''Wild Dreams'' is the twelfth studio album by Irish pop vocal band

Westlife Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

. It was released on 26 November 2021 by

East West Records East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in New York City. History After its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had its first hit wit ...

, their first release on the label. The album was preceded by the lead single "Starlight", released on 14 October 2021. Its second single, "My Hero", was released on 5 November 2021. ''Wild Dreams'' includes songwriting contributions from

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

("My Hero") and Amy Wadge ("Lifeline", "Rewind"), along with production from

Jamie Scott James Christopher Needle (born 12 February 1984), known professionally as Jamie Scott, is an English singer, songwriter and producer. Career Songwriting As a writer and producer Scott has sold over 100 million albums, 50 million singles, has ...

Rami Yacoub Rami Yacoub (born 17 January 1975), also known by the mononym Rami, is a Palestinian-Swedish record producer and songwriter and former member of the songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone. Yacoub collaborated extensively wi ...

and

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...

. To support the album, Westlife embarked on

The Wild Dreams Tour The Wild Dreams Tour or The Hits Tour, originally known as the Stadiums in the Summer Tour, is a concert tour by Irish pop vocal group, Westlife. It was first scheduled to begin on 17 June 2020 in Scarborough, North Yor ...

visited Europe, Asia (including India), and their very first time tour to North America (Canada, United States & Mexico) and South America (Brazil).

Background

Westlife recorded the album over an 18-month period and were "inspired by the challenges" of that time, a reference to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In a statement, the band described the album as "uplifting", explaining that it "captures the mood of the moment" and has "moments of reflection and is about new beginnings, hope and looking to the future".

Critical reception

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

editor Alan Corr called the album "another confection of airy, midtempo electro pop ..earnest ballads and soft-focus pop anthems .. They sound mostly reinvigorated on a set of 13 new songs that sees them further embrace grown-up pop and invite fresh song-writing talent on board to varying degrees of success."

Track listing

Personnel

* Matt Holyoak – photography (

Luttrellstown Castle Luttrellstown Castle is a castellated house located in Clonsilla on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland dating from the early 15th century (c. 1420). It has been owned variously by the eponymous and notorious Luttrell family, by the bookseller ...

, Dublin) * Salvador Design – design *

Mark Feehily Markus Michael Patrick Feehily (born 28 May 1980) is an Irish singer, best known as a member of the pop vocal group Westlife. Westlife has released twelve albums, embarked on thirteen world tours and won several awards, becoming one of the most ...

Background

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

References