[EXCLUSIVE] Westlife Shares Reasons Why Indonesia Is So Special, Wants to Make a Song About Fried Rice!

Kapanlagi.com - Great news for Westlife fans in Indonesia. In 2027, the legendary Irish boy band, Westlife will return to Jakarta. Shane Filan and the crew are scheduled to perform at Gelora Bung Karno, specifically on January 23, 2027, as part of the 'Westlife 25 - The Anniversary World Tour'.

Before that special moment, KapanLagi.com got a golden opportunity to chat exclusively with Westlife. The performers of the song Uptown Girl revealed why Indonesia has always been a special place for them.

In this interview, Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, and Kian Egan also talked about their first moments in Indonesia, the incredibly enthusiastic fans, and the preparations for their biggest stadium concert at GBK, which promises to be full of nostalgia, hit songs, and emotional moments for the fans.

Check out the full interview below..

1. Westlife's Special Impression of Indonesia

Exclusive interview with KapanLagi and Westlife (Credit: KLY)

Why does Indonesia feel so special to you?

Nicky Byrne: I think there isn't just one reason, but many reasons. When we were young and starting the band, the record label sent us to Southeast Asia. And we visited many countries to promote our first album, Swear It Again. You know, there are many countries around like the Philippines, but there is something special about Indonesia. When we arrived at the airport, there were thousands of people at the airport, police, soldiers, who helped us get out of the terminal to the car and hotel. When we got to the hotel, there were even more people at the hotel. We couldn't leave the hotel room. So that was the beginning of pop fame. And we were like "Wow".

Nicky Byrne: After that, we released more songs, Flying Without Wings, My Love, World Of Our Own, When You're Looking Like That, Uptown Girl, it kept getting bigger and bigger. Every time we returned, the concert audience changed from 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and now we are at a stage in our career where we will perform at Gelora Bung Karno on January 23. When we are in Indonesia, as we know Coldplay and Ed Sheeran have performed there. This is a very special moment for Westlife as our relationship with Indonesia continues to grow, and we are very ambitious people. And we feel very excited to commemorate 25 years of Westlife in one night in Indonesia. If we are Westlife fans in Indonesia, we definitely don't want to miss this performance. I think this is the best.

Is it too early to ask about the preparations?

Kian Egan: It’s a bit early, we are working on it seriously. We really want this event to be big and the best we have ever done. Indonesia will be the biggest and best show we have ever held there. There will be drones recording us, fireworks. I’m not sure we have permission for the fireworks. Not yet, but we are taking care of the permits. We have told the promoter, this will definitely be a spectacular show. It has to be as maximal as possible for this show. So, that's the point for us. The goal is to ensure that this is the best night of every Westlife fan's life. That's what we want to happen. All the best songs, the best production, the best moments, lots of emotional moments, happy moments. We want everyone to feel like their dreams come true.

This is the only stadium you are visiting during the tour in Asia, right?

Nicky Byrne: That's right. Making anyone feel special because all our fans are grown up now, but they bring their children and their parents if they are still alive. Because Indonesia is like Ireland. Indonesia is quite family-oriented, so the atmosphere is really like a family. This is a truly special event, not a rock concert, it's pop where you can see brilliant creative works on screen. Great singing, great pop songs, and reminiscing memories.

2. Meaning of Westlife's Latest Album

Exclusive interview with KapanLagi and Westlife (Credit: KLY)

What does the album 'The Ultimate Collection' mean to you?

Shane Filan: Honestly, we are very proud of this album. We are very, very proud, I think, this time in our career. 25 years is a very long time, but we have had fun since day one until now, and I think now is more special than ever because our fans are still with us more than ever. We will be holding our biggest show in Jakarta this coming January. So it means a lot to us, for our fans to receive the love and support that we have had over the last 25 years in Indonesia. It’s truly amazing and we are very thankful, we are very grateful and we feel very special. We feel very honored to be a part of Westlife. To bring so many smiles to people's faces and we will relive their memories on January 23, it will be a special night, a big celebration for all these songs.

Which song on the album had the longest or most challenging production process?

Shane Filan: I think Against All Odds with Mariah Carey, of course it wasn't challenging, but it was a very special moment for us because she produced it.

Shane Filan: They were staring at us because we were singing in the recording studio and Mariah Carey was sitting outside the glass watching us, so it was very nerve-wracking.

Shane Filan: Scary, very scary. When looking outside through the screen and there’s Mariah Carey staring at you saying, 'Okay Shane, give me one more, one more come on.' And you’re like 'Ah,' so it’s definitely challenging, but a lot of fun, and of course, we had the opportunity to sing with Mariah Carey. So that’s very special too.

Can you tell us about the process behind the song Chariot?

Shane Filan: Of course, and I think Ed Sheeran, obviously, he was involved with Westlife in 2018 when he wrote Hello My Love and Better Man. Two songs that were released from that album, and Ed Sheeran has always been a huge fan so he wanted to write more Westlife songs, of course together with Steve Mac. Our long-time collaborator who used to write, of course I wrote Flying Without Wings, Swear it Again, World of Her Own, and so on. I think their coming together was a very timely moment because we were going to reunite as Westlife in 2019. And Chariot, I feel like this is the next phase, you know, it’s an upbeat song, a great song to sing and a lot of fun, especially the story behind this song. Actually, this is like what you want for the funeral. Wanting people to celebrate life rather than be sad, but we also want our fans to celebrate Westlife, celebrate who we are as individuals and what we have achieved together. Because without the fans, Westlife wouldn't exist, so this is a great song, we will definitely perform it on tour as well.

3. Want to Write a Song About Fried Rice

Westlife's concert in Indonesia in 2027

Can you share a personal moment when you felt like, 'Yes, we finally made it!'?

Kian Egan: Oh, that's a tough question. I think back to the early days of Westlife when we were achieving a lot of success worldwide. And we had some number 1 singles in the UK, I think right after our first single Swear It Again and even though we had reached number 1 in the UK, we still felt like a very new band and yes, we knew we had a lot of fans, but we weren't sure how big that fanbase was. Then we flew to Indonesia and landed at the airport and I know Nicky has said this before but you know, just to see how many thousands of fans. We were welcomed at the airport, it made us feel like, wow, we really have made it, and then we held a concert on the same trip. And it was supposed to be a showcase that we thought was just to display talent for the Indonesian music industry, as you know, people like you who work for magazines or TV shows, and there were about 10,000 people there, we couldn't believe it, and they ran up to the stage and jumped towards us and crowded, you know, security had to drag people off the stage, there was one time when the cameraman reached out his hand. To shake hands with us while we were shooting a TV show, so all those moments, you know, when we were in Indonesia for the first time, it's real, like those moments are unbelievable. Is this real? Is this really happening to us? But it really happened. And here we are 25 years later. Ready to do it again in Indonesia.

If you were to write a song about Indonesia, what would that song be about?

Nicky Byrne: I think Shane would definitely say the title should be called Nasi Goreng. So I don't know what we have and where we are going with that.

(kpl/gtr)