SO Steps have been slagging us off! Well, I have to say we're all surprised
here in the Westlife camp because we thought they were our friends.
What did they say? Basically, that we only release singles when it's safe to
do so, as in when there's not much competition out there. They claim that's
the reason we've had SIX number one hits.
How can they say that! If anything it's the other way around. People don't
release singles when we're bringing out one because they know that they
won't get to the top.
I have a Platinum disc on my bedroom wall for each of our singles, which
means that each one of them sold over 600,000 copies. Very few singles do
that.
We were Number One for two weeks with Swear It Again. If I Let You Go went
to number one for a week and stayed in the Top 40 for 10 weeks. Flying
Without Wings was number one for a week and stayed in the top 10 for five
weeks before moving back in again. I Have A Dream was number one for four
weeks; Fool Again was number one for a week and was the second biggest
selling single after Christmas.
I think that shows how we have a fantastic fan base and we don't need to
play games by releasing singles when there's no competition out there. We've
also sold 7.5 million albums world-wide, compared to Steps who've sold two
million.
I would like to think that Steps slagging us off was some story made up by a
newspaper, but that's probably not the case. We're amazed because they've
always been so nice to us whenever we've met them. And we have been very
friendly to them as well. In fact, when we first started we looked up to
Steps as they were a much bigger band than us back then. These days we don't
look up to anyone, but neither do we look down on anyone.
If Steps feel like that I feel sorry for them. I think they are a great
band. I think their music is very, very good. I enjoy the music and I think
the music is enjoyed by our fans.
Fair play to Steps for what they have achieved and I suppose if they want to
slag us off they have the freedom to do. But, like I say, we're very
surprised here in Westlife.
WELL, speaking of releasing singles, our new one, My Love, finally goes into
the shops next Friday. It will be followed by our album, Coast To Coast, on
November 3. It includes If I Let You Go (US mix) and CD Rom, plus a meet
Westlife competition. The limited edition CD include an exclusive band
poster and CD rom video.
CONGRATULATIONS to our pal Samantha Mumba who is taking America by storm.
Last week we told you the amazing news that Samantha had gone into the
American Top 20 with Gotta Tell You
This week comes the even more incredible news that she is now at Number 10
in the States and the single is still climbing.
At this rate, Samantha could go all the way to Number One in
America.Wouldn't that be something!
The Yanks just love Gotta Tell You. Samantha hasn't spent much time out
there; her astonishing success is down to the fact that everyone loves the
song over there.
It all means that Samantha is now in the superstar league and, fair play to
Louis, he really is the best manager in the world today.
YOU can write to the Westlife Official Fan Club, P0 Box 50, Stanmore,
Middlesex, HA7 2US, England.