In April 1999, the group released their first single, Swear It Again", which immediately topped the charts in Ireland and in the UK for two weeks. It was the biggest-selling single in the first week by a debut artist.[9][10] Their second single, "If I Let You Go" was released in August 1999, which made them the first boy band to hit No. 1 with their first two singles.[11] Their third single was "Flying Without Wings" (their first 'Record of the Year' and their third No. 1 single), released in October of the same year. "Flying Without Wings" was also included on the soundtrack of the Warner Brothers film, Pokémon: The Movie 2000. Their first album, simply titled Westlife, was released in November 1999 and went to No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in Ireland. The album was the biggest chart dropper on the Top 40 in UK music history when in its 58th week on the charts it leaped from No. 79 to No. 3 before falling to No. 37 the following week.[12] In Scotland, the album debuted at number 6 in 1999 but subsequently peaked at number one year later in 2001.[13]
In December 1999, a fourth single was released, the double a-side "I Have A Dream"/"Seasons in the Sun". It was the 1999 UK Christmas number-one single and their fourth No. 1 single.[14][15] They are one of only five acts to achieve four number ones in the UK Singles Chart in one calendar year.[16] The fifth and final single from the album, "Fool Again", also peaked at No. 1.[17] With this, they became the only male band to have every single release from an album that reached No. 1 in the UK. Afterward, Westlife signed to Arista Records for the North American release of their debut.[18] "Swear It Again" peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.[19] On 1 July 2000, they were honored as Freemen of the Borough of Sligo.[20]
Coast to Coast, their second album, was released a year later and was their first No. 1 UK album, beating the Spice Girls' Forever album by a large margin; the chart battle was widely reported by British media. It became the country's 4th biggest-selling album of 2000.[21][22] This is their second No. 1 album in Ireland. The album was preceded by the duet with Mariah Carey "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and the original song "My Love" (their second Record of the Year award). Both singles reached No. 1 on the UK charts, their sixth and seventh number ones respectively.[23][24] With this, Westlife broke the record of the most consecutive No. 1 singles in the UK with their first seven singles.[25] However, in December 2000, their eighth single "What Makes a Man", debuted at No. 2, breaking their string of consecutive number ones.[26] The single "My Love" was controversially used by the Central Intelligence Agency as part of a torture program in Afghanistan. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, "the music pounded constantly as part of a scheme to assault prisoners' senses".[27]
On 12 November 2001, Westlife released their third album World of Our Own, peaking at No. 1 in the UK and Ireland. "Uptown Girl" (their first single to be on the List of million-selling singles in the United Kingdom), "Queen of My Heart" and "World of Our Own" were released as singles, all of which peaked at No. 1 in the UK.[30][31][32] "Bop Bop Baby" was also released as a single and peaked at No. 5 in the UK. In 2002, Westlife went on their second world tour, the World of Our Own Tour. By the end of the year, IRMA awarded the band for 1 million units sold in Ireland.[33] The group sold more than 12 million records in a span of three years.[34]
Westlife released their eleventh UK No. 1 single, "Unbreakable" in 2002.[35] Amidst rumors of a split, Westlife released their first greatest hits album in November of that same year titled Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1, which peaked at No. 1 in the UK and Ireland. During this time, Westlife achieved a Guinness World Record for most public appearances by a pop group in 36 hours. The band made stop-offs in five different cities (Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester) to promote their then-new album. The release was followed by the double A-side single "Tonight"/"Miss You Nights", which debuted at No. 3 in the UK and No. 1 in Ireland.[36] Following this release, the group premiered a TV documentary titled "Wild Westlife". It was directed by Iain MacDonald and features their daily life as musicians and their tour experiences. It was aired on BBC Choice.[37] In 2003, Westlife went on their third world tour, the Unbreakable Tour.[38] A recording of a concert from the tour in Manchester was released in November 2003.
