Back Home (Westlife album)

Back Home
Studio album by Westlife
Released	5 November 2007 (See release history)
Recorded	2006-2007 London, United Kingdom Stockholm, Sweden Los Angeles, U.S.
Genre	Pop, pop rock, dance-pop, electropop
Length	47:29
Language	English
Label	Syco, Sony BMG, RCA
Producer	Arnthor Birgisson, David Kreuger, Steve Mac, Per Magnusson, Quiz & Larossi, Rami Yacoub
Westlife chronology
The Love Album (2006) Back Home (2007) Where We Are (2009)
Singles from Back Home
"Home" Released: 29 October 2007 "Us Against The World" Released: 3 March 2008 "Something Right" Released: 4 April 2008

Back Home
Video by Westlife
Released	5 November 2007
Genre	Pop
Label	Sony BMG
Westlife chronology
Live At Wembley (2006) Back Home (2007)

Back Home is the eighth studio album by Irish boy band Westlife, released on 5 November 2007 through Syco Music, Sony Music and RCA Records. The album was produced by Steve Mac, Quiz & Larossi, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger and Rami Yacoub, who also produced some of the group's previous material. Back Home was the group's final album before their temporary break from music in 2008.

The album was preceded by the lead single "Home", a cover version of the Michael Bublé song, which was sent to radio stations in September 2007, and was eventually released as a digital download and CD single on 29 October 2007. Two more singles were released to promote the album, namely "Us Against the World" and "Something Right". A DVD also accompanied the album's release, including some of the group's recent music videos and exclusive footage of the group.

The album was met with mixed reviews, however the album was a commercial success. The album debuted at #1 on the Official UK Album Charts, selling 132,000 copies in its first week of release and remained in the top three spots for eight consecutive weeks.^[1][2][3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Channel24	[5]
Daily Express	[6]
Digital Spy	[7]
Entertainment.ie	[8]
Galaxie Magazine Malaysia
iAfrica	[9]
Rovi	[10]
The Daily	[11]
This Is Aberdeen	(favorable) [12]

Background

The track listing for the album was released on the band's official website on 3 October 2007, with track-by-track videos by the band. The release date of the album was brought forward to 5 November 2007 from the initial 12 November 2007. The album contains a collection of brand new tracks along with a few covers. The cover songs on the album are "Have You Ever?", a Diane Warren penned ballad previously recorded by Brandy, and "I'm Already There", a song recorded by Lonestar. The first single from the album is a cover of the ballad "Home", originally by Michael Bublé, and was released on 29 October 2007^[13] The song debuted at #3 on the official UK singles chart.^[14] "Us Against The World", an original song dedicated to Westlife fans worldwide, was released as the band's second single on 3 March 2008 in the UK and Ireland. Meanwhile, "Something Right", which is an original up-tempo song, was released as the third single in Asia and Europe.^[15] When Westlife announced the release date for the album, The Spice Girls immediately withdrew from the chart battle and delayed their Greatest Hits album release by a week to 12 November 2007. Westlife and the Spice Girls are then engaged in a war of words where each accused the other party of avoiding each other's release. The Spice Girls claimed that their album was to be released on 12 November 2007 and that this has always been the case. However, music retailers have concurred that the Spice Girls' album was initially marked with a 5 November 2007 release date.^[16] Back in November 2000, both bands were caught in a chart battle between Westlife's second studio album "Coast to Coast" and Spice Girls' third studio album "Forever". In the battle, Westlife sold 163 000 more records than the Spice Girls in the first week of release. Speculations then began to surface that Westlife might consider changing the release date of their album back to 12 November 2007 to go head on with the Spice Girls.^[17] A Westlife insider told The Mirror "It's war and they're not getting away that easily. They can run but they can't hide"^[18] which supports the speculation. However, the band made no further changes to the release date.

