The group consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne.

[5] McDonagh first encountered Egan as a six-year-old student at her weekly dance classes and came to know Filan and Feehily in their early teens as they starred in shows such as Oliver!

"[6] Lacey, Keighron, and Garrett were told they would not be part of the new group, and auditions were held in Dublin where Nicky Byrne and Brian McFadden were recruited.

[8] 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.

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).

[26] The single "My Love" was controversially used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as part of a torture program in Afghanistan.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), "the music pounded constantly as part of a scheme to assault prisoners' senses".

They were included in the top ten earners list of all acts in the UK and Ireland and sold over 2.5 million units in the Asia Pacific region.

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.

On 9 March 2004, just three weeks before embarking on their fourth world tour, McFadden left the group, citing a desire to spend more time with his family.

[42] McFadden's final public performance as part of Westlife was at Newcastle upon Tyne's Powerhouse nightclub on 27 February 2004.

On 13 December 2008, while on hiatus, Westlife made an unexpected appearance during that year's X Factor final where they performed "Flying Without Wings" with runners-up JLS.

On 18 March 2009, Westlife won the Best Irish Pop Act at the 2009 Meteor Awards for the ninth consecutive time.

This tour marked the first time the group traveled to Oman, Namibia, Guangzhou, and Vietnam for concerts.

[77] They were honored at that time by the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) with four specially commissioned bar stools to mark 49 performances at the venue for over 380,000 fans, selling more tickets than any other act.

[85][non-primary source needed] McFadden was not involved in the reformation, saying in an interview with Closer Magazine, "I only met the guys when I joined the band and have no regrets about leaving.

[90][non-primary source needed] Their first UK performance in seven years and of the single was on The Graham Norton Show on 11 January 2019.

"[93] The second day of the tour in Croke Park had a live film broadcast in selected cinemas on 6 July 2019.

It reached number 1 in the UK and Ireland and stayed at the top spot for over thirty weeks on their official charts.

On 17 March 2021, they formally announced that they signed a new album deal through Warner Music UK and East West Records.

On 17 December 2021, a Westlife concert filmed at London’s Bush Hall Venue and broadcast by Tencent’s WeChat (Weixin) in China had an audience of almost 28 million.

[100] In 2016, three of their songs ("I'll See You Again", "Flying Without Wings", and "You Raise Me Up") made it on the top pop music choices for funerals in Ireland.

[101] The band performed for the Sultan of Brunei and was paid £2.5 million to play a private concert of seven songs.

[104] They were the first ever pop band to top the entertainment bill at the Vatican City and a private concert for the Pope.

A book written by the members of Westlife was released on 16 June 2008 by HarperCollins UK Publishing titled 'Westlife - Our Story', as part of their 10th-year celebration.

[113] On 4 November 2005, they performed with other music artists at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa for The "Unite of the Stars" Gala Banquet charity concert that supports four charities: the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, Unite Against Hunger, St. Mary's Hospital and the Topsy Foundation.

[114] They also performed live for charity on Sport Relief,[115] Macmillan Cancer Support,[116] Croí, Western Alzheimer's, O'Dwyer Cheshire Home, Mayo Cancer Support Group, Marie Keating Foundation,[117] Outward Bound Trust,[118] ChildLine, Children in Need, and Sheffield's Children Hospital.

They had also helped for auctions on Meningitis Research Foundation,[119] Carlton Celebrity Auction for Centrepoint (for the homeless),[120] the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, The Samaritans,[121] Zutto charity painting,[citation needed] and Pushing The Envelope (for National Literacy Trust).

[122] They've been involved also with the following organizations: Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID),[123] Cancer Research UK, United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP),[124] Muscle Help Foundation,[125] Global Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign,[126] and Real Man campaign.