Safe (Westlife song)
Encyclopedia
"Safe" is a song by Irish pop group Westlife
from their eleventh studio album, Gravity
. The pop rock
ballad
was released as the album's lead single on 14 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. It was written by John Shanks
and James Grundler, and the single version was produced by Shanks, Richard "Biff" Stannard, and Ash Howes. "Safe" debuted at number four in Ireland, becoming their twenty-fifth top ten single. It charted at number ten in the UK, becoming their lowest-charting single to date.
. When interviewed about his choice, Cowell claimed "It's such a fabulous track, and I wouldn't be surprised if it became a smash song". The track was written by album producer John Shanks
and James Grundler, frontman of American rock group Golden State
. In an interview for the band's official website, Grundler revealed the process of writing such a track:
in London. Press releases stated,
first confirmed via his Twitter
account that copies of the single will be made available in Ireland on 12 November 2010, three days earlier than the rest of the world. The single's b-side, a cover version of "Please Stay
", was recorded in 2009, and was promised to be included on the next single released following "What About Now".
On September 2011, the American movie Dolphin Tale featured the song on the end credits of the film. The song was also featured on the debut season of US X Factor.
.com stated, "it's a bit like on Derren Brown
when he spends days, weeks or months programming someone so that one day, when he comes along and prods them on the shoulder, it all comes flooding back and they can do something amazing like fly a kite or do the ironing with their eyes shut etc. It is as if the last eight or however many years of The X Factor, with the Inspirational Blub Tunes blasting out every time someone does something happy or sad or notable, has programmed us so that a prod from this Westlife tune makes us feel like we're through the boot camp. It feels good being Through To Boot Camp. It feels very good indeed. While 4music
.com emphasized on a part of the lyrics saying, "It includes such gems as 'Pulling at me like the stars do / You're like gravity.' Who'd have thought that physics could have such an influence in pop music." Music All Stars said "Safe" is good, it has Westlife's typical moving/heart-warming lyrics but I just think the Irish lads have made way better first singles in the past." Entertainment Focus said: "Westlife are hardly considered to be cool are they in the industry? We aren’t going to do that. Whilst we wouldn’t choose to go out and buy a Westlife single we can understand why people would. There's something so familiar about a Westlife track that the minute it starts you feel like you’re sat with an old friend you hold very dear. Safe sticks to the usual formula, and therefore guarantees that the band will be once again battling for the top spot in the charts the week of release. Soaring melodies, harmony-filled vocals and dramatic instrumentation all combine for another classic slice of Westlife. You can say many things about Westlife but one thing you can’t say is that the lads can’t sing. Each of the boys can hold their own and whilst Safe doesn’t exactly set our world on fire it’ll be held dearly to the hearts of every Westlife fan in the world. After 11 years you’ve got to admire the fact that the band are sticking with the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ formula don’t you?"
Tina Hart of MSN
UK quoted, Admittedly, I was kind of over Westlife when I got over Boyzone
the first time around – sorry guys, I was a fickle teenager. The Irish quartet is still churning out the tunes though as the lead single Safe from forthcoming (eleventh!) album Gravity, is a suitably nice, sentimental ballad that will undoubtedly please hardcore fans and I’m sure I’ll now end up singing ‘I will keeep you sa-a-aafe’ all day after a few plays. With an accompanying dramatic multi-storyline video featuring a fiery car crash and domestic violence, it's not definitely not your less-interesting visual Flying Without Wings but Safe doesn’t quite reach the audio-epicness of FOW either.
Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said: "Let's just get this out the way: Westlife's new single is called 'Safe' and it's a ballad. While the jokes write themselves, anyone who remembers their dodgy Rat Pack covers record from 2004 knows that we, and they, are in a much better place now. Back then we were certain the lads were about to call time, but a further five albums down the line, it's obvious they're doing something right. Of course, their eleven years in the game has given them a knack for spotting a good ballad, but truth be told, it's difficult to drum up much excitement for this kind of thing tenth album around. Nonetheless, the pounding piano riff, fist-clenching lyrics and that key change are, as ever, all present and correct. The real test? Whether it's used during those teary moments on next year's X Factor."
