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Spectrum is the eleventh studio album by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 15 November 2019 through Virgin EMI Records. It includes the singles "Hello My Love", "Better Man", "Dynamite", and "My Blood" and features collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac, Ryan Tedder, Camille Purcell, and James Bay. It is their first major album to be released in eight years, and their first album under Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI.
Background, concept and development
After releasing their second Greatest Hits album and tour dates and announcing their breakup in 2011 and their last appearance together in 2012, several rumours about Westlife reuniting and making new music surfaced. On 23 September 2018, several Irish news outlets reported that the group has been signed to Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records for a new record deal. On 3 October 2018, the group formally announced on their official social media accounts that there would be new music coming soon. According to reports they had been preparing for the comeback for the previous twelve months. Group member Mark Feehily also said in 2017 that he hoped to get them all together for a proper catch-up. Band members Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan stated about their reunion, "We still have a lot that we want to achieve as a band and we want to bring our new music to fans all over the world" and "While we were away, we realised what Westlife really meant to the fans — and to us." The album remained unnamed and the number of tracks in the album, which is eleven, were not revealed until the 12th of April 2019, the twentieth anniversary of their first record release "Swear It Again". This is their first eleven-track major album release since The Love Album in 2006.
The album was recorded in Dublin, London, and Los Angeles with the band saying it "has everything that we love in music, heartfelt emotional songs and also great uptempos that are designed for our stadium performances". They also explained that they "couldn't be happier with how the last few months in the studio have gone". The title, Spectrum, was chosen because the band said that it is a metaphor for "the various shades and colours of our personalities, vocals and general perspectives" that they feel "somehow join to work perfectly", "it came from us talking about how we feel younger, happier and more energetic than we ever have in our career." On 24 May 2019, they revealed their new Spectrum, "is a mix of old and new sound".
Band manager Louis Walsh also said in separate interviews that the most important things now are the songs, and that it will function as an introduction to their new sound, adding: "I was just waiting for them to decide when. There were record deals on the table, but the icing on the cake was Ed Sheeran writing these amazing songs for them, as well as having Steve Mac, who produced their early songs, on track too." "Sheeran's input adds a contemporary edge", "I've heard the first two songs and they are just incredible." The band added, "The first two songs we’ve done are just incredible songs, with incredible lyrics and melodies. Steve Mac is one of our longest and most influential producers we’ve had throughout our entire career. He’s done most of our biggest hits and has worked previously with Ed on "Shape of You". One day Ed went in the studio and said ‘I just want to write Westlife songs’. It’s been a truly organic coupling. He also played the guitar to Westlife's Greatest hits album and the band's single "Flying Without Wings" when he was ten.” Mac and Sheeran also wrote with four tracks for the band, with one being an uptempo anthem. Some had been in the works since 2016. Mac stated that the band's "signature sound" would return,
Feehily and Filan added: "We're not trying to change Westlife's sound, we're trying to evolve We need to be a Westlife 2.0, a better version of ourselves. We wanted to come back and recreate Westlife's sound, but better, and be a better band, and the most important thing about any band is music." Filan said they have been recording new songs since July 2018. Walsh stated that the band would be back in recording studios in January 2019 but in December 2018, social media posts surfaced that showed the group was working with Daniel Davidsen and Peter Wallevik. Wallevik also posted names of people the band were working with, including JC Stewart, Jordan Thomas, and Ed Drewett. The band also worked with Carl Falk and James Bay.
As of January 2019, Filan said: "We've only got three songs recorded, so we have to get another probably ten ." On 13 April 2019, Walsh said that he believes there is at least half a dozen hits on the new album to the Irish Independent. The group added, "Hello My Love" has been so popular, it's even affecting our potential single choice for the third single, the fourth single..." In April 2019, they said nine songs had been recorded. One song, "Anywhere", a three-minute "feel-good love song" written by Sheeran and produced by Mac, was slated to be included on the album but was later confirmed not to be included in the actual track listing. In May 2019, Egan told in an interview that eight to nine songs they recorded where Sheeran all co-wrote. On their 7 June 2019 interview on This Morning, Filan said they recorded six songs co-written by Sheeran. In 29 July 2019 interview by the Official Charts Company of Feehily, he added: "One of them is just a very cool tip of the hat to Celtic music. It's very contemporary but it's got a Celtic fusion side to it. I had a song on my album Fire called 'Sanctuary' which sampled Clannad but it had more a pop/hip-hop beat to it. It's kind of in the same world as that. It's cool, edgy and contemporary." The first two singles released have gained 200 million streams globally so far as of July 2019. The tracks have also been the band's most successful radio records. "Hello My Love" has had over 30,000 plays at UK radio to an audience of 275 million, and is one of the most played songs of 2019 on BBC Radio 2.
Band member Kian Egan said the album is already "done" and "in the bag" in 24 September 2019. They added in an exclusive interview by Smooth Radio in 10 October 2019: "We spent 14 months making this album, which is the longest we've ever spent making an album", and said that the band plans "to release more singles, obviously, off this album, even after Christmas next year, running up into Wembley Stadium. So there's probably going to be more singles released off this album than we've ever released off an album, hence the quality that we feel is the strongest."
The said collaborations above did not made the cut in the album tracklist except for Bay ("Repair", "Without You"), McCutcheon ("Better Man", "Dynamite", "Hello My Love", "L.O.V.E", "My Blood", "One Last Time", "Repair", "Take Me There", "Without You"), and Sheeran ("Better Man", "Dynamite", "Hello My Love", "My Blood", "One Last Time"). There are songwriting appearances from Alex Charles ("Another Life"), Luka Kloser ("Dance"), Camille Purcell ("L.O.V.E", "Take Me There"), Zach Skelton, Casey Smith, Ryan Tedder ("Dance"), and Tom Williams ("Another Life").
