McFadden raring to do solo shows in Philippine

MANILA,Philippines — Singer-songwriter Brian McFadden, a fan-favorite owing to his past stint as original member of Irish boy group Westlife, expressed extra thrill at coming back to the Philippines to do what will be his first solo shows in the country.

“Finally, after 20 years I’ll be able to do a solo show in the Philippines,” he told a pool of Filipino media during a Skype interview last Oct. 30 afternoon at Luxent Hotel in Timog Ave., Q.C.

The Irish star will be coming to the city of Cebu to perform at the Mediterranean Ballroom of Waterfront Hotel & Casino on Nov. 16. He will then be flown to Manila the following day, Nov. 17, to deliver a second-night concert at the New Frontier Theatre, Araneta Center in Quezon City.

Joining McFadden in both shows is hometown talent Zephanie Dimaranan who scored her career breakthrough for being the first-ever Idol Philippines champion.

McFadden, who covered some remarkable Otis Redding music for his latest album, stressed, “For 20 years, I have been coming to the Philippines as Westlife and Boyzone. I even guested in a Boyzone show. Yet, I’ve never actually done solo shows so this is very exciting.”

The island-hopping spectacle, presented by EKG Productions, is billed Romantic Intimate Concert with Brian McFadden PH Tour: Playing Our Favorite Songs from Westlife.

The now-prolific solo act toured in this country for three straight years (2016 to 2018) with Boyzone member Keith Duffy under the banner Boyzlife.

McFadden’s debut solo single Real to Me hit the No. 1 spot in Ireland and United Kingdom. He was based in Australia for a while and there he found success as radio presenter and judge in the reality talent search Australia’s Got Talent.

Asked what’s the best thing about being a solo artist, his reply was: “I guess the best thing about being solo is you can sing whatever song and go wherever you want to go.”

Two decades ago, McFadden joined Westlife alongside Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Shane Filan. Together, they made chart-topping songs like Swear It Again, If I Let You Go, Flying Without Wings, Seasons in the Sun, Fool Again, My Love, Uptown Girl, Queen of My Heart, World of Our Own, Unbreakable, Mandy, among others.

Recalling his heydays with Westlife, he shared, “It was the first time we were in Southeast Asia and fans went crazy at the airport. Honestly, we had success in the UK but fans were crazier here, specially in Jakarta, Indonesia. We witnessed how crazy the fans were. I had very fun memories with Westlife.”

Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden put out his debut solo album, Irish Son. Four more studio albums followed: Set in Stone, Wall of Soundz, The Irish Connection, and Otis.

He did Otis to pay homage to Otis Redding and other soul legends of the ’50s and ’60s. Last January, he released the single Cigarettes and Coffee.