Westlife interview

An added bonus to the new album is a duet with American diva Mariah Carey, more proof that Westlife is numero uno. The boys and Carey duet on Phil Collins' 1984 hit single "Against All Odds." The lads are more than thrilled to sing with Carey. "Working with Mariah is a dream come true for us. We're big fans of her and her music. We never thought we would be able to work with her 'cos we're fairly new in the music business," Nicky says humbly.

"Against All Odds" was originally planned for Carey's album "Rainbow," but after the singer met the boys at the American Music Video post-award party in Los Angeles last year, she approached them about the idea of a duet. "We were surprised when Mariah told us she's a Westlife fan. (Carey's favourite song is "Flying Without Wings.") We thought she was just being nice. But when she asked us to do a duet, we jumped at the opportunity," Nicky tells us.

So, off to the island of Capri, Italy they went to meet Carey. "What really struck us when we worked with her was how professional Mariah was - not to mention how gorgeous she looks," Nicky says. "We've always wondered how Mariah managed one hit song after another. When we saw her work, we knew. She really works hard," he says, singing her praises. "She actually sat in front of the mixer, helping mix the song," Nicky laughs. "Mariah also writes and produces! As her fans, it made us really respect her even more."

Carey, who is part Irish herself, may be one of the best female singers and she may be talented, but we wanted to know about her greatest assets! We heard the boys couldn't get enough of Carey during the making of the "Against All Odds" video. "Nah, it was only Bryan who was caught on film looking at Mariah's breasts, not the four of us," Nicky giggles. "At the end of the video, you can see Mariah and us in slow motion, but when we reviewed the tape, we were shocked to find Bryan staring at Mariah's breasts!" he says slightly embarrassed. Although Carey didn't mind the gawking, executives at the boys' record label didn't find it amusing. The shot was later re-edited to avoid "further embarrassment".

Despite that slight hiccup, "Against All Odds" proved to be a winning collaboration between Carey and Westlife. For Carey, the single propelled her to the top of the UK charts, and for Westlife, "Against All Odds" is the band's leg-in into the United States' music market. The song is their sixth No.1 single in the UK and it's set to be a hit in the US as well. Nicky makes no secret of the group's expansion plan: "We need to work with someone like Mariah to strengthen our position in the States. Although our first single, "Swear It Again," reached gold status there, we thought we needed to aim even higher."

(Galaxie)