"Swear It Again" is a song by Irish boy bandWestlife. The ballad[1] was released on 19 April 1999 in the United Kingdom as the first single from their debut album, Westlife (1999). The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, giving Westlife their first of 14 UK number-one singles. "Swear It Again" is Westlife's only single to have charted in the US, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ranking number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in 2000.
The single has sold over 600,000 copies in the UK and has achieved Platinum status there. It is the band's fifth-best-selling single in combined sales and seventh-best-selling single in paid-for sales in the UK as of January 2019.[2]
Backgroundedit
In Westlife - Our Story the band recalled being "excited" hearing the demo of this song saying "Wow, this is a great song. It's a big chorus, great harmonies. This is exactly what we want to be recording".[3]
"Swear It Again" is notable for being, along with "Flying Without Wings", one of the first two songs that Steve Mac wrote for both Westlife and Simon Cowell. The success of the two tracks led to Mac becoming Cowell's preferred producer and songwriter.[4] It was revealed that Cowell let his father Eric listen to all of the songs recorded by the band for their debut album to decide what would be the album's lead single, with Eric choosing "Swear It Again". Significantly, Eric died of a heart attack during the week the single was released.
The song's B-side, "Forever", was a significant choice because, as originally recorded by Damage, it first alerted Cowell to the talent of Steve Mac and then led to the producer working with Westlife.[4] It was composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in A major, with Filan and Feehily's vocal ranging from the chords of B3 to F♯5.[5]
An exclusive live track version of the single was included in the Arista Records 25th anniversary compilation album in 2000.[6]
Music videoedit
The original version of the video was not released. Simon Cowell had spent £150,000 on it, didn't like it and ordered a re-shoot.[3]
The remade British music video features the band members in a mini theatre and singing on a stage fitted with lighting panel flooring while they face a screen with black-and-white videos of their studio recording process. This version was directed by Wayne Isham and aired in May 1999. The video was shot at Pinewood Studios in March 1999.[7] The video on YouTube has 71 million views as of May 2021.[8]
The American music video features the band members at a car wash and subsequently washing a white car as they're singing the song. This version was directed by Nigel Dick and aired in June 2000.[7] The American version of the video has 17 million views on YouTube as of July 2022.[9]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^Taylor, Chuck (5 February 2000). "Dublin's Darling Westlife Wins Over Europe, Aims for Success in U.S.". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 6. p. 110.
^Copsey, Rob (12 January 2019). "Westlife's Top 20 biggest songs on the Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
^ ab"Westlife: Our Story". HarperCollins Publishers. p. 96. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
^ ab"Interview With Steve Mac". HitQuarters. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
^"25 Years of #1 Hits - Arista Records 25th Anniversary Celebration". Amazon.
^"Swear It Again BY WESTLIFE - DIGITAL SHEET MUSIC". Musicnotes.
^ ab"Westlife artist videography". mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
^westlifeVEVO (3 October 2009), Westlife - "Swear It Again" (Official Music Video), retrieved 11 June 2019
^westlifeVEVO (3 October 2009), Westlife - "Swear It Again" (Official US Video), retrieved 11 June 2019
^ abSwear It Again (UK CD1 liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 66206 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (UK CD2 liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 66207 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (UK cassette single sleeve). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 662064.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (European CD single liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 66357 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (US CD single liner notes). Westlife. Arista Records, BMG. 2000. 07822-13816-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (US cassette single sleeve). Westlife. Arista Records, BMG. 1999. 07822-13816-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (Australian CD single liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 66356 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (Australian CD EP liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 1999. 74321 68416 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Swear It Again (Japanese CD EP liner notes). Westlife. RCA Records, BMG. 1999. BVCP-28001.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Westlife (US CD album liner notes). Westlife. Arista Records, BMG. 2000. 07822-14642-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^(Nicky Byrne says release date is 19 April on YouTube)
^"New Releases – For Week Starting 19 April, 1999: Singles". Music Week. 17 April 1999. p. 27.
^"Westlife: Swear It Again". click2music.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 23 February 2005. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
^"愛の誓い~スウェアー・イット・アゲイン EP | ウエストライフ" [Oath of Love ~ Swear It Again EP | Westlife] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
^Sexton, Paul (25 December 1999). "U.K. Awards Show Packs Retail Punch". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. p. 81. Tentative plans call for the single 'Swear It Again' [...] to go to radio in late January, with a commercial release a month later.
^"Gavin AC/Hot AC: Impact Dates". Gavin Report. No. 2295. 10 March 2000. p. 25.