“WE’RE going to pretend like we’re 19 again tonight.” 

For two nights, the Irish pop group Westlife brought the ‘90s back to thousands of sentimental Filipino fans who flocked to the Araneta Coliseum where they performed their iconic hits during their “The Wild Dreams Tour” on February 20 and 21. 

Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan were equally happy to see their Filipino fans once again, saying they were very instrumental in the success of the group’s two-decade career. 

For nearly two hours, the Big Dome rumbled with deafening screams as fans showed their joy at seeing the boys live and hearing their classic songs that defined a generation. 

First Set 

Concert goers were treated to an electrifying first set that opened with the single “Starlight” off the “Wild Dreams” album. However, it was when they started to sing their top hits that the fans exploded. 

Fans of all ages screamed every word to Westlife’s danceable pop hits “Uptown Girl” and “When You’re Looking Like That.” 

The crowd also went wild when the group crooned their classic ballads “Fool Again,” “If I Let You Go” and “My Love.” 

For the last song on this set, Kian engaged the audience to a throwback pact. 

“We’re all getting a little bit older right? Not tonight, not tonight. We’re going to pretend like we’re 19 again tonight,” Kian said as he shared a solo moment with the fans.

Kian, as well as the rest of the guys, praised the Filipino fans for being the “loudest” crowd ever. He also joked that their fans have gotten older with them.

Feeling young 

But for that night, he turned back the hands of time and made everyone feel young again. He had them looking back at the time when they fell in love with the group’s first single which would become a monumental hit. 

“We’re going to bring you back to a time when I was even younger than 19. I was only 18 when we released this song,” he said, before belting out the group’s first single “Sweat it Again.” 

Second set 

The second set was more upbeat than the first and featured covers from Swedish ‘70s act ABBA. 

The Westlife members offered their own version of hits such as “Mama Mia,” “Gimme Gimme Gimme,” “Money Money Money,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “I Have a Dream,” “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo” and “Thank You for the Music.” 

Third set 

The third set offered more interaction between the fans and the boys. This time, it was Nicky’s turn to take the stage and engage with the audience. 

Like the rest of the guys, Byrne paid tribute to their loyal Filipino fans all over the world. 

“There’ a lot of Filipino people in Ireland and we meet them regularly. And they always say, ‘we love Westlife.’ And we say, ‘we know you were always so welcoming’,” he said. 

“When we land at the airport it’s gonna be so chaotic that the police and the army are gonna have to help us,” he added. 

At one point, he invited an audience member who wore the same suit to go up on stage. 

“Did you know our wardrobe was broken into last night and all of our stuff was robbed. This guy robbed my spare suit. You see him right there?” he joked.

The fan in the suit introduced himself as one of the administrators of the official Westlife fan club Philippines.

The Westlife members granted their wish to have a selfie with them. 

The fun did not stop there. 

Lucky audience members 

Byrne granted the wishes of two more fans. He read streamers held up by the crowd and one lucky message stood out. 

“Can my 62-year-old mom get a hug from you please?” he read. 

He jokingly said “no,” before inviting the mom on stage for a hug. 

The fiance of an audience member who was celebrating her birthday also had the best gift: a happy birthday song from Westlife, no less. 

The group also performed another cover, Daughtry’s “What About Now,” before returning to their hits for the rest of the set. 

They followed this up with classics such as “ I lay my love on you,” “Seasons in the sun,” “World of Our Own,” with some instrumentals from Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love” and “Flying Without Wings.” 

A kid named Dylan too had a once in a lifetime chance of singing with the boys on stage.

Encore 

Westlife closed out the show with the songs “Hello My Love” and a cover of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me Up.” 

Even though the group had visited the country several times in previous years, the members repeatedly said how amazed and overwhelmed they were about the love and support of the Filipinos. 

As the concert ended at about 10 pm, fans at the Big Dome were still hoping the boys would still come out to sing more of their hits. 

Among the hits not included in the setlist were “I Don’t Wanna Fight No More,” “Bop Bop Baby,” and “Why Do I Love You?”.

Westlife’s heyday 

Westlife was among the biggest boy bands who dominated the pop charts back in the ‘90s.  It was originally a five-member group until Brian McFadden left in 2004 to pursue his own path. 

The band last performed in the Philippines in 2019 for its “Twenty Tour” for its 20th anniversary celebration.

Westlife was initially supposed to perform for just one night this year, on February 20. But tickets sold out quickly, prompting organizers to add one more concert night. 

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