Daily Star added: "YES, it's a ballad. But, hang on? This is not slushier than a smashed-up punnet of out-of-season Sainsbury's strawberries. In fact – gasp! - it's kind of cool in a key change-tastic boyband ballady way. Fans are going to have a right job deciding between buying this and the JLS and Take That offerings. In fact, the ‘Loife might just mop up the Take That fans who aren’t so keen on the lads’ new Muse-esque direction.
IndieLondon informed, "How you going to live your life like the dream you have is real?… I will keep you safe…" So sing Westlife during the chorus to their epic new power ballad, Safe. And that title tells you just about everything you need to know about the track… it's safe, conventional and passionately heartfelt in the way that you’d expect a power pop ballad to be from one of the boy bands of the moment. That is to say, a moody piano score, belated swirling string arrangements and a layered chorus that delivers each question – "How you gonna love? How you gonna feel?" – with passion and meaning. It's destined to sweep the hopeless romantics off their feet, and to provide the backing for several movie and/or TV scenes… but it is formulaic no matter how well done for this kind of thing (and therefore kind of average)."
talent competition The X Factor
. On September 26 and October 2, the song received a 60-second preview with different parts, becoming the theme for the Boys' Boot Camp results, once again on X Factor. On October 3, a 40-second official snippet was posted on the band's website. Amazon
.co.uk was the first to have the pre-order link of the single on October 4. On October 5, the full version was released on their official Youtube
site. On October 6, the official lyrics were released.
They sent the single to UK and Irish radio stations on 4 October. The single debuted on B-List of BBC Radio 2
on the week commencing 2010 October 16. They had a radio tour confirmed first on Real Radio
Scotland, Northwest. In 22 October 2010, they announced their UK regional radio tour with schedule of complete date, time, and venue. HR3 radio station first confirmed the airplay of the single on Germany on 16 October 2010. They performed this single in The Dome 56, Germany on 26 November 2010 and broadcasted on RTL II Germany on 4, 18 December 2010 but was later cancelled. Afterwards, they are opt to promote on international market as they had meetings about it. They had interviews with RTHK Radio 2 in Hong Kong
, Kawanku Magazine and Tabloid Nova in Indonesia
, Daily Joong-ang in South Korea
, and Sayidaty
in Middle East on 5 November 2010. At the same day, Nicky tweeted he will do a lot of phone call interviews on other countries not mentioned above such as Thailand
, Philippines
, Taiwan
, Sweden, Switzerland, and South Africa. After the radio tour comes the promo tour in television shows. One of it was their performance live on X Factor on 14 November 2010 that coincides the promotion of Gravity and the face-off with other boybands, Take That
and JLS
. (See Schedule)
said "There's a bit of acting for us to be doing and we’re getting involved in all different scenes. We’re kind of flipping the word safe and making it ‘unsafe’ – trying to stop people from being ‘unsafe’. We’re the heroes - although we don’t have cloaks (laughs). It's real life stories put into a video." They said they filmed it on 21 October 2010 and the location is on London. The video was supposed to be filmed in September but there was a delay. The full video premiere is expected two weeks after 20 October 2010. The set needed three more actors aside from Westlife for it. Some of other cast were Richard Carroll and Margarita Mitchel Pollock. Byrne commented first about him in the set of the video, "The scene spent all morning running down corridors bursting thru doors up staircases! Felt like Brad Pitt
...looked more like arm pit". Right after, pictures and the exact location where they about to shoot was revealed by Egan and Feehily. The Daily Star newspaper printed photos featuring Egan and Feehily in a video scene of the aftermath of a car crash. The music video is directed by Sean De Sparengo and produced by Scott Clark. While, the other music video personnel: Production Company: Coy Films, DP: Will Bex, Art Director: Ed Butcher, Editor: James Rosen @ Final Cut, TK: Simone @ Rushes, Representation: FreeAgent UK, and Commissioner: Dan Millar. The full video premiered on 4 November 2010 on both their official site and UK music channels. On 10 November 2010, Virgin Red Room released an exclusive video of the making of Safe which features sprinting, slaps, rooftop drama, car crashes and some classic Westlife balladry.
