It’s always a great time whenever Westlife visits our country. Despite performing in Kuala Lumpur just last year (their concert was held in Axiata Arena in February 2023), the Irish pop sensation returned to Malaysia over the weekend to entertain local fans in Resorts World Genting.
Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne took center stage and brought us down memory lane with their biggest hits, singing approximately 20 songs. Having just toured in Vietnam and Korea, the trio showed no sign of fatigue and had plenty of energy to spare.
From the moment Westlife kicked out their pitch-perfect opening sequence with “World Of Our Own” and “I Lay My Love On You”, over 5000 concert-goers in Arena of Stars were singing along to the familiar tracks. Although we missed hearing Mark Feehily’s powerful high notes on songs like “Flying Without Wings”, Shane, Nicky and Kian more than made up for his absence.
As you may have heard, Mark Feehily made a shocking announcement earlier in February, citing that his health had taken a toll after undergoing several surgeries. Still, the show must go on. This setback meant that the other members had to take turns filling in Mark’s spot in the songs.
In addition to wishing Mark well in his recovery process, the Westlife members also added why performing in Genting holds a special place in their hearts. “During our first visit in 1999 or 2000, we were in Malaysia to promote our debut album,” Nicky recalled, adding that their transport via helicopter to Genting was a surreal experience and still remains one of the highlights. In more ways than one, this was a full circle moment.
Throughout the night, Westlife kept the energy going with uptempo tunes like “Bop Bop Baby”, “Looking Like That”, and “Uptown Girl”. There was no Beyonce-booty shaking dance like their previous concert, but the British singers still managed to bust a move or two.
Some might say that Westlife has been returning rather regularly in recent years, but judging from the crowd response in Genting, we do love us some Westlife. With nostalgic songs like “Swear It Again”, encore numbers “You Raise Me Up” and “My Love”, it’s safe to say we simply can’t get enough of Westlife.
