Pop Interview - Fans Questions
November 2003

Fan: When you're on tour and homesick, what helps you relax?
Kian: [Laughs] Ah, I don't really get too homesick anymore. I have a place in London now, so it feels like my home too. Apart from that I think we just get out and do things, and not stay in and look at the walls. We'll go down to the pub, the cinema or just everyday things, then you feel more at home.

Fan: You said you wanted to go in a new direction with 'Hey Whatever', so why back to ballads with 'Mandy'?
Mark: It's funny, because I can't remember what we actually said at the time. What we meant was that we wanted to try out a different style of song, to carry us into the new album. We certainly would never feel right trying to change our style by trying to become an r&b or rock group. We'll always be a pop group, with strong vocals.
Kian: Variety's the spice of life too!
Mark: That's it! And, the third single will be something a little different too, just to spice things up a bit. The beauty of pop music is that you can experiment a bit more. We just want to showcase the variety of pop songs on our albums, so that's why we released something different.

Fan: If someone was to make a cartoon based on Westlife, what kind of characters would you be?
Kian: I'm thinking South Park meets Homer Simpson. We do an awful lot of silly, crazy things, so I think that would be an accurate mixture. Mark: [Laughs] Yeah, Bryan would have to be Nelson.
Kian: ...and Shane could be Lisa!

Fan: Are you going to be touring next year?
Kian: Yes, we are. Tickets are going on sale in a week or so and it's going to be a huge tour again next year. We're all very much looking forward to it. Touring is probably one of the best parts of being in Westlife. Make sure you come and see us, it'll be a great show!

Fan: Do you sing the type of music you want to sing, or do you have to think about what's going to sell?
Mark: Good question! I think it'd be very selfish of us to just do what we want, like a rock song one minute and tomorrow whatever we fancy. You have to have some sort of consistency in a group and we're lucky enough to be famous across the world. We just respect our fans and respect that they like us because of what we've done in the past. We can change within reason and add a bit of ourselves to each track, but it's strong melodies and good pop songs that people expect from us. At the end of the day, if we want to play around and write songs that are a little different, then we can do that back in our hotel rooms or at home.
Kian: I think we all have different individual tastes and it does come through our music. Certainly, if you look at the 'Turn Around' album, there's definitely something from each of us on that.

Fan: If you could have a body part from another member of the band, what would you have?
Mark: Erm...I'd have Bryan's jaw bone, definitely!
Kian: I don't really think I could take anyone's body parts. I'm pretty happy with myself.

Fan: Who's changed the most and the least since the beginning of the band?
Kian: I think we've all changed an awful lot. It's natural to change. I mean Mark and I were 17 when we started out and we're 23 now. We've had to change in a lot of different ways, but I don't think any of us have changed for the worse. I think we've all kept our feet firmly on the ground and we're still just normal guys. We feel very lucky to be making the music that we enjoy and touring the world and we remind ourselves of that a lot.