Gravity is the tenth studio album release by the Irish boy band Westlife and it was released on 22 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. John Shanks produced each song, barring the bonus track on the Japanese edition. The album was preceded by the lead single, "Safe", which was released on 14 November 2010.
| Gravity | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 19 November 2010 | |||
| Recorded | July – October 2010 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:05 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | John Shanks | |||
| Westlife chronology | ||||
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| Westlife studio album chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Gravity | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Contactmusic | (favorable)[1] |
| Daily Express |   [2] |
| Entertainment Focus | (favorable)[3] |
| Entertainment.ie | [4] |
| Expessen | [5] |
| Financial Times | [6] |
| Funky | [7] |
| Jacaranda FM |   [8] |
| M&VT | [9] |
| OK! Magazine | [10] |
| Urban Wire |  [10] |
This is the group's final album under Syco Music, as well as their final album before their initial split in 2012. As of November 2011, the album had sold 358,943 copies in the UK.[11]
Background
The recording process for the album started in July 2010; its recording and mixing was finished in October 2010. They recorded the songs in Los Angeles, California, Dublin, Ireland, and London, England.
On 19 July 2010, it was reported by RTÉ that the group would work with producer John Shanks.[12] Westlife told Digital Spy: "We'd wanted to work with him for a long time, but all his loyalty was to Take That and he didn't want to work with another boyband."[13] On 17 September 2010, Egan said that the first single for the album was picked by Cowell and a 30-second snippet was played on X Factor UK.[14] On 1 November 2010, Mark confirmed two cover songs on the album are "Chances" by Athlete and "The Reason" by Hoobastank.
Album name and artwork
On 22 October 2010, the band released a video of the album photo shoot on their official sites.[15] The official photographer of the shoot was Kevin McDaid and Feehily as the creative director.[16]
On 13 October 2010, they announced the album title Gravity and trended worldwide on Twitter as #westlifegravity after the announcement.[17] The album title was suggested by a fan.[18]
Promotion
Singles
"Safe" was the lead single from the album, released on 14 November in the UK. Their debut performance of the track was on the X Factor the day or release. It peaked at No. 10 in its first week consequently making it their lowest charting lead single to date in the UK, as well as their lowest sales for a lead single.[citation needed]
It was later confirmed on 1 February 2011 that there would be no second single for Gravity. Byrne stated that it was Syco's decision.[19] On 14 March 2011, Westlife confirmed that they had left Syco Music and moved to another Sony division, RCA, with the group citing the decision not to release a second single as the reason.[20]
"I Will Reach You" was released as a promotional single on 17 February 2011 in Indonesia, Ireland, and the Philippines.[21]
Track listing
All tracks produced by John Shanks except noted tracks.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beautiful Tonight" | John Shanks, Paul Barry | Filan, Feehily | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Safe" | Shanks, James Grundler | Filan, Feehily | 3:53 |
| 3. | "Chances" | Joel Pott, Carey Willetts, Steven Roberts, Timothy Wanstall | Filan, Feehily | 4:46 |
| 4. | "I Will Reach You" | Mark Feehily, Steve Anderson, Jamie Hartman | Feehily, Filan | 3:21 |
| 5. | "Closer" | Shanks, John Reid, Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Feehily, Shane Filan | Filan, Feehily | 4:06 |
| 6. | "The Reason" | Douglas Robb, Dan Estrin, Chris Hesse, Markku Lappalainen | Filan, Feehily | 3:54 |
| 7. | "Tell Me It's Love" | Shanks, Wayne Hector | Filan, Feehily, Byrne | 4:18 |
| 8. | "I Get Weak" | Shanks, Savan Kotecha | Filan, Egan, Feehily | 3:42 |
| 9. | "Before It's Too Late" | Anderson, Feehily, Simon Petty | Feehily | 4:09 |
| 10. | "No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight" | Shanks, Hector | Filan, Feehily | 3:53 |
| 11. | "Difference in Me" | Shanks, Hector | Filan | 3:29 |
| 12. | "Too Hard to Say Goodbye" | Shanks, Byrne, Egan, Feehily, Filan | Egan, Filan, Byrne, Feehily | 4:44 |
| Total length: | 48:05 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Please Stay" | Burt Bacharach, Bob Hilliard | Steve Anderson | 3:43 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Safe" (music video) | Grundler, Shanks | 3:59 |
Other credits
- Mark Feehily – art direction, creative direction
- Shari Sutcliffe – contract musician, production coordinator
- Steve Stacey – design
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Kevin McDaid – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums Chart[33] | 15 |
| South Korean Albums (Circle)[34] | 90 |
| UK Albums Chart[35] | 34 |
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[36] | 2× Platinum | 30,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[37] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
Main release
| Country / region | Date | Format | Label | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe[38] | 19 November 2010 | CD, Digital download | RCA Records, Sony Music | 88697724482 |
| Ireland[39] | ||||
| Netherlands[40] | ||||
| Philippines | Sony Music Entertainment, Ivory Music and Video | |||
| Sweden[41] | Sony Music Entertainment | |||
| Thailand[42] | ||||
| Denmark[43] | 22 November 2010 | |||
| Hong Kong[44] | ||||
| Malaysia[45] | ||||
| Poland[46] | ||||
| South Africa[47] | ||||
| United Kingdom[48] | S/Syco Music | |||
| South Korea[49] | 23 November 2010 | Sony Music Entertainment | ||
| Finland[50] | 24 November 2010 | |||
| Mexico[51] | 26 November 2010 | |||
| Taiwan | 30 November 2010 | |||
| Germany[52] | 3 December 2010 | |||
| Japan[53] | 15 December 2010 | Sony Music Japan International | SICP-2929 |
Import release
| Country / region | Date | Format | Label | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan[54] | 22 November 2010 | CD, Digital download | RCA Records, Sony Music, Syco Music | 88697724482 |
| Canada[55] | 23 November 2010 | |||
| France[56] | ||||
| United States[57] |