, and an unnamed bar. As Aceshowbiz.com pictured out, "While Kian Egan comes to Mark Feehily's rescue, Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne save women from getting beaten and committing suicide. Westlife save people in a music video. Shane Filan stands up for a woman when her boyfriend is about to lay a hand on her, Nicky Byrne prevents another female from jumping off the rooftop, and Kian Egan helps Mark Feehily in a car accident. All the scenes in the "Safe" music video, including the car accident, were done without any stuntman. "It was the most fun we have had shooting a video", Mark shared. "We wanted to do the stunts ourselves and management let us."
The press titled the band for the video that turned into superheroes. OK Magazine added, "And just like they said, the clip sees the dreamy Shane, Mark, Nicky and Kian stepping in to save the day (and we thought we couldn't fancy them anymore!). The scene is set by a mystery brunette in a floaty dress looking out over London, contemplating jumping off a wall. We then see flashbacks to an argument with her boyfriend, a man in a hospital waiting room and a burning car. As the song builds, Westlife use their super skills - with Shane stepping in to break up the fight in the bar, Kian pulling Mark out from underneath the car and Nicky stopping the girl jumping. The song ends with Nicky and the brunette tenderly hugging (and us wiping away our tears!)."
De Sparengo, the director, lays on a cinematic sheen to enhance this big sounding ballad said:
Source:
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
from their eleventh studio album, Gravity
Gravity (Westlife album)
Gravity is the tenth and final studio album by the Irish pop band Westlife. It was released on 22 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. John Shanks produced each song, barring the bonus track on the Japanese edition. The album was preceded by the lead single, "Safe", which was released at 14...
. The pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
was released as the album's lead single on 14 November 2010 in the United Kingdom. It was written by John Shanks
John Shanks
John Matthew Shanks is a modern rock writer and Grammy Award–winning producer.Born in New York City, Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17....
and James Grundler, and the single version was produced by Shanks, Richard "Biff" Stannard, and Ash Howes. "Safe" debuted at number four in Ireland, becoming their twenty-fifth top ten single. It charted at number ten in the UK, becoming their lowest-charting single to date.
Background
The decision to release 'Safe' as the first single from the group's new album came from executive producer, Simon CowellSimon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
. When interviewed about his choice, Cowell claimed "It's such a fabulous track, and I wouldn't be surprised if it became a smash song". The track was written by album producer John Shanks
John Shanks
John Matthew Shanks is a modern rock writer and Grammy Award–winning producer.Born in New York City, Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17....
and James Grundler, frontman of American rock group Golden State
Golden State (band)
Golden State is an indie rock band from Los Angeles, CA. Band members include James Grundler , Marc Boggio , Fern Sanchez , and Alex Parnell . Vocalist James Grundler is known for his rock band called Paloalto...
