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And does Westlife showcase your singing talents enough?
I love performing in the live show. I’ve waited my whole life to do it, and that side of things is every bit as good as I thought it would be. Sometimes being in a pop band can be frustrating though, you want to do your very best but, to be honest, few people out with the band itself really care if you can sing or not.
Surely the fans wouldn’t buy the records if you couldn’t sing…
I’m not really talking about the fans so much, but it’s far to say some fans are more interested in who you’re dating and what your favourite colour is. Then in the pop business – it’s not even the music business anymore, but the pop business – people care more that you have right clothes and the right haircut. Those are sometimes seen as more important things is selling records than giving your best vocal performance.
You sound like you’re rebelling…
In little ways. I’m definitely sick of our clean-cut dressed-up image. I think its silly that looks are so important. My record company has asked me to shave for photoshoots to give a more clean-cut image. And now I don’t shave on purpose, because it annoys me. I need to take back a bit of control.
But you’re living your childhood dream. Doesn’t it live up to expectations?
I wouldn’t say my dream version was 100% wrong but it wasn’t quite right either. Some things I imagined are missing. I thought our lifestyle would be more chilled. But our lives can be too stressful. I prefer things to be calm and harmonious and they never are, are they? Things have been stressing me out.
What have been the most difficult times for you?
I was unhappy in the band before Christmas. It came to a boiling point then and although I never went as far as physically walking out, in my head I was really thinking, ‘honestly, I can’t do this any more’.
But you didn’t leave the band. What changed your mind?
At Christmas I sat down and thought about my priorities, and I decided that although Westlife’s success in fantastic. I’m not going to let it mess with my head any more. I’m not going to let it get me down every day. It’s ridiculous to know your dreams are coming true, and they’re making you unhappy.
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© 2001 Pami