BACKSTREET BOYS AND WESTLIFE ACOUSTIC 2012

Westlife may not have been favored to win this competition, but from day one they proved they were fighters and were out to make a statement. They got everyone's attention early on when, amidst accusations of cheating, they fairly beat out fan favorites the Backstreet Boys in the first round. They had no trouble at all beating out their next two opponents, O-Town and the Beatles, and managed to get past newcomers the Wanted in the Final Four to ultimately take on the Jonas Brothers in the championship. This win in the Battle of the Boy Bands seems to come at a perfect time for the group because their 14-year career is about to come to an end. Westlife have decided to go their separate ways after the conclusion of their Greatest Hits Tour, which kicks off later this week and wraps up at the end of June in front of a hometown crowd in Dublin, Ireland. Congratulations to Westlife and to all their extremely loyal fans: You have certainly proved your devotion and didn't let up no matter how tough the competition was. Thanks to all the bands that participated. From newcomers One Direction, Mindless Behavior and Big Time Rush to veteran groups Boyz II Men and the Backstreet Boys, it was truly an epic tournament. But it wouldn't have been possible without all of you, the fans. All of your vigorous voting resulted in some shocking upsets, some heated matchups and some rally-from-behind wins, making this a true battle of the boy bands. 

IRISH BAND WESTLIFE has been voted the world’s best ever boyband in an MTV competition. MTV said that the Irish group received over 70 per cent of the final vote, easily beating the Jonas Brothers, the Backstreet Boys and the Beatles. “Congratulations to Westlife and to all their extremely loyal fans: You have certainly proved your devotion and didn’t let up no matter how tough the competition was,” MTV said this evening. Band member Brian McFadden left the group several years ago. Late last year, the remaining four members announced they were to separate after 14 years together. They are just about to start their Greatest Hits tour, which is due to finish up in Dublin’s Croke Park at the end of June. Band members Shane Filan and Mark Feehily have been tweeting their thanks to fans for supporting them in the MTV vote: 

Meanwhile, Nicky Byrne took the opportunity to poke fun at one of the losing contestants: 

Backstreet Boys Out Of Boy-Band Battle? Westlife Are Surprised Too 'When I saw the bands that were listed, I thought we haven't got a hope in hell in this,' group member Nicky Byrne says. By Christina Garibaldi (@ChristinaMTV) . The first round of MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands certainly shocked a lot of fans when Westlife overtook early favorites the Backstreet Boys. And fans aren't the only ones surprised by this early victory: Westlife themselves never thought they would be able to overtake BSB. "When I saw the bands that were listed, I thought we haven't got a hope in hell in this, especially being up against the Backstreet Boys, to be honest with you. When I looked, I thought, well, these guys are probably going to win this, gonna be there or thereabout," Westlife member Nicky Byrne told MTV News on Thursday (April 26) via Skype from Dublin, Ireland. "How it came about, I noticed it on Twitter and I went into the MTV website and I said, 'What's all this about?' and I see us up against the Backstreet Boys and I thought, 'Oh no, what a challenge that is!' So I put it on my Twitter account and it kind of snowballed from there," he continued. And snowball it did. The group beat the Backstreet Boys by a fairly large margin after their fans from all over the world rallied for their victory. Yet, according to Byrne, even though he's ecstatic with the win, he expects there will be no hard feelings between the two groups. "The funny thing is we've met the Backstreet Boys quite a number of times," Byrne said. "It will be interesting to see if and when we ever bump into the guys again to have a little bit of fun, a bit of a chat about it." Westlife, who have been together since 1998, had minimal success in the United States, with only one single, "Swear It Again," charting Stateside, back in 1999. Last year, the group announced that after 14 years they were calling it quits following their Greatest Hits Tour, which kicks off next month. "I think our manager really wanted us to announce it as a break, just to say to people that it's going to be a couple years. We'll do some different things on our own and see where we go," Byrne said. "But I think we all knew it was the right time to get away from each other for a long time. And genuinely, I would hate to think that I spent half of my life ? more than half my life with the lads ? I would hate to think that we would never sing again. But I think what we couldn't do was lead people on false promises, and you know, whatever the rest of us go on to do, we can't be holding on to maybe one day do a tour again. So it was the right decision to be made. Everybody is going to walk away from this with great memories and, most importantly, our friendship intact. " And even though they will remain close after the tour, Byrne is adamant that this will be the last time they will be together as a group. "Right now, there's no chance of anything ever again with Westlife," he said. "I know when I'm on my Twitter account, the amount of fans that would love me to say, or would love us all to say, 'No, there's still a hope, we'll do something down the road,' ... but right now, if that happens, that would be incredible. But we haven't even finished yet. The right thing to say ... is right now, Westlife, come June 23, will be no more." Before they go their separate ways, Westlife are still hoping to have some success in the United States, and what better way to do that than to win MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands? "What an amazing story it would be to finish our final 14 years to be named or even get far in this competition," Byrne said. "But even if we don't, we'll hold our heads very high and say we never cracked the States, but we gave them a run for their money." Voting in round two of MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands runs until noon ET on Monday, April 30. Winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite band made the cut, make sure you keep voting. Tune in to AMTV and MTV Hits for their boy-band video takeovers each day and make sure to spread the word on Twitter using the hashtag  and like us on Facebook for updates!

The Irish pop group were voted the best boyband during a two-week poll of an MTV audience of some 12million viewers, also beating The Wanted and Disney superstars, The Jonas Brothers. The foursome can head out on their farewell tour next week proudly embracing the title after they emerged as the surprise winners of the poll of 32 bands, voted for by an audience of US and European music lovers. A spokesman for MTV was quoted in the Irish Daily Mail as saying: “The fans have spoken. After two weeks of intense match-ups and more than 12 million votes Westlife have come out on top in MTV’s Battle of the Boybands.” This win in the Battle of the Boy Bands seems to come at a perfect time for the group because their 14-year career is about to come to an end. Westlife have decided to go their separate ways after the conclusion of their Greatest Hits Tour, which kicks off later this week and wraps up at the end of June in Croke Park.

Westlife Call Beatles 'The Ultimate Boy Band' 'We'll just leave right now,' Nicky Byrne jokes when told Westlife are facing Beatles in third round of Battle of the Boy Bands. By Christina Garibaldi (@ChristinaMTV) . MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands is certainly heating up. We have seen some shocking eliminations throughout the first two rounds, with the Backstreet Boys, 'NSYNC and New Kids on the Block all making early exits in the competition. And as we head into the Final Four on Wednesday, fans will be tirelessly voting for their favorites to move on, hoping to land a spot in the championship matchup. A clear fan favorite in this battle has been Irish boy band Westlife. The group so far has taken down the Backstreet Boys and O-Town, but in the Elite Eight round, they are up against the original boy band, the Beatles. We spoke to Westlife member Nicky Byrne via Skype from Dublin, Ireland, as the group rehearses for their final farewell tour, and he told us what he thought their chances were for beating their latest opponent. "We'll just leave now, we'll just leave right now," Byrne laughed when told he was facing the Beatles. "The only thing we have in our favor is that our fanbase would still be very, I suppose, relatively young and want for Westlife to win. I mean, it goes without saying the Beatles are the ultimate boy band and nobody is ever going to take that crown." Westlife still have a good chance of advancing to the next round. And if they continue to maintain momentum, they could ultimately face the new wave of boy bands, which Byrne admits he is a fan of. "You've got the Wanted coming through and One Direction, and it's brilliant for them. I've met the guys, both bands, lovely guys, an Irish guy in each band, which is great," Byrne said. "It's brilliant for pop music. The Wanted, they're supporting our stadium shows here in Ireland, so they'll be our support band, so that's pretty cool. I suppose a little bit of me probably thinks I wish I was 20 again to do it all over again. But you have to hold your hands up — we've had a wonderful time and it's time to pass the reins on to someone else."

Westlife 'Honored' To Win MTV's Battle Of The Boy Bands 'It's been an amazing 14 years for us, and to top it off, to win this is really, really incredible,' Nicky Byrne says in a message to fans. By Christina Garibaldi . Fans of Westlife spent the past two weeks tirelessly voting for their favorite group to win MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands, and all their hard work paid off. On Monday, the Irish boy band won it all, defeating the Jonas Brothers in the final round. And for all those Westlife fans: Don't think your voting went unnoticed. All four members, who are in London rehearsing for their upcoming farewell tour, took time out of their busy schedule to send over a message to MTV News thanking each and every one of you for their big win. Westlife Thank Fans For Their Battle Of The Boy Bands Triumph "Hi, MTV, we just found out that we've been voted the #1 ultimate boy band of all time. Thank you very much, guys!" Westlife's Shane Filan said. "We are very, very honored." Nicky Byrne added, "I just want to say: Thank you to all of our followers, on Weibo in China, on Twitter around the world, on Facebook and everybody. To all the bands we beat, well done. It's been an amazing 14 years for us, and to top it off, to win this is really, really incredible, so thank you to everybody who voted. See you on tour!" After the first round of competition, when Westlife took down fan favorites the Backstreet Boys, we talked with Byrne via Skype, who told us a win in this competition would mean a lot to the band, since they have decided to break up after 14 years following the end of their tour next month. "What an amazing story it would be to finish our final 14 years to be named or even get far in this competition," Byrne said. "But even if we don't, we'll hold our heads very high and say we never cracked the States, but we gave them a run for their money." Well, Westlife, you certainly have! Congratulations to the group and all their dedicated fans.

Republic of Ireland group Westlife have been crowned the ultimate boyband in the world in a poll which saw them overtake legends like The Beatles. The Dublin pop group were voted the best boyband during a two-week poll of an MTV audience of some 12million viewers, also beating The Wanted and Disney superstars, The Jonas Brothers. The foursome can head out on their farewell tour next week proudly embracing the title after they emerged as the surprise winners of the poll of 32 bands, voted for by an audience of US and European music lovers. A spokesman for MTV was quoted in the Irish Daily Mail as saying: “The fans have spoken. After two weeks of intense match-ups and more than 12 million votes Westlife have come out on top in MTV’s Battle of the Boybands.”