An accompanying DVD was released on the week of the album's release. It featured backstage footage of the group, Up Close and Personal segments, and the music videos of "Home, You Raise Me Up, When You Tell Me That You Love Me, Amazing and The Rose". The DVD was available exclusively at Woolworths.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Home"	Amy Foster-Gillies, Michael Bublé, Alan Chang	Steve Mac	3:28
2.	"Us Against the World"	Rami, Arnthor Birgisson, Savan Kotecha	Rami & Arnthor	4:02
3.	"Something Right"	Rami, Birgisson, Kotecha	Rami & Arnthor	3:14
4.	"I'm Already There"	Richie McDonald, Gary Baker, Frank J. Myers	Quiz & Larossi	4:18
5.	"When I'm with You"	Jordan Omley, Michael Mani, Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello	Biancaniello, Watters	4:12
6.	"Have You Ever"	Diane Warren	Mac	4:33
7.	"It's You"	Steve Mac, Wayne Hector	Mac	4:11
8.	"Catch My Breath"	Mac, Hector	Mac	3:18
9.	"The Easy Way"	Rami, Birgisson, Kotecha	Rami & Arnthor	3:35
10.	"I Do"	Mac, Hector, John Reid	Mac	4:30
11.	"Pictures in My Head"	Rami, Birgisson, Kotecha	Rami & Arnthor	4:17
12.	"You Must Have Had a Broken Heart"	Jörgen Elofsson, Nicky Chinn	Per Magnusson, David Kreuger	4:01

Back Home — Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Home" (Soul Seekerz remix radio edit)	Foster, Bublé, Chang	Mac, Soul Seekerz	3:36
14.	"Home" (music video)			3:28

Back Home — Australian edition bonus DVD: Live at Wembley
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Overture/Flying Without Wings"
2.	"Hit You With the Real Thing"
3.	"When You're Looking Like That"
4.	"Amazing"
5.	"She's Back/Billie Jean"
6.	"Uptown Girl"
7.	"Addicted to Love"
8.	"I Wish/Wild Wild West"
9.	"Senorita/Don't Cha"
10.	"Colour My World"
11.	"Hey Whatever"
12.	"The Dance"
13.	"Swear it Again"
14.	"Seasons in the Sun"
15.	"World of our Own"
16.	"Mandy"
17.	"Queen of My Heart"
18.	"What Makes a Man"
19.	"You Raise Me Up"
20.	"The Love Album" (photoshoot)
21.	"You Raise Me Up" (music video)
22.	"When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (music video)
23.	"Amazing" (music video)

Back Home — iTunes Store tour edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Hard to Say I'm Sorry"	Peter Cetera • David Foster	Mac	3:56
14.	"Get Away"	Mac • Hector	Mac	3:15
15.	"Home" (Soul Seekerz remix radio edit)	Bublé • Chang • Foster	Mac • Soul Seekerz	3:36
16.	"Total Eclipse of the Heart" (Sunset Strippers remix)	Jim Steinman	Mac • Sunset Strippers	7:42
17.	"I'm Already There" (Ashanti Boyz remix)	Baker • McDonald • Myers	Quiz & Larossi • Ashanti Boyz	4:16
18.	"Us Against the World" (The Wideboys remix)	Birgisson • Kotecha • Yacoub	Rami & Arnthor • Wideboys	4:34

Credits

Vocals	:	Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan
Executive Producers	:	Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell, Sonny Takhar, Tim Byrne
Producers	:	Steve Mac, Chris Law, Dan Pursey, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha, Antour, AJ, Anders Johansson, Josef Larossi, David, Jorgen Elofsson, Louis Biancanello,, Sam Watters, Michael Mani, Jordan Omley
Photography	:	Nino Munoz
Management	:	Louis Walsh Management

Mixed By : Niklas Flyckt (2,3), Quiz (4), Josef Larossi (4), Louis Biancaniello (5), Michael Mani (5), Sam Watters (5), Jordan Omley (5), Ronny Lahti (9), Fredrik Andersson (11,12) Keyboards & Programming : Anders Johansson (4), Quiz (4), Romdhane (4), Josef Larossi (4), Per Magnusson (12), Jorgen Ingestrom (12) Pro Tools Editing : Chris Laws (1,6,7,8,10) Pro Tools Engineer : AJ Junior (2,3,9,11) Engineered By : Chris Laws (1,6,7,8,10), Daniel Pursey (1,6,7,8,10), Quiz (4), Josef Larossi (4), Tim Lewis (5), Fredrik Andersson (12) Mix Engineered By : Ren Swan (1,6,7,8,10) Strings Engineered By : Markus Bergqvist (4), Ren Swan (6,7) Choir Engineered By : Ian Agate (4) Backing Vocals Arranged By : Atlas (4), Emil Heiling (4), Quiz (4), Josef Larossi (4) Strings Arranged By : Dave Arch (1,6,7,8,10), Ulf (4,12), Henrik Janson (4,12)

