Flying Without Wings

"Flying Without Wings"
Single by Westlife
from the album Westlife
Released	18 October 1999 (1999-10-18)
Format	CD single
Recorded	Rokstone Studios, London
Genre	Pop
Length	3:36
Label	BMG
Writer(s)	Wayne Hector, Steve Mac
Producer(s)	Steve Mac
Certification	Silver (UK), Gold (SWE)
Westlife singles chronology
"If I Let You Go" (1999) "Flying Without Wings" (1999) "I Have a Dream"/"Seasons in the Sun"

"Flying Without Wings" is a song released by Irish boy band Westlife from their self-titled debut studio album (1999).

Background

The song was written by Wayne Hector and Steve Mac. In an interview with HitQuarters, Hector said the basic idea for the song came to him while on a break from working on a hip hop session with Ezi Cut in Los Angeles:

"I came up with a couple of lines for the first verse and then phoned my mama’s house, left it on the answering machine, and said, “Don’t get rid of this!”^[1]

Upon returning to England, Hector went into the studio to work on the idea with long-time songwriting partner and producer Steve Mac.^[1] When the two discussed what the song was about they agreed that, "this is about our wives. This is about the things that make our lives complete."^[1] According to Hector the lyrics were completed in about half an hour.^[1]

Commercial performance

The song became an instant hit in the United Kingdom and many parts of the world. The song became the group's third UK number-one single, spending 13 weeks on charts.^[2] It is also one of Westlife's biggest selling singles. The song has received a Gold sales certification in the UK for over 400,000 copies sold.^[3]

Track listing

• United Kingdom

CD1

1. "Flying Without Wings" - 3:35
2. "Everybody Knows" - 3:45
3. "Flying Without Wings" (Video) - 3:40

CD2

1. "Flying Without Wings" - 3:35
2. "That's What It's All About" - 3:20
3. "Flying Without Wings" (Acappella) - 3:29

• Australia

1. "Flying Without Wings" - 3:35
2. "I Have A Dream" (Remix) - 4:06
3. "Seasons In The Sun" (Single Remix) - 4:10
4. "Flying Without Wings" (Video) - 3:40

Charts

Duets

"Flying Without Wings"
Promotional single by Westlife featuring BoA from the album Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Asian edition), Shine We Are! and Next World
Released	2003 (Asia)
Format	CD single
Recorded	2002
Genre	Pop
Length	3:36
Label	BMG, S.M. Entertainment
Writer	Wayne Hector, Steve Mac
Producer	Lee Soo Man, Steve Mac

"Flying Without Wings"
Promotional single by Westlife featuