X Factor judge Louis Walsh
When it comes to the managing and promoting of boybands, what Louis Walsh doesn’t know isn’t worth writing about. He has had massive success with both Boyzone and Westlife and more recently mentored the runners up of X Factor 2008 – JLS. He is also responsible for the current pop phenomenon that is Jedward – twins John and Edward from X Factor 2009. Although no one could argue that the boys made it to the final on the back of their vocal ability, Walsh saw something in the twins that none of the other judges did, and sure enough the duo became one of the most popular acts of last year’s series.
Born in Mayo, Ireland in 1952, Walsh has always had an eye for talent and, even more importantly, an understanding of how to sell that talent to the lucrative teenage market. His first major investment, both time and money-wise was with Boyzone – Ireland’s answer to the phenomenally successful TakeThat. The band was put together after Walsh held open auditions and they made their first TV appearance on The Late Late Show – a prime time Irish chat show. The performance was nothing short of shambolic. The boys were clearly out of their depth, couldn’t dance, couldn’t sing and looked decidedly uncomfortable. What they did have was good looks and an undeniable charm. Walsh set to work polishing his rough diamonds and a few months later a very different product emerged. The boys were given singing lessons, a stylist was hired to create their look and Ronan Keating emerged as the band’s lead vocalist. Despite releasing very little original material, the boys were hugely successful and went on to have 16 top three UK singles, 6 of which were number 1s.
When Ronan Keating decided to take a break from the band to focus on his solo career, the path was cleared for Walsh’s next project to make their assault on the pop charts. That project was Westlife – the most successful (in terms of number 1 singles) boyband in UK pop history. They are the only act in the UK to have their first 7 singles go straight to number 1 and to date they have had a total of 14 UK number 1 hits, with 7 number 1 albums. Their success has only been equalled by The Beatles.
With Westlife Walsh hit upon a winning formula that hasn’t changed much over the course of the band’s 12 year career. They are mostly known for their melodic ballads, with Shane Filan and Mark Feehily sharing lead vocals, supported by Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan. Critics of Walsh argue that they have become dated and that Louis Walsh is not equipped to manage bands who want to follow an edgier musical path. There’s no doubt that as soon as JLS left his mentorship they settled on a style that seemed much more suited to their musical sensibilities than the one Walsh seemed to be steering them on on the X Factor. However, regardless of whether or not he should choose edgier songs for the talent under his mentorship, Walsh certainly knows how to spot that talent in the first place.