. In an interview for the band's official website, Grundler revealed the process of writing such a track:
"We sat down at the piano, and John started banging some chords out. We just start tapping into the music until it struck a feeling. I left town shortly after because my father was being inducted into his universities athletic hall of fame in PennsylvaniaOn September 30, 2010, the band officially revealed the release date for the single. On October 22, 2010, the single's artwork was revealed by band member Mark Feehily. The single's release date was changed from 7 November 2010 to 14 November 2010 on 27 October 2010. The single was first performed live on BBC Radio 2 Weekend Wogan Show. They held it on the world famous BBC Maida Vale StudiosPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. I kept writing ideas down on the computer every chance I could. I remember sitting on a chair at my aunt's house, in her basement, when it all clicked. I sang a rough idea into the computer and sent it to John. We were so ecstatic about the track and knew we had something beautiful, a timeless classic. The lyrics are from an outside perspective, for example, if you were looking at someone from afar, and maybe you have an interest in them, but every time you see them, they look as though they are going through a real rough moment in their life. And, if for that single moment, you wish you could just reach out and make it all better. Inspiration for the track came from a real life experience. There is a cafe that I used to visit when I was meeting my father in Pennsylvania - and every time we were there, I saw this attractive girl sitting at a table in the back. She had this look on her face, as though something terrible had happened, and all I wanted to do was reach out and comfort her. For me it tells the story of courage, spirit, and desire.".
Maida Vale Studios
Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC studios on Delaware Road, Maida Vale, London.It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 from 1946 to the present...
in London. Press releases stated,
Westlife return with their most heart-stirring offering to date. New single Safe showcases the awesome emotional weight of an outfit at the height of their powers. Recorded in Los Angeles, with legendary producer John Shanks, the soaring ballad features the quartet in their most nakedly raw form. 'I'm crawling on the floor to reach you/I'm a wreck you see' sings band member Mark Feehily as strings swell to head-spinning effect. More than a decade into their career, and ten albums down the line, any competition has long ago fallen by the wayside for an outfit whose ability to chime so skillfully with the emotional landscape of their audience remains undimmed.While Shane said in an interview in Philippine Star: "I think that lyrically, Safe is a very positive song, it's very strong, it's about keeping somebody safe and protecting people. I think everybody anywhere in the world can relate to it. I think everybody wants to feel safe; everybody wants to feel protected. We made the video for that song in that context. We feel that lyrically, Safe is one of the best songs that we have in a very long time."
Release
Band member Mark FeehilyMark Feehily
Markus Michael Patrick Feehily is one of the lead singers of the Irish boyband Westlife.-Early life:Feehily was born in Sligo, Ireland, to Marie Verdon and Oliver Feehily. He has two younger brothers, Barry and Colin .-Career:Feehily rose to fame as one of the two lead singers of the boyband...
first confirmed via his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account that copies of the single will be made available in Ireland on 12 November 2010, three days earlier than the rest of the world. The single's b-side, a cover version of "Please Stay
Please Stay (song)
"Please Stay" is an early hit of The Drifters featuring the new lead singer Rudy Lewis, who replaced Ben E. King...
", was recorded in 2009, and was promised to be included on the next single released following "What About Now".
On September 2011, the American movie Dolphin Tale featured the song on the end credits of the film. The song was also featured on the debut season of US X Factor.
Other versions
When a part of studio version of "Safe" was played on the reality television show X Factor, two different versions were played on different episodes. The first version was the version that was released as a single and included on the album while the second unreleased version was that it included the lyric "unlock the door" in the middle part of the song between the second verse chorus and the bridge.Critical reception
The single received general positive reviews from fans and critics. PopjusticePopjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
.com stated, "it's a bit like on Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Derren Victor Brown is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat...
when he spends days, weeks or months programming someone so that one day, when he comes along and prods them on the shoulder, it all comes flooding back and they can do something amazing like fly a kite or do the ironing with their eyes shut etc. It is as if the last eight or however many years of The X Factor, with the Inspirational Blub Tunes blasting out every time someone does something happy or sad or notable, has programmed us so that a prod from this Westlife tune makes us feel like we're through the boot camp. It feels good being Through To Boot Camp. It feels very good indeed. While 4music
4Music
4Music is a music and entertainment channel in the United Kingdom and available on some digital television providers in the Republic of Ireland - its web component can be found at with its own and pages. It is the only channel within the Box Television Network to be branded under Channel 4 and...
