October 30, 2000

Westlife : My Love

Could it be another Number One? Take a wild guess.

Who'd have thought five great-looking boys with one of the most successful pop managers of the '90s, endorsement from an internationally lusted-after pop role model, and the backing of one of the UK's biggest record labels could get this far?

Yet here stand (or, more often, sit. On stools) Westlife, on course for their millionth Number One in a row. The annoying thing, of course, is that 'My Love' is actually really good - in the sense that all Westlife's singles (except probably 'Flying Without Wings') have been quite good (ie if you accept it's a ballad and unlikely to sound like Slipknot) - and sees the boys careering headfirst into 'My Heart Will Go On'-style pipes and croonin', with a subtle plug for new album 'Coast To Coast' (see if you can find it in the lyric "... coast to coast...") and a big key change at the end.

As with most Westlife songs, there's a bit where they can get off their butts and stand up (this is the dramatic bit)... Basically, it's a Westlife ballad and it's very good. There is so little else to say.

Peter Robinson