Irish boy band in one-night stand
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Men in black: Westlife are set to play Viet Nam for one-night only at the My Dinh National Stadium. — Photo courtesy An Thuan Media |
HA NOI — When Westlife make their capital appearance tomorrow it will be the dream come true for many.
The Irish boy band is set to play in Viet Nam for one-night only at the My Dinh National Stadium as part of their global tour in promotion of 11th studio album Gravity.
The band is scheduled to arrive at Noi Bai Airport by 3.30pm today in order to meet with the press and fans.
Four lucky concert attendees will be invited onto the stage to perform their favourite hits, according to information made available by organisers An Thuan and Alatca Media.
Group member Mark Feehily, wrote on Twitter that Viet Nam would be one of their destinations in Asia alongside Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines.
"Visiting Viet Nam for the first time will be great. I also can't wait to get back to old haunts such as Jakarta and Taiwan," he said.
Vietnamese fans are excited, one posting dozens of photos of the group on her Facebook page while others posted statuses like "Is it just a dream or are they really coming?" and "Let's gather, Westlife fans!".
Viet Nam Idol 2010 Uyen Linh said that she could not wait for the show.
"It's time to recall my childhood, having sung their songs to myself all day," she said, adding, "Westlife has always been extremely popular amongst Vietnamese people of all ages."
Formed in 1998, Westlife's original line-up comprised Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and Brian McFadden, who left the band in 2004.
The lads have sold 44 million records worldwide, their first seven singles having gone straight to number one in Britain, a still unmatched feat.
The group's hits include Seasons in the Sun, Flying Without Wings, Uptown Girl, World of Our Own, My Love, while their new album features the songs Safe, I Will Reach You and No One's Gonna Sleep Tonight.
With the group's 11th album released last year, its world tour kicked off in the Welsh capital Cardiff on March 7. From September 21, the remaining four members will play in Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam.
Tickets for the upcoming show will range from VND350,000 (US$12.5) to VND1 million ($50), according to music producer Vu Anh Tuan, director of the An Thuan Media Company, who helped to bring the boys to Ha Noi.
Tuan said that tickets have been priced reasonably to encourage locals to attend the concert.
"We have done our best to bring Westlife to Viet Nam," Tuan added, saying, "it's expected that in the near future, the country will become a familiar Asian destination for international stars."
It has been a good year for Vietnamese music lovers who have had the chance to welcome a lot of big-name bands and artists, including the Backstreet Boys, Super Junior, JYJ, Alexandra Burke, David Cook and David Archuleta, to the country. — VNS