.com emphasized on a part of the lyrics saying, "It includes such gems as 'Pulling at me like the stars do / You're like gravity.' Who'd have thought that physics could have such an influence in pop music." Music All Stars said "Safe" is good, it has Westlife's typical moving/heart-warming lyrics but I just think the Irish lads have made way better first singles in the past." Entertainment Focus said: "Westlife are hardly considered to be cool are they in the industry? We aren’t going to do that. Whilst we wouldn’t choose to go out and buy a Westlife single we can understand why people would. There's something so familiar about a Westlife track that the minute it starts you feel like you’re sat with an old friend you hold very dear. Safe sticks to the usual formula, and therefore guarantees that the band will be once again battling for the top spot in the charts the week of release. Soaring melodies, harmony-filled vocals and dramatic instrumentation all combine for another classic slice of Westlife. You can say many things about Westlife but one thing you can’t say is that the lads can’t sing. Each of the boys can hold their own and whilst Safe doesn’t exactly set our world on fire it’ll be held dearly to the hearts of every Westlife fan in the world. After 11 years you’ve got to admire the fact that the band are sticking with the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ formula don’t you?"
Tina Hart of MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
UK quoted, Admittedly, I was kind of over Westlife when I got over Boyzone
Boyzone
Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...
the first time around – sorry guys, I was a fickle teenager. The Irish quartet is still churning out the tunes though as the lead single Safe from forthcoming (eleventh!) album Gravity, is a suitably nice, sentimental ballad that will undoubtedly please hardcore fans and I’m sure I’ll now end up singing ‘I will keeep you sa-a-aafe’ all day after a few plays. With an accompanying dramatic multi-storyline video featuring a fiery car crash and domestic violence, it's not definitely not your less-interesting visual Flying Without Wings but Safe doesn’t quite reach the audio-epicness of FOW either.
Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said: "Let's just get this out the way: Westlife's new single is called 'Safe' and it's a ballad. While the jokes write themselves, anyone who remembers their dodgy Rat Pack covers record from 2004 knows that we, and they, are in a much better place now. Back then we were certain the lads were about to call time, but a further five albums down the line, it's obvious they're doing something right. Of course, their eleven years in the game has given them a knack for spotting a good ballad, but truth be told, it's difficult to drum up much excitement for this kind of thing tenth album around. Nonetheless, the pounding piano riff, fist-clenching lyrics and that key change are, as ever, all present and correct. The real test? Whether it's used during those teary moments on next year's X Factor."
Daily Star added: "YES, it's a ballad. But, hang on? This is not slushier than a smashed-up punnet of out-of-season Sainsbury's strawberries. In fact – gasp! - it's kind of cool in a key change-tastic boyband ballady way. Fans are going to have a right job deciding between buying this and the JLS and Take That offerings. In fact, the ‘Loife might just mop up the Take That fans who aren’t so keen on the lads’ new Muse-esque direction.
IndieLondon informed, "How you going to live your life like the dream you have is real?… I will keep you safe…" So sing Westlife during the chorus to their epic new power ballad, Safe. And that title tells you just about everything you need to know about the track… it's safe, conventional and passionately heartfelt in the way that you’d expect a power pop ballad to be from one of the boy bands of the moment. That is to say, a moody piano score, belated swirling string arrangements and a layered chorus that delivers each question – "How you gonna love? How you gonna feel?" – with passion and meaning. It's destined to sweep the hopeless romantics off their feet, and to provide the backing for several movie and/or TV scenes… but it is formulaic no matter how well done for this kind of thing (and therefore kind of average)."
Promotion
A 30-second snippet of the song was first heard on September 19, on the final audition show of ITV1ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
talent competition The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
. On September 26 and October 2, the song received a 60-second preview with different parts, becoming the theme for the Boys' Boot Camp results, once again on X Factor. On October 3, a 40-second official snippet was posted on the band's website. Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.co.uk was the first to have the pre-order link of the single on October 4. On October 5, the full version was released on their official Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
site. On October 6, the official lyrics were released.
