Boy Bands, Young Single Artists and their Influence on Todays Generation: Westlife For Life

Not everyone remembers Westlife as well as they might remember some of the other boy-bands of the 90s and 2000s, unless of course if they were a die-hard boy-bands fan like most teenagers were back then and even still are today. Boy bands are the types of groups that have truly left a lasting impression on the youth of today. This is because we listened to this type of music day in and day out on our walkmans, and continue to do so today on our iPods.

The Irish band formed back in the late 1990s, with young members, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Bryan McFadden (Cju). The pop sensation then found their first hit with "Swear It Again", which reached number 2 on the UK charts (Cju).

Some other places where this boy-band phenomenon caught on were "the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan" (Paine). Not to mention the group also enjoyed "seven multiplatinum albums in its eight-year career" and had an especially good run when "You Raise Me Up" became an Australian hit in 2005 (Paine).

Although this Irish band of heart throbs had much success elsewhere, such as the UK, their "squeaky-clean look and ballad-driven charms" just didn't catch on as well in the United States (Cju). However, the group did manage to snag some "moderate success" in the U.S. whenever their "1999 song 'Flying Without Wings' hit No. 2 on The Billboard Hot 100 for Ruben Studdard" (Paine). Regardless of the "small success" in the U.S., the group still remains one of the most influential boy-bands of all time,with 13 UK No. 1 singles to their name (Paine).

While the band did try to stay together, they eventually disbanded recently in 2012, according to news headlines. Thank goodness for youtube and iTunes, so that their memory will live on forever through the ages. Maybe boy bands will make a comeback in the future, but for now, Westlife, along with many other bands, remains a lasting legend, not to be overshadowed by recent groups such as One Direction. It isn't that One Direction doesn't have a lot of potential, they just have some very large shoes to fill.

These are some of Westlife's most popular songs:

"Swear It Again"