DyLaN’s HoMe~

Westlife is an Irish pop music group that formed in July 1998. They were signed by Simon Cowell and are currently managed by Louis Walsh. The group is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and much of Europe Asia, Latin America and Africa. In recent years, Westlife’s sound has evolved from boy band "teen pop" into a more adult contemporary music (ACM) sound.

Westlife has had fourteen number one singles in the United Kingdom between the years 1999 and 2007, the third-highest such total in UK history, behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and tied with Cliff Richard. They are also the only artist/group to win ‘Record of the Year’ in the UK four times. Westlife received twenty-eight platinum discs each for their eight albums. The group had sold more than 22 million records by end of 2006, yet to this day it’s still unclear to how many records exactly the band have sold because some of their main markets are countries in Asia that do not publish sales figures. They are worth an estimated €28 million (about $38 million)

Westlife were awarded the Best Irish Pop Act, a public voting category, at the annual Ireland Meteor Awards for the seventh consecutive year on 2 February 2007.

Westlife is consists of 5 members (now 4 left) and the members are Shane Filan (captain), Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, Nicky Bryne and the former member is Brian Mrfadden.

Westlife’s first big break came in 1998 when they opened for the Boyzone in Dublin. Later that year, they won Best New Tour Act at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party.

In March 1999, their first single, "Swear It Again", was released, and went straight to the top of the charts in Ireland and the UK. The band’s success was to be confirmed when their second single, "If I Let You Go", entered the charts at number 1 in August 1999, followed by "Flying Without Wings" in October, which repeated the feat. This version was included in the soundtrack for the Warner Brothers film, Pokemon 2000. They became the first number one artist of the new millennium when their double-A-side single, "I Have a Dream"/"Seasons in the Sun" knocked Cliff Richard’s "The Millennium Prayer" off the top spot. Westlife had the honour of the Christmas number one. Their first album, simply titled Westlife, was released in November 1999 and was also a big hit, peaking at #2. The album included those four #1 singles, and the follow-up "Fool Again" which also reached the top spot in April 2000.

Westlife’s next album was quickly recorded, and released in November 2000. Coast to Coast was an enormous hit in the UK, becoming the country’s 4th biggest selling album of the year and Westlife’s biggest selling album to date. Westlife took on a signing tour around the UK called "Coast To Coast". The album was preceded by a duet with Mariah Carey on the Phil Collins classic "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" and the ballad "My Love". Both singles reached #1 in the UK charts. With this, Westlife broke an unexpected record, having their first seven singles debut at the top of the UK charts. In December 2000, however, that run was broken when they failed to secure their eighth chart-topper in a row when kid’s favourite Bob The Builder’s "Can We Fix It" was crowned Christmas number one.

In 2001, the boys launched their first world tour, unofficially nicknamed "The No Stools Tour", because of the band’s reputation of performing perched on stools.

November 2002 saw Westlife release their Greatest Hits album, Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1, amidst rumours of a split. They released their first single from this album in October 2002, Unbreakable. This was followed by the double a-side single of Tonight and Miss You Nights.

In 2003 Westlife toured the UK and Europe with the greatest hits, and still shrugged off rumours of a split.

In September 2003, Westlife released Hey Whatever (founded by member Mark Feehily), which made it to Number 4 in the UK Charts. In November 2003 came Westlife’s ‘Make or Break’ and fourth studio album Turnaround, and made Number 1. Along with the Number 1 album was their twelfth Number 1 single. Mandy (a cover of Barry Manilow’s ballad) was released in November 2003. Obvious was also released from the album and charted at Number 3.

In 2003, Westlife also won Record of the Year for the third time in five years.

On 9 March 2004, just three weeks before Westlife were due to embark on their fourth UK and Europe tour, Bryan McFadden left the band to devote more of his time to solo projects as well as his family life with British TV personality and former Atomic Kitten member Kerry Katona and their two children, Molly (born in 2001) and Lilly Sue (born in 2003). They subsequently broke up and Bryan started a solo career, changing the spelling of his first name back to its original ‘Brian’. Brian McFadden entered the chart at number one with his first solo single, "Real To Me". He went on to release more singles, but to only moderate success. The five members were now down to four.

Written rules

Before releasing his Death Note into the human world, Ryuk wrote some of the rules on the first page in English, because he believed that English is the most popular language in the world. The rules written by Ryuk are the following:

• The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
• This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject’s face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
• If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject’s name, it will happen.
• If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.
• After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Each volume of the manga has a page containing new rules or possible uses for the Death Note. In the anime series, each eyecatch contains a different rule written in both English and Japanese, similar to how they were revealed in the Japanese manga. Two new rules are revealed every episode.

