For Nicky Byrne, a member of popular Irish pop band Westlife, 2009 has been an annus horribilus.

His good friend, Boyzone member Stephen Gately, 33, died in Majorca in October from an undiagnosed heart condition.

Over the telephone from Ireland, the 31-year-old says quietly: "It was such a huge shock when Stephen died. It was such sad nes because he was so young."

Barely had he dealt with the shock of his friend's death whenhis own father died in November from a heart attack at the ago of 60.





He says: "My dad's death was very sudden and it made me feel that we can never prepare enough for what it going to happen in life. I was very heartbroken and I didn't know what to do but I am trying to move on. My dad was a great father and a great man, and I am sure he would be proud of us now."

Besides personal traumas, Byrne had also been reassessing his life on the professional front.

His band was on a year-long hiatus from mid-2008. The four-member band, which includes Mark Feehily, Kian Egan both 29, and Shane Filan, 30, felt burnt out from work in the past decade and wanted a break.

Byrne says: "There was a risk in taking a break because at the back of our minds, we feared that people would forget us in this fickle-minded music scene. Our fans might end up supporting others but we went ahead and did it because we were so tired nd wanted a good rest."

During their time off, the quartet mostly spent precious time with their families, something they did not have the chance to do in the past.

Byrne says the break was good for the band as they came out of it refreshed and ready to work hard on their 10th album, Where We Are, which was released last November.

And the band think the album of catchy pop tunes and love ballads is their best in a decade-long career that has seen them selling more than 40 million albums.

Byrne, a father of fraternal three-year-old twin boys, says: "We felt pressured to do well and meet high expectations for our new album because of our previous albums' good results. We wanted the album to be an indication of where we are after 10 years and we wanted it to feel special again.

"We also wanted the album to reflect how much we have matured over the years and we used inspiration from our daily lives to put together this album."

Glad to be leaving 2009 behind and starting 2010 afresh, the chatty singer reveals that the band will be embarking on their world tour this year, starting from Europe before coming to Asia.

He says: "I am excited and looking forward to that and I think 2010 will be a brighter and better year."

He also reveals the secret to stayin popular after so many years on the scene: "It is mainly committment to hard work and getting along well as a group. We definitely worked hard for our success today."

But he does no know how long the band can go on, adding: "We don't know, but we are taking it an album at a time. We have come a long way and I hope we can continue to go on for a long time."

He promises Singapore fans that they will come here this year. The last time the quartet performed here was 2006.

He adds: "Singapore has been very nice to us and it is definitely on the map for our world tour 2010. Meanwhile, check out our latest album and we'll see you guys soon."