Guitars : John Paracelli (1,8,10), Daniel Pursey (1), Esbjorn Ohrwall (2,3,4,9,11,12), Rami Yacoub (3,9), Paul Gendler (6,7,8), Fridrik 'Frissi' Karlsson (6,10) Bass : Steve Pearce (1,6,7,10), Rami Yacoub (2,3,11), Thomas Lindberg (4) Piano/Keyboards/Synths/Organ : Steve Mac (1,8,10), Dave Arch (1,6,7,10), Peter Ljung (4), Steve Mac (6), Per Magnusson (12), Jorgen Ingestrom (12) Drums : Neal Wilkinson (1), Chris Laws (1,6,8,10), Ian Thomas (7), Magnus Perssom (12) Strings : Stockholm Session Orchestra (4) Percussion : Frank Ricotti (1,7) Mellotron : Steve Mac (7) Choir : The Tuff Session Singers (1)

*Numbers in brackets represents the track number on the album.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 14 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 65 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 45 Irish Albums (IRMA)[22] 1 Japan Albums (Oricon)[23] 50 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[24] 48 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 12 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 18 Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 33 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 19 UK Albums (OCC)[30] 1 Year-end charts Chart (2007) Peak position Irish Albums Chart 1

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales Ireland (IRMA)[31] 5× Platinum 75,000^^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Gold 7,500^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[33] 3× Platinum 900,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country / Region	Date	Format	Label	Catalogue
South Africa[34]	26 October 2007	CD, Digital download	RCA Records, Syco Music, Sony Music
Ireland	2 November 2007
Netherlands[35]
Switzerland[36]				88697176702
China[37]	5 November 2007
Hong Kong[38]				88697176702
South Korea[39]
United Kingdom[40]
Thailand[41]	6 November 2007
Europe[42]	7 November 2007			SME-8869717-6702
Finland[43]
Norway[44]
Sweden[45]
Austria[46]	9 November 2007			88697176702
Germany[47]
France[48]	21 November 2007
Japan[49]				BVCP21573
Poland[50]	11 February 2008
Argentina[51]	22 January 2008			7176702

References

1. First day sales figures
2. UK Music Charts |The Official UK Top 75 albums Archived 7 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
3. BBC Radio 1 - Chart Show - The UK Top 40 Albums
4. Back Home at AllMusic
5. Channel24 review
6. Daily Express review
7. Digital Spy review
8. Entertainment.ie review
9. iAfrica review
10. http://www.allrovi.com/music/album/back-home-mw0000582139
11. The Daily review
12. This Is Aberdeen review
13. Muziek downloaden: Westlife - Back Home
14. BBC Radio 1 - The UK Top 40 Singles
15. Something Right in Asia/Europe
16. Tabloid Hell : Spice vs Westlife – Part II | News|NME.COM
17. The Sun Online | The Best for News, Sport and Showbiz|The Sun
18. Spice's West strife - Mirror.co.uk
19. "Australiancharts.com – Westlife – Back Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
20. "Austriancharts.at – Westlife – Back Home" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
21. "Offiziellecharts.de – Westlife – Back Home" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
22. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 45, 2007". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
23. "バック・ホーム". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
24. "Dutchcharts.nl – Westlife – Back Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
25. "Charts.org.nz – Westlife – Back Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
26. "Norwegiancharts.com – Westlife – Back Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
27. "Scottish Albums chart (2007-11-11)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
28. "Swedishcharts.com – Westlife – Back Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
29. "Swisscharts.com – Westlife – Back Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
30. "Westlife | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved September 3, 2016.
31. "Irish album certifications – Westlife – Back Home". Irish Recorded Music Association.
32. "New Zealand album certifications – Westlife – Back Home". Recorded Music NZ.
33. "British album certifications – Westlife – Back Home". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Back Home in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
34. Take 2 - Westlife - Back Home (CD) - Music
35. bol.com | Back Home, Westlife|Muziek
36. Westlife - Back Home - Sony Music Entertainment Switzerland GmbH
37. 回家 Back Home—SONY MUSIC CHINA
38. Westlife / Back Home - Hmv Hong Kong
39. [인터넷 교보문고] Back Home
40. Back Home: Westlife: Amazon.co.uk: Music
41. Westlife – Back Home
44. Back Home - Westlife - Musikk - CDON.COM
45. Westlife back home 2007 musik - Ginza.se
46. Westlife - Back Home - Sony Music Entertainment Austria GmbH
47. Westlife - Back Home - Sony Music Entertainment Germany GmbH
48. Back Home: Westlife: Amazon.fr: Musique
49. Back Home(CD Extra)【CD】-Westlife｜Popular Rock｜Rock & Pop｜Music｜HMV ONLINE Online Shopping & Information Site
50. Back Home - Westlife - Płyty - Muzyka w Onet.pl
51. Sony Music - WESTLIFE