False rules

In addition to these original rules, Light persuaded Ryuk to add a set of fake rules to mislead L and company.

• If the owner of the Death Note does not kill within 13 days of the last entry, he or she will die.
• If the Death Note is burnt, destroyed, or otherwise damaged in any way, all those who have touched that Death Note will die.

Light Yagami (Kira) (夜神月, Yagami Raito^?) Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano

The main character of Death Note, Light is a brilliant but bored 17-year old student. When he finds the Death Note dropped in the human world by Ryuk, a Shinigami, he decides to use it to kill all criminals, his ultimate goal being to cleanse the world of evil to create a utopia and to be the God of this new world.

L (エル, Eru^?) Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi

L is the world’s top-rated detective, tasked with tracking down and arresting Kira, and Light’s nemesis. His disheveled appearance masks his great powers of deduction and insight. L has many quirks, such as sitting in an odd manner and snacking on sweets in the middle of meetings. He often takes drastic strategies to confuse and force his opponents, and on several occasions he has willingly disclosed several of his weaknesses to Kira at the risk of his own life in the hopes that he would lure him into a trap.

Misa Amane (弥海砂, Amane Misa^?) Voiced by: Aya Hirano

A girl with an immense crush on Kira. She is a popular idol in Japan, and tends to wear clothing in many different styles, depending on what she is doing. She is immature and has a tendency to refer to herself in the third person (calling herself "Misa-Misa") in an attempt to be cute. Misa is totally devoted to Light, and she once said that she loved him "at first sight". Light, however, only views her as an asset to his plans because of her Death Note and her "Shinigami Eyes" (that she obtained at the cost of half of her remaining life span). These "Shinigami Eyes" give Misa the ability to know people’s names by looking at their faces, thereby giving Kira an edge in his battle against his enemies. Misa read in the newspapers that the murderer of her family was punished by Kira, explaining her total devotion to him, regardless of whether she thinks of his actions as good or evil.

Ryuk (リューク, Ryūku^?) Voiced by: Shidou Nakamura

The original Shinigami who dropped the Death Note in the human world, which Light would pick up. Acting out of pure boredom, Ryuk begins the story of Death Note on a whim. Perhaps neutral by nature, Ryuk often refuses to aid Light and instead enjoys watching him struggle for his goal. The most important facet of Ryuk’s character is that he is not Light’s friend. He acts for his own interests and entertainment and often fails to tell Light key details about the Death Note. Ryuk is selfish, however, and will aid Light if it serves his own goals, such as providing amusement or obtaining apples.

Rem (レム, Remu^?) Voiced by: Kimiko Saitou

The female Shinigami who first gives Misa her Death Note and "eyes." Similar to Ryuk, Rem possesses two Death Notes; however, she purposely gives a Death Note to Misa Amane. Rem inherited her second Death Note from Jealous and thought it only right to pass it on to Misa. Oddly enough, Rem inherits Jealous’ love for Misa as well and is prompt to defend Misa even at the cost of her life. She brings this to light when she openly shows her lack of trust for Light stating that if Misa dies before her time, Rem will kill Light thus ending her own life as well.

Death Note (デスノート, Desu Nōto^?) is a Japanese manga series originally written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The series primarily centers around a high school student who decides to rid the world of evil with the help of a supernatural notebook that kills anyone whose name is written in it.

Death Note first began as a manga series. It was first serialized by Shueisha in Weekly Shonen Jump from the first issue in December 2003 to May 2006, with 108 chapters in total. The series has been published in its entirety in 12 graphic novels in Japan, and is currently in publication in North America. The series has been adapted into a pair of live-action films (released in Japan on June 17, 2006 and November 3, 2006 respectively), and an anime series which commenced airing in Japan on October 3, 2006. Also, a novelization of the series, written by light novelist Nisio Isin, was released in Japan on August 1, 2006.

Light Yagami is a brilliant, but bored, high school student who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground in the year 2003. The Death Note’s instructions claim that, if a human’s name is written within it, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the Death Note’s authenticity, believing it is just a prank. However, after experimenting with it and killing two criminals, Light is forced to admit that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the true owner of the Death Note, a Shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the new world" by passing his judgment on criminals.

Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly learns that the serial killer, dubbed by the public as "Kira"(derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a race to prove mental superiority between the two begins.