Greatest Hits (Westlife album)

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Greatest Hits
Larossi
  • Carl Falk
  • Arnthor Birgisson
    • Westlife chronology
    Gravity
    (2010)     		Greatest Hits
    (2011)     		The Love Songs
    (2014)
    Singles from Greatest Hits
    1. "Lighthouse"
      Released: 14 November 2011

    Greatest Hits is the second

    music videos up to that point. The album's lead single "Lighthouse
    " was released on 14 November 2011.

    Greatest Hits received mixed reviews from music critics, with some reviewers praising the compilation's structure, while others disliked the group's musical style. The compilation reached No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart, sold more than 600,000 units and was certified 2× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry as of November 2018.[1] The album debuted at the No. 1 position on the Irish Albums Chart and performed moderately elsewhere.

    Background

    On 5 September 2011, it was confirmed the album would be simply titled Greatest Hits.

    Play.com released editions that included free postcards and member signatures.[4] A limited-release signed edition sold out in less than 24 hours.[5]

    There are four new tracks on the standard edition: "Beautiful World" (written by Feehily, Shanks and

    Ruth-Anne Cunningham), "Wide Open" and "Last Mile of the Way" (co-written by Byrne, Filan, Dimitri Ehrlich, Coyle Girelli) and the lead single "Lighthouse". The new tracks on the album were recorded from May - September 2011 with the band's Gravity producer Shanks and new producers Dan Radclyffe and Boxsta Martin. Bryne said that the new tracks took "four or five weeks" to record.[6] In 2014, Dimitri Ehrlich, co-writer of the song "Last Mile of the Way", posted a demo of the song on his SoundCloud account.[7]

    Album artwork

    The album photoshoot took place in

    Yahoo OMG! UK reported: "the artwork for their brand new album sees them striking one of their best model poses yet."[10]

    Reception

    Professional ratings
    Review scores
    SourceRating
    Star Magazine
    		[17]
    Trash Lounge[18]
    Allmusic

    Greatest Hits received mixed reviews from music critics. Critics that positively received the album praised the album's track listing and new songs, particularly "Beautiful World". Reviewers that criticized the album also noted the group's repetitive formula in their songs.

    Shaun Kitchener of Trash Lounge gave the compilation a perfect five stars, calling it "the perfect way for the band to bid farewell."[18] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the album four stars out of five, praising the inclusion of numerous hits in the track listing, as well as the new songs of the compilation. However, he was disappointed that the new songs "point to what could have been an interesting new direction for the band".[12] Alistair McGeorge of Female First called the album a "fine retrospective of one of the best boy-bands in history", as well as assuring the listeners that they will be "taken on a journey from the band’s beginnings through to their last recordings, constantly reminded of the talent they showed."[15]

    Fraser McAlpine of

    Allmusic only gave 2.5 of 5 stars.[19]

    Track listing

    • Standard Edition
    No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
    1."
    Ruth-Anne Cunningham, Mark Feehily, Shanks
    		Greatest Hits4:02
    17."Wide Open"Grundler, ShanksGreatest Hits3:41
    18."Last Mile of the Way[a]"Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Dimitri Ehrlich, Coyle Girelli[20]Greatest Hits3:49
    Japanese Bonus Track[21][22]
    No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
    19."Over and Out"Ben Earle, Craigie Dodds, John Shanks, Ruth-Anne CunninghamGreatest Hits3:24
    • Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc
    No.TitleWriter(s)AlbumLength
    1."
    Home" (Live from The O2)
    		Michael Bublé, Alan Chang, Amy Foster-GilliesWhere We Are Tour: Live from The O23:41
    17."Flying Without Wings" (Recorded Live at BBC Proms in the Park 2011)Hector, MacPreviously unreleased4:29
    18."You Raise Me Up" (Recorded Live at BBC Proms in the Park 2011 with Fionnuala Sherry)Brendan Graham, Rolf LøvlandPreviously unreleased4:51
    Deluxe Edition Bonus DVD
    No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
    1."
    What About Now"
    		Ben Moody, David Hodges, Josh HartzlerSteve Robson4:10
    33."Safe"James Grundler, John ShanksJohn Shanks3:50
    34."Swear It Again" (U.S. Version)Wayne Hector, Steve MacSteve Mac4:10
    35."World of Our Own" (U.S. Version)Hector, Mac, Morgan, ClimieMac3:34

    Charts

    Certifications and sales

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    Ireland (IRMA)[41] 3× Platinum 45,000^
    United Kingdom (BPI)[42] 2× Platinum 600,000‡

    ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
    ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

    Release history

    Main release

    Country / Region Date Format Label
    Austria[43] 18 November 2011
    CD, digital download
    Sony Music, RCA Records
    Belgium[44]
    Germany[45][46]
    Ireland
    Luxembourg[47]
    Netherlands[48]
    Norway[49]
    Singapore[50]
    Switzerland[51]
    Bulgaria[52] 21 November 2011
    Canada[53]
    Czech Republic[54]
    Cyprus[55]
    Denmark[56]
    Estonia[57]
    Finland[58]
    France[59]
    Greece[60]
    Hong Kong[61]
    Hungary[62]
    Latvia[63]
    Lithuania[64]
    Poland[65]
    Portugal[66]
    Slovakia[67]
    Sweden[68]
    South Africa[69]
    United Kingdom[70]
    Italy[71] 22 November 2011
    Malta[72]
    Mexico[73]
    Romania[74]
    Spain[75]
    Taiwan[76]
    Australia[77] 25 November 2011
    New Zealand[78] 28 November 2011
    Philippines 29 November 2011
    Japan[79] 6 December 2011

    Import release

    Country / Region Date Format Label
    Canada[80] 29 November 2011
    CD, Digital download
    		 RCA Records,
    Sony Music
    Japan[81]
    Thailand[82]
    United States[83] 27 December 2011

    References

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