Where We Are is the ninth studio album by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 27 November 2009 in Ireland and on 30 November 2009 in the UK through S Records, RCA Records and Sony Music. Where We Are is the group's first album following a hiatus in 2008. This album was preceded by the lead single "What About Now" (a cover of the Daughtry song) and it was released on 23 October 2009^[1] as a digital download a day later as a CD single.^[2]

The group collaborated with numerous notable producers for the album, notably Ryan Tedder of the pop rock band OneRepublic, Jim Jonsin, Greg Wells and Sam Watters, among others. Where We Are is also notably the first Westlife album not to have Steve Mac and Wayne Hector produce or write any of the songs.

The album was met with mixed reviews, although it was still commercially successful, debuting at number two at the UK Albums Chart and got 2× Platinum Certification in the United Kingdom which sold more than 600 000 records. Despite the high peak, it was the first Westlife album not to peak at number one since their 2004 album Allow Us to Be Frank peaked at number three. This is the 7th top-selling album of 2009 in Ireland.

The recording process of the album started in LA on 1 July 2009. The first song they recorded was the ballad, "I’ll See You Again"".^[3] "I'll See You Again" was recorded by Ross at Metropolis Studios.^[4] For their first single "What About Now" Feehily told The Daily Mirror, "We wanted the first single from our new album to be somewhere between the Westlife sound our fans know and love, and the new direction we're heading in."^[5] The song "Shadows" was written by Ryan Tedder and AJ McLean for the Backstreet Boys' seventh album This Is Us but was not selected for inclusion. It was subsequently purchased by record label boss Simon Cowell for Leona Lewis's second album Echo but it was later decided that the song was more suited to a boyband and thus given Westlife to record.^[6]

The album also contains an "in memory of" section to Nikky Byrne and Kevin Egan, the fathers of Westlife members Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan.

On 25 October 2009, during the X Factor results show, Westlife performed "What About Now". It was released online the same day.^[7] On 26 October they performed on GMTV and were interviewed in addition to hosting a webchat, with a further interview on The One Show on 30 October 2009.^[8] They will also perform at BBC Children in Need on 20 November and be interviewed on 26 November and 4 December on Alan Carr's Chatty Man and The Friday Show respectively.^[8] They are also doing radio promos in major cities of UK and Ireland from 24 October–November including an interview on BBC Radio One.^[9] TV dates were announced later.^[10][11] Following a Swedish promotional tour with performance on Swedish Idol.^[12] On 27 November 2009, Westlife performed on infamous UK television shows like Paul O' Grady Show and The Late Late Toy Show.^[13]

On 1 February 2010, their official website was revised. They called it as a first phase of 2010 assault.^[14] On 10 February 2010, they are invited to Jonathan Ross show for an interview to be televised on 12 February 2010.^[15] First week of February, they embarked on a promotional tour of Germany and guested on the Oliver Pocher Show on the third week of February.^[16]

"How to Break a Heart" was released as a promotional single on 10 March 2010 in some countries.^[17] They got the chance to perform with Boyzone for a track on the Stephen Gately Show in Ireland.^[18] They were invited to perform on Sun City Super Bowl Show on South Africa to be held on 19 March and Fashion Kicks 2010 on 13 April.^[19][20]

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic Rovi Music	[21][22]
BBC Music	(favorable)[23]
The Times UK	[24]
Daily Express	[25]
Digital Spy	[26]
Entertainment Ireland	[27]
London Evening Standard	[28]
MSN UK	[29]
The Observer	(unfavorable)[30]
Virgin Media	[31]

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Where We Are received mostly unfavorable reviews, with most reviewers criticizing the album's similar music style, as well as the fact that there is little difference from their previous material.

Robert Spellman of Daily Express gave the album two stars out of five, saying that "all the songs sound alike and deal with heartbreak."^[25] Lauren Murphy of Entertainment Ireland gave a similar score, stating that "as maudlin and one-dimensional as any of their recent material", although she praised Feehily's vocals.^[27] Rick Pearson of London Evening Standard called the album's songs "bland" and "uninspiring", concluding that "Where We Are finds Westlife exactly where they were at the beginning of the decade."^[28] Ben Chalk of MSN UK stated that the album is "aimed squarely at the sort of person who buys one album a year, usually at Christmas, to listen to in the car."^[29] Hugh Montgomery of The Observer criticized the album's "usual...over-production, ersatz yearning and (anti-)climactic key changes."^[30] Alex Fletcher of Digital Spy panned Where We Are, saying that "there isn't a drop of passion, genuine emotion or soul to be found anywhere."^[26] Ian Gittins of Virgin Media gave the album one star out of five, saying that "The only emotion...is a sinking sense of déjà vu."^[31]

Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic and Rovi Music gave the album three and a half stars out of five, noting the group's usual musical structure, although he praised the album for containing "many first-rate songs...and the production is polished to perfection."^[21][22] Mike Diver of BBC Music gave Where We Are a favorable review, referring to many "surprises" contained within the album, although he notes that "their style has barely changed."^[23]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
• "What About Now" was not included on the Czech and Slovak track listing.^[32]

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