In September 2003, Westlife released "Hey Whatever", which peaked at No. 4 in the UK.[39] Their fourth studio album, Turnaround, was released in November 2003, earning the group another No. 1 album in the UK and Ireland. "Mandy", was released a week before the album and became the band's twelfth No. 1 single. It also won them their third Record of the Year award.[40] "Mandy" is the single with the longest leap to the top (from No. 200 to No. 1) in UK music history.[41] "Obvious" was released as the final single from the album, charting at No. 3.
In September 2004, they performed at the World Music Awards, where they were recognized as the Best Irish Act of that year. They then released a Rat Pack-inspired album, their fifth album ...Allow Us to Be Frank, which peaked at number 3. No singles from this album were released in the UK, but the track "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" had a music video produced and was released as a physical single in other European countries. "Smile" and "Fly Me to the Moon" also had music videos produced. Prior to the release of the ...Allow Us to Be Frank album, Westlife scouted for "the perfect fan" to help promote the album.[46] After X Factor-style auditions, they found Joanne Hindley, who recorded "The Way You Look Tonight" with the group.[10] A television program documenting this process, She's The One, was presented by Kate Thornton.[47] Westlife embarked on "The Number Ones Tour" in early 2005.[48] A recording of a concert from the tour, live from Sheffield, was released in November 2005.
In October 2005, Westlife released the single "You Raise Me Up", which became their thirteenth number 1 single. It was taken from their sixth album Face to Face which also peaked at No. 1 in the UK.[49][50] "You Raise Me Up" was awarded as their fourth Record of the Year in the UK. In December of that year, the group released "When You Tell Me That You Love Me", a duet with Diana Ross, as the second single. It debuted and peaked at No. 2.[51] The third single from the album, "Amazing", peaked at No. 4.[52] Westlife embarked on the "Face to Face Tour", traveling extensively to the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Asia.[53][54] The group performed 32 shows and recorded 238,718 attendances.[45] A recording of a concert from the tour, live from Wembley Arena, was released in November 2006.[55]
In late 2006, Westlife signed a new five-album deal with Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Their seventh album, The Love Album was a concept album that consisted of popular love song covers. The album debuted at No. 1 in both the UK and Ireland. It was the top-selling album of 2006 in Ireland. The only single from The Love Album, "The Rose", became their 14th UK No. 1 single.[56] Westlife kicked off their eighth world tour, "The Love Tour", in Perth, Australia.[57] The group then went on to other Australian cities before moving on to South Africa, the UK, and Ireland. The tour grossed 1,031,033.[58]
On 5 November 2007, Westlife released their eighth album, Back Home, which contained nine new original songs and three cover songs. The album debuted at No. 1 in the UK and Ireland. It was also 2007's fifth biggest-selling album in the UK. The first single released from the album was "Home", which peaked at No. 3 in the UK.[59][60] "Us Against the World" was released as the second single and "Something Right" became the third single in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. On 15 December 2007, they premiered a two-hour show called The Westlife Show where they performed 10 of their songs, hosted by Holly Willoughby.[61] They embarked on the Back Home Tour on 25 February 2008. This tour marked the first time that the group had traveled and performed in New Zealand, performing four sold-out shows in Auckland, Wellington, New Plymouth, and Christchurch. Westlife were the seventh top touring act of 2008.[62]
Their tenth album, Where We Are, was released on 30 November 2009 in the UK and peaked at No. 2 on both Irish and UK Albums Charts. The lead single, "What About Now", was released on 23 October 2009 and peaked at No. 2 on both Irish and UK Singles Charts.[66] The tour in support of this album was "The Where We Are Tour".[67] A recording of a concert from the tour, live from London, was released in November 2010. They were part of the Haiti charity single in early 2010 with "Everybody Hurts", which was organized by Cowell.[68] The single peaked at No. 1 on both Irish and UK Singles Charts. That year, the Guinness Book of World Records announced that Westlife were the top-selling album group of the 21st century with 10.74 million albums sold in the UK alone.
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