The year was 2006. Facebook was barely a concept. High School Musical was introduced to the world for the first time. Low-rise boot-cut jeans were in fashion. And I was just starting elementary school. Amidst all this madness, all I wanted to do was get home from school and listen to Westlife’s 1999 self-titled album on my CD player.
The year was 2012. I still knew every word to every song on that album, but I hadn’t quite followed up on any of Westlife’s recent works. I found out that one of my favorite groups from childhood was disbanding. I was devastated.
Flash forward to now: the year is 2019. I listened to Westlife’s first new song after regrouping, “Hello My Love,” and I fell completely in love.
Written with the help of legendary songwriter Ed Sheeran, “Hello My Love” made me utterly proud to say that I’ve been a fan from the very beginning. The trademark 90s boy band sound melted perfectly into the modern pop scene as Westlife sang its way back into my heart.
“You could have someone without a belly or a temper, perfect teeth, hair growing where it’s meant to… Now I found someone with all the boxes that I want ticked, because your love is all I ever wanted,” sing Westlife.
The band melodically use lyrics that normalize the “imperfections” of relationships and people. The muse of the song could have had someone more perfect in the eyes of society, yet chose a significant other perfect for her. This refreshing and realistic take on love spreads the message that with the will to work through problems, a mutual respect, and an accepting worldview, relationships can last “for all of time.”
“Hello my love, I’ve been searching for someone like you… For all of time, now I know, it’s just my angel and me,” continue Westlife.
If there’s one thing about this comeback that I can say with certainty, it’s that it would have made my elementary school self proud.