selling over 12 million copies in the United States and being certified 13 times platinum. As of the end of December 2008, the album stands as the fourth best selling album in the US of the SoundScan era. In 2003 it was also reported as being the fourth biggest seller for Music Club sales in the US over the past 14 years with sales of 1.59 million. In Canada, the album is seventh biggest selling album since 1995 in the Canadian Soundscan sales era up to end of December 2007. The album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide.

Impressed by the success of the Backstreet Boys, Sony BMG, which already owned 20 percent of Jive's parent company, purchased the remainder for $3 billion, the most ever paid for an independent record company. In the meantime, The Firm negotiated tens of millions of dollars in advance payments for recordings and performances from Jive and the concert promoter Clear Channel. Also by the end of 1999, the Backstreet Boys faced new problems declaring their current Jive contract null and void, soon striking one of the largest record deals ever valued at $60 million with Jive.

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Black & Blue: 2000–2001:

In November 2000, the group released a new album, Black & Blue, with the idea of the title of the album coming from Brian as the boys were in Los Angeles for a photoshoot. To promote the release of Black & Blue, the boys traveled around the world in 100 hours to Sweden, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the US; 55 of the hours were spent traveling and 45 were spent making public appearances. The album debuted with 1.9 million units sold in the first week in America, making the band the first ever artist to have two albums sell a million or more copies in the first week. Black & Blue had sold more than five million copies worldwide in its initial week, setting a new first-week record in international sales. Globally, Black & Blue — whose 13-song selection features six songs co-written by members of the group, including two written by all five Backstreet Boys — achieved platinum status in over 30 countries and gold certification in 10 regions around the world during its first week of release]. In the first week of release, Black & Blue's first single "Shape of My Heart" was played on 170 out of 171 of the Top 40 stations in the U.S. Meanwhile overseas, the song immediately jumped into the Top Five in Sweden (#1), Norway (#1), Canada (#1), Germany (#1), Switzerland (#1), Austria and Holland (#1). The album has been estimated as selling 24 million albums worldwide .Towards the end of 2000, the album's second single "The Call" made the Top 10 in the UK and the third single "More Than That" made the Top 20.

In 2001, the Backstreet Boys kicked off the first leg of their "The Black & Blue Tour", in which they were to perform on five continents. The tour also had extremely expensive production costs. The tour was featured on a CBS TV special, The Backstreet Boys: Larger Than Life. To coincide with the special, TV Guide issued six different covers of the boys: five individual shots and one group photo.

The second leg of "The Black & Blue Tour" was put on hold when it was reported that A.J. McLean had checked himself into rehab to battle alcoholism, cocaine addiction and depression after Richardson had held an intervention for him at a Boston hotel. The tour was postponed until September. In the September 11, 2001 attacks, a Backstreet Boys crew member, Daniel Lee, was killed. He had been using time off in the tour schedule to travel from Boston to Los Angeles to be with his pregnant wife. The death caused the cancellation of the band's plans for overseas tours. Despite the attacks in New York that day, the Backstreet Boys went ahead with a planned concert that night in Toronto.They released a video about them going Around The World This video was for celebrating Black and Blue You can see the clips posted here on Youtube

Also, in 2001, the Backstreet Boys performed the American national anthem, in front of an audience at the Super Bowl XXXV at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida.

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Hiatus: 2002–2004:

In 2002, the band expressed a strong desire to leave their management company, The Firm. Nick Carter chose to remain with The Firm to manage his solo career. It became apparent that this was reason for their lack of resistance to the Backstreet Boys moving on and this unexpected move forced the band to take a break. Starved for a blockbuster album release, Jive, according to industry observers, had no choice but to bank on releasing Carter's solo album by the end of the year, ahead of the next Backstreet Boys' album, which was due in early 2003.

In 2002, Nick Carter's solo album Now or Never was released. The album peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold.