Background, concept and development
After releasing their second Greatest Hits album and tour dates and announcing their breakup in 2011 and their last appearance together in 2012, several rumours about Westlife reuniting and making new music surfaced. On 23 September 2018, several Irish news outlets reported that the group has been signed to Universal Music Group and Virgin EMI Records for a new record deal. On 3 October 2018, the group formally announced on their official social media accounts that there would be new music coming soon. According to reports they had been preparing for the comeback for the previous twelve months. Group member Mark Feehily also said in 2017 that he hoped to get them all together for a proper catch-up. Band members Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan stated about their reunion, "We still have a lot that we want to achieve as a band and we want to bring our new music to fans all over the world" and "While we were away, we realised what Westlife really meant to the fans — and to us." The album remained unnamed and the number of tracks in the album, which is eleven, were not revealed until the 12th of April 2019, the twentieth anniversary of their first record release "Swear It Again". This is their first eleven-track major album release since The Love Album in 2006.
The album was recorded in Dublin, London, and Los Angeles with the band saying it "has everything that we love in music, heartfelt emotional songs and also great uptempos that are designed for our stadium performances". They also explained that they "couldn't be happier with how the last few months in the studio have gone". The title, Spectrum, was chosen because the band said that it is a metaphor for "the various shades and colours of our personalities, vocals and general perspectives" that they feel "somehow join to work perfectly", "it came from us talking about how we feel younger, happier and more energetic than we ever have in our career." On 24 May 2019, they revealed their new Spectrum, "is a mix of old and new sound".
Band manager Louis Walsh also said in separate interviews that the most important things now are the songs, and that it will function as an introduction to their new sound, adding: "I was just waiting for them to decide when. There were record deals on the table, but the icing on the cake was Ed Sheeran writing these amazing songs for them, as well as having Steve Mac, who produced their early songs, on track too." "Sheeran's input adds a contemporary edge", "I've heard the first two songs and they are just incredible." The band added, "The first two songs we’ve done are just incredible songs, with incredible lyrics and melodies. Steve Mac is one of our longest and most influential producers we’ve had throughout our entire career. He’s done most of our biggest hits and has worked previously with Ed on "Shape of You". One day Ed went in the studio and said ‘I just want to write Westlife songs’. It’s been a truly organic coupling. He also played the guitar to Westlife's Greatest hits album and the band's single "Flying Without Wings" when he was ten.” Mac and Sheeran also wrote with four tracks for the band, with one being an uptempo anthem. Some had been in the works since 2016. Mac stated that the band's "signature sound" would return,
Feehily and Filan added: "We're not trying to change Westlife's sound, we're trying to evolve We need to be a Westlife 2.0, a better version of ourselves. We wanted to come back and recreate Westlife's sound, but better, and be a better band, and the most important thing about any band is music." Filan said they have been recording new songs since July 2018. Walsh stated that the band would be back in recording studios in January 2019 but in December 2018, social media posts surfaced that showed the group was working with Daniel Davidsen and Peter Wallevik. Wallevik also posted names of people the band were working with, including JC Stewart, Jordan Thomas, and Ed Drewett. The band also worked with Carl Falk and James Bay.
As of January 2019, Filan said: "We've only got three songs recorded, so we have to get another probably ten ." On 13 April 2019, Walsh said that he believes there is at least half a dozen hits on the new album to the Irish Independent. The group added, "Hello My Love" has been so popular, it's even affecting our potential single choice for the third single, the fourth single..." In April 2019, they said nine songs had been recorded. One song, "Anywhere", a three-minute "feel-good love song" written by Sheeran and produced by Mac, was slated to be included on the album but was later confirmed not to be included in the actual track listing. In May 2019, Egan told in an interview that eight to nine songs they recorded where Sheeran all co-wrote. On their 7 June 2019 interview on This Morning, Filan said they recorded six songs co-written by Sheeran. In 29 July 2019 interview by the Official Charts Company of Feehily, he added: "One of them is just a very cool tip of the hat to Celtic music. It's very contemporary but it's got a Celtic fusion side to it. I had a song on my album Fire called 'Sanctuary' which sampled Clannad but it had more a pop/hip-hop beat to it. It's kind of in the same world as that. It's cool, edgy and contemporary." The first two singles released have gained 200 million streams globally so far as of July 2019. The tracks have also been the band's most successful radio records. "Hello My Love" has had over 30,000 plays at UK radio to an audience of 275 million, and is one of the most played songs of 2019 on BBC Radio 2.
Band member Kian Egan said the album is already "done" and "in the bag" in 24 September 2019. They added in an exclusive interview by Smooth Radio in 10 October 2019: "We spent 14 months making this album, which is the longest we've ever spent making an album", and said that the band plans "to release more singles, obviously, off this album, even after Christmas next year, running up into Wembley Stadium. So there's probably going to be more singles released off this album than we've ever released off an album, hence the quality that we feel is the strongest."
The said collaborations above did not made the cut in the album tracklist except for Bay ("Repair", "Without You"), McCutcheon ("Better Man", "Dynamite", "Hello My Love", "L.O.V.E", "My Blood", "One Last Time", "Repair", "Take Me There", "Without You"), and Sheeran ("Better Man", "Dynamite", "Hello My Love", "My Blood", "One Last Time"). There are songwriting appearances from Alex Charles ("Another Life"), Luka Kloser ("Dance"), Camille Purcell ("L.O.V.E", "Take Me There"), Zach Skelton, Casey Smith, Ryan Tedder ("Dance"), and Tom Williams ("Another Life").