What Makes a Man
"What Makes a Man" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. It was released on 18 December 2000 as the third single from their second studio album, Coast to Coast. The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and was their first single not to peak at number one, being beaten to the Christmas number-one spot by "Can We Fix It?", the theme to the cartoon series Bob the Builder. It also debuted and peaked at number two in Ireland, held off the top spot by Eminem's song "Stan".
"What Makes a Man" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Westlife | ||||
from the album Coast to Coast | ||||
Released | 18 December 2000[1] | |||
Recorded | 2000 | |||
Studio | Rokstone Studios (London) | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:52 | |||
Label | Sony BMG | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Steve Mac | |||
Westlife singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"What Makes a Man CD2" | ||||
Music video | ||||
"What Makes a Man" on YouTube |
The song was the 39th-best-selling single of 2000 in the UK and received a gold sales certification for over 400,000 copies sold. It is the band's 20th-most-streamed song, fifth-best-selling single in paid-for sales, and seventh-best-selling single in combined sales as of January 2019.[2][3]
Background
"What Makes a Man" was composed in the traditional verse–chorus form in B major, with Filan and Feehily's vocal ranging from the chords of E4 to Bb5.[4]
Reception
Bryan McFadden of Westlife had little faith in the release.[5] Speaking in an interview with Worldpop.com, he remarked: "It's a weak song, and we didn't do much promotional work. Bob [the Builder] deserved it."[6]
Tours performed at
- Where Dreams Come True Tour (2001)
- World of Our Own Tour (2002)
- Unbreakable Tour (2003)
- Turnaround Tour (2004)
- The Number Ones Tour (2005)
- Face to Face Tour (2006)
- The Love Tour (2007)
- Back Home Tour (2008)
- Where We Are Tour (2010)
- Gravity Tour (2011)
- The Farewell Tour (2012)
- You and Me; Love Always Tour (Shane Filan) (2014–2019)
- Boyzone Tour – (Kian Egan) (2014)
- The Twenty Tour (2019)
Track listings
UK CD1
- "What Makes a Man" (single remix) – 3:52
- "I'll Be There" – 3:55
- "My Girl" – 2:46
UK CD2
- "What Makes a Man" (single remix) – 3:52
- "I'll Be There" – 3:55
- "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" – 3:30
Charts
Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] | Gold | 400,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- Sexton, Paul (16 December 2000). "Novelty Tunes Have Good Shot at Top Spot on Brit Christmas List" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 51. p. 15. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- "Westlife | Official Top 20". MTV. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- Copsey, Rob (12 January 2019). "Westlife's Top 20 biggest songs on the Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
- "What Makes a Man bY Westlife – Digital Sheet Music".
- "Famous last words". T2 (93). London: Telegraph Media. 20 January 2001. p. 13.
- "Westlife 'don't care' about No 1s". Worldpop.com. 8 January 2001.
- "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 2/3. 13 January 2001. p. 13. Retrieved 10 October 2020. See last week column.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – What Makes a Man". Irish Singles Chart.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- "Yearly Best Selling Singles" (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- "British single certifications – Westlife – What Makes a Man". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 October 2020.