The relationship with Jive worsened when the Backstreet Boys filed a $75–100 million lawsuit against Zomba Music Group (Jive's parent company) claiming breach of contract. The group stated the label promoted Nick Carter's solo album Now or Never at the expense of the group who wanted to promote their fourth album. According to the suit, in November 1999, the Backstreet Boys revised their 1994 contract and committed to releasing two further albums for Zomba. In exchange for delivering them on time as part of a predetermined schedule, the group would receive multiple non-returnable payments that would serve as advances against future royalties.

In November 2002, Brian's wife Leighanne gave birth to the couple's first child, Baylee Thomas Wylee Littrell. In December 2003, A.J. McLean appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show where he talked for the first time in public about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, and his struggles rising to fame. The rest of the band surprised him by arriving in person to give him support, marking the first time the Backstreet Boys had appeared together in public in almost two years. The band began to reform and reconcile their differences to start recording a comeback album.

In 2004, the Backstreet Boys started performing together to promote their return to the music scene. In September they kicked-off a small Asian tour, visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and Manila. Based on the success of this tour, they announced a Mexican tour, visiting Mexico City and Monterrey and performing all new material. Renewed interest grew with the announcement of airing an hour-long televised documentary of the Backstreet Boys on VH1's Behind The Music
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Never Gone: 2005–2006:

After a three-year hiatus, their single, "Incomplete", was released to radio stations on March 28, 2005. The album is named after a song on the album which mourns the loss of Kevin Richardson's father. The drastic style change drew negative criticism from magazines such as Rolling Stone, which gave the album one star.

On June 14, 2005, the Backstreet Boys released their comeback album Never Gone, which they spent more than a year recording. The album debuted at #3 on the U.S. chart with first week sales of 291,000 copies, and #1 debuts in Japan, Pakistan, Germany, India, Chile, Brazil and South Korea. In the same year, Brian Littrell's song "In Christ Alone" charted at #1 on the US Christian Charts. The Backstreet Boys began the first leg of their The Never Gone Tour in July in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was their first Australian tour.

Never Gone was certified platinum in the US and four singles were released from the album. Their first single was "Incomplete", the second single was "Just Want You to Know", and the third singles were "Crawling Back to You" for the US and "I Still..." internationally. Never Gone has sold approximately 10 million copies worldwide. You can see behind the scene's coverage of incomplete Here Backstreet Boys' second single "Just Want You to Know" hit the top 10 in the UK, but was not as successful in the United States. It was one of the group's weakest performing U.S. singles, only peaking at #70 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The third international single "I Still..." debuted at #1 on the Japan International Singles Chart with over 200,000 copies sold, making the first ever international single to enter at #1 on the chart in Japanese history. The third US single, "Crawling Back to You" peaked at #15 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts.
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Kevin's departure:

In June 2006, Richardson left the Backstreet Boys to pursue other interests and "move on with the next chapter of his life." He issued the following statement on the band's website on June 23, 2006:

"After 13 years of what can only be described as a dream come true, I have decided that it is time to leave the Backstreet Boys. It was a very tough decision for me but one that was necessary in order to move on with the next chapter of my life. Howard, Brian, Alex and Nick will always be my little brothers and have my utmost love and support. I would like to thank the Backstreet fans for all the beautiful memories we have shared together and look forward to including you in the next phase of my life. I wish my brothers continued success and look forward to their new album."

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Unbreakable: 2007–2008:

The Backstreet Boys' sixth album includes various music styles, combining their earlier mid-90s dance-pop sound with their newer guitar driven pop/rock sound. Unbreakable, was officially launched on October 30, 2007. It was the group's follow-up to 2005's Never Gone and is the first effort since Richardson's departure.

On July 25, 2007, the first single was confirmed as "Inconsolable," a piano-driven power ballad similar to Never Gone's "Incomplete." It reached #21 on the US Adult Contemporary Charts, but managed only #86 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it performed well internationally, debuting #1 in Japan and staying there for another week.

"Helpless When She Smiles" was the next single to be released from Unbreakable. It only managed to reach #52 in the US Adult Contemporary charts and in turn failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

While the album had received positive reviews, it did not perform as well as its predecessor, Never Gone. Unbreakable opened at #7 on The Billboard 200, selling 81,000 copies in its first week of release. Two weeks after its debut, the album dropped out of the top 100.

The group went on a 45 date World tour to promote Unbreakable in Tokyo, Japan on February 16, 2008. Dates were confirmed for the tour being titled the Unbreakable Tour in Australia, Japan, Mexico, UK, Europe, Asia, Canada and The United States. The group kicked off their North American tour on July 29, 2008 in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada and was originally scheduled to wrap up in Redmond, WA, USA on September 6. They recorded a tour DVD in London's The O2 Arena which can be seen on YouTube, but has yet to be released.

Richardson rejoined the rest of the band in Los Angeles at the Palladium in Hollywood on November 23, 2008 for the last North American stop of the Unbreakable Tour

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This Is Us (2009–present):

The group has been working on a new album due for release on October 6, 2009 and are confirmed to be working with Max Martin, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder, RedOne, Ne-Yo, Brian Kennedy, Jazze Pha, Pitbull, Claude Kelly, Akon, Jim Jonsin, Eddie Galan, T-Pain, Rami Yacoub, Kristian Lundin, and many others.

In an interview with Extra TV the Backstreet Boys confirmed the title of their seventh album to be "This Is Us".

The Backstreet Boys formally announced the dates for the European leg of the new tour for their newest album, "This is Us". The tour will start on October 30.

The first single off their new album was released on July 23 under the name "Straight Through My Heart", and will be released to radio airwaves on August 17th. It will be available to purchase on iTunes and Amazon on August 18th.

On August 27th 2009, the Backstreet Boys premiered their music video for "Straight Through My Heart", following a vampire theme.
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Solo work:

Nick Carter:

Nick Carter was the first to have an attempt at a career as a solo artist in 2002, when he released his debut album Now Or Never. The album reached #17 on Billboard 200 and was certified gold. The singles released by him during this period were "Help Me" and "Do I Have to Cry for You" both released in 2002 and "I Got You" which was released early 2003.

Brian Littrell:

On May 2, 2006, Brian Littrell released his first solo album Welcome Home with the title track as the first single. Both album and single made the top 3 on the Billboard Christian Charts.

A.J. McLean:

In April 2008 A.J. McLean announced plans to kick start his own solo career, he performed some of his own solo material while on the Unbreakable Tour, some of the most noteworthy material included "London" and "Drive By Love". Long time Backstreet Boy producer Kristian Lundin worked on both of these tracks as well as many others

Howie Dorough:

In 2007/2008 Howie Dorough began work on his first solo album. His new material was first performed on the Backstreet Boys Unbreakable tour in 2009, where he sang a new solo song entitled "She's Like the Sun".

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Discography:

Studio albums:

- Backstreet Boys (1996) International Release Only
- Backstreet Boys (1997) First Official US Release
- Backstreet's Back (1997) International Release Only
- Millennium (1999)
- Black & Blue (2000)
- Never Gone (2005)
- Unbreakable (2007)
- This Is Us (2009)

Compilation albums:

- The Hits: Chapter One (2001)

Soundtracks:

- Sabrina, The Teenage Witch: The Album (1996)
- Booty Call (1997)
- Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997)
- Princess Diaries (2001)
- Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (Original Soundtrack) (2001)

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Awards, nominations, records and achievements

Tours:

- Backstreet Boys Tour (1995–1997)
- Backstreet's Back Tour (1997–1999)
- Into the Millennium Tour (1999–2000)
- The Black & Blue Tour (2000–2001)
- Up Close & Personal Tour (March/April 2005)
- The Never Gone Tour (2005–2006)
- Unbreakable Tour (2008–2009)
- This Is Us Tour (2009-2010)

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External links:

- BackstreetBoys.com

- Backstreet Boys on YouTube

- Backstreet Boys on Twitter

- Backstreet Boys on MySpace

- Backstreet Boys Official Italian Website


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