They sent the single to UK and Irish radio stations on 4 October. The single debuted on B-List of BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...
on the week commencing 2010 October 16. They had a radio tour confirmed first on Real Radio
Real Radio
Real Radio is a network of adult contemporary independent local radio stations in England, Scotland and Wales and is operated by . Each station broadcasts local breakfast through to drive time shows and network programming in the evening and through the night...
Scotland, Northwest. In 22 October 2010, they announced their UK regional radio tour with schedule of complete date, time, and venue. HR3 radio station first confirmed the airplay of the single on Germany on 16 October 2010. They performed this single in The Dome 56, Germany on 26 November 2010 and broadcasted on RTL II Germany on 4, 18 December 2010 but was later cancelled. Afterwards, they are opt to promote on international market as they had meetings about it. They had interviews with RTHK Radio 2 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Kawanku Magazine and Tabloid Nova in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Daily Joong-ang in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, and Sayidaty
Sayidaty
Sayidaty is a weekly Arabic and a monthly English women's magazine based at Dubai Media City in the United Arab Emirates. The English edition was launched in 2007 after publishing in Arabic since 1981. It is published by Saudi Research & Publishing Company, which publishes Arab News, among other...
in Middle East on 5 November 2010. At the same day, Nicky tweeted he will do a lot of phone call interviews on other countries not mentioned above such as Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Sweden, Switzerland, and South Africa. After the radio tour comes the promo tour in television shows. One of it was their performance live on X Factor on 14 November 2010 that coincides the promotion of Gravity and the face-off with other boybands, Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
and JLS
JLS
- Music :* JLS, an English boyband** JLS , debut album by JLS* JLS a Spanish Rock band based in Zaragoza , Spain formed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by lead Leo Susana.- Organizations :...
. (See Schedule)
Background and release
When they were asked about the music video, band member Shane FilanShane Filan
Shane Steven Filan was one of the lead singers in the Irish pop band Westlife. Filan is one of the five original Westlife members, along with other current members Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Nicky Byrne and former member Brian McFadden....
said "There's a bit of acting for us to be doing and we’re getting involved in all different scenes. We’re kind of flipping the word safe and making it ‘unsafe’ – trying to stop people from being ‘unsafe’. We’re the heroes - although we don’t have cloaks (laughs). It's real life stories put into a video." They said they filmed it on 21 October 2010 and the location is on London. The video was supposed to be filmed in September but there was a delay. The full video premiere is expected two weeks after 20 October 2010. The set needed three more actors aside from Westlife for it. Some of other cast were Richard Carroll and Margarita Mitchel Pollock. Byrne commented first about him in the set of the video, "The scene spent all morning running down corridors bursting thru doors up staircases! Felt like Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
...looked more like arm pit". Right after, pictures and the exact location where they about to shoot was revealed by Egan and Feehily. The Daily Star newspaper printed photos featuring Egan and Feehily in a video scene of the aftermath of a car crash. The music video is directed by Sean De Sparengo and produced by Scott Clark. While, the other music video personnel: Production Company: Coy Films, DP: Will Bex, Art Director: Ed Butcher, Editor: James Rosen @ Final Cut, TK: Simone @ Rushes, Representation: FreeAgent UK, and Commissioner: Dan Millar. The full video premiered on 4 November 2010 on both their official site and UK music channels. On 10 November 2010, Virgin Red Room released an exclusive video of the making of Safe which features sprinting, slaps, rooftop drama, car crashes and some classic Westlife balladry.
Synopsis
The video was filmed in different settings, all happened in London: Wimbledon Road, The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disabilityRoyal Hospital for Neuro-disability
The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, in Putney in South West London, is an independent medical charity which undertakes research and provides specialist services to meet the needs of people with complex neurological disabilities resulting from damage to the brain or other parts of the nervous...
