IT'S been a great week for me, getting to hang out with all the beautiful
girls in the Miss Teen USA and Miss Ireland contests and switching on the
famous Blackpool lights in England.
We started off last Saturday in the States where we were the performers at
the Miss Teen USA contest. The girls were fantastic and great fun as we
discovered when we met them at the party afterwards. They were just very
friendly young American girls and they all said that Westlife was their
favourite group, so we were happy with that.
Last Monday was a mental day for us; we left Louisiana in the States and
flew to Dallas and London and then drove up to Birmingham where we did a
roadshow before going on to Liverpool and then to Dublin. So in 26 hours we
were in Louisiana, Dallas, London, Birmingham and Dublin. Phew!
I was suffering from jet-lag but back among a group of gorgeous girls on
Tuesday night when I attended the Miss Ireland contest in Dublin's
Burlington hotel.
Our co-manager Louis Walsh was one of the judges so I sat with him and he
asked me for my advice a couple of times.
It's a really nerve racking contest for the girls and I actually felt
nervous for them as I watched them being interviewed. I was thinking, how
would I answer that? I recalled the first time we appeared on the Late Late
Show and it was a similar situation.
The Miss Ireland contest also took me back to a couple of years ago when I
performed at the event when we were then known as IOU. So it was great to
meet everyone involved in it again.
I have to admit that from the moment I saw Yvonne Ellerd and heard her being
interviewed by Lorcan Murray I knew she was going to be the winner. Yvonne
is a lovely, down-to-earth girl and very natural. She's going to make a
great ambassador for Ireland
A new boy band called Reel were the entertainers on the night and I predict
big things for them in the pop world. They are like a male version of The
Corrs as their music has a strong Celtic influence.
Success
I met them afterwards and they're great guys. They're very talented and they
deserve to be successful. I hope major league success happens for them, but
it's such a difficult scene to crack.
Now that I know how difficult it is, I appreciate how lucky we were to get
Louis and Ronan as our managers and to get amazing songs right from the
start. We were definitely in the right place at the right time.
Friday saw us back on a plane to Blackpool where we had the honour of
switching on their lights. Our predecessors Boyzone were among a long line
of famous bands and performers who have been given this honour, so it was
really exciting for us and the crowd gave us a massive reception.
Today we're going car racing with the Jordan team at Donington, so it's a
case of boys and their toys. Being lads, we're really looking forward to the
day out. Then it's back into the studio tomorrow to continue our work an the
new album.