, and an unnamed bar. As Aceshowbiz.com pictured out, "While Kian Egan comes to Mark Feehily's rescue, Shane Filan and Nicky Byrne save women from getting beaten and committing suicide. Westlife save people in a music video. Shane Filan stands up for a woman when her boyfriend is about to lay a hand on her, Nicky Byrne prevents another female from jumping off the rooftop, and Kian Egan helps Mark Feehily in a car accident. All the scenes in the "Safe" music video, including the car accident, were done without any stuntman. "It was the most fun we have had shooting a video", Mark shared. "We wanted to do the stunts ourselves and management let us."
The press titled the band for the video that turned into superheroes. OK Magazine added, "And just like they said, the clip sees the dreamy Shane, Mark, Nicky and Kian stepping in to save the day (and we thought we couldn't fancy them anymore!). The scene is set by a mystery brunette in a floaty dress looking out over London, contemplating jumping off a wall. We then see flashbacks to an argument with her boyfriend, a man in a hospital waiting room and a burning car. As the song builds, Westlife use their super skills - with Shane stepping in to break up the fight in the bar, Kian pulling Mark out from underneath the car and Nicky stopping the girl jumping. The song ends with Nicky and the brunette tenderly hugging (and us wiping away our tears!)."
De Sparengo, the director, lays on a cinematic sheen to enhance this big sounding ballad said:
"I wanted to create a video for this track that a had strong emotional connect as well as the expected performance aspect, so it just seemed right to develop key scenes that featured each of the guys in dramatic and hopefully moving situations. "Big American TV dramas often tie up a season finale by cutting together the most emotive storylines and then laying it against a powerful pop track to really tug on the old heartstrings and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to push in that direction. "Luckily the boys are true promo veterans and didn’t take much persuading at all to get stuck in and bring each little story alive".
Reception
The music video was positively received by fans and critics. Music All Stars said: "The new single "Safe" sounds similar to Westlife's previous ballads (nothing really can change if you rush CDs – a release per year? – and you don’t take your time to explore new ideas and bring original stuff. I know Westlife has a trademark sound but still), with their typical moving/heart-warming lyrics. Not a bad song but it's just more of the same really. The videoclip however was awesome! I like the "we are all heroes" concept." 4music added: "ing! We realise that the boys' formula has moved on a bit since they arrived on the music scene more than a decade ago. Admittedly they haven't gone all Marilyn Manson on us; Safe is an anthemic ballad that wouldn't sound out of place on a Take That album, which might have something to do with the fact that it was produced by John Shanks (he 'pushed the buttons' on The Circus). The Safe video is certainly worth a look too - who knew you could call on the Westlife boys in a crisis?"Credits and personnel
- John Shanks – songwriter, producer, guitar, bass
- James Grundler – songwriter
- Richard "Biff" Stannard – additional production and mixing
- Ash Howes – additional production and mixing
- Lars Fox – Pro Tools editing
- Helen Atkinson – assistant engineer
- Nicolas Essig – assistant engineer
- Jeff Rothschild – recording and drums
- Charles Judge – keyboards
- Jamie Muhoberac – keyboards
- John Shanks – keyboards
- Seton Daunt – additional guitar
- Wil Malone – strings arrangement
- Richard Woodcraft – strings recording
- Shari Sutcliffe – musician contractor and production coordination
Source:
Charts
Safe peaked #40 on UK Radio airplay, and #34 on UK TV Airplay Chart or Digital Subscription Plays Chart.| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
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Release History
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| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... , Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
4 October 2010 | Radio Airplay Airplay * Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay... |
Syco Music, Sony Music, RCA Records RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... |
| 4 November 2010 | TV Airplay | ||
| South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
9 November 2010 | Digital Download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... , CD Single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |
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| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
12 November 2010 | ||
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
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| Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... |
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| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
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| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
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| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
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| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
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| United Kingdom | 14 November 2010 | Digital Download | |
| 15 November 2010 | CD Single | ||
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
CD Single, Digital Download | ||
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
26 November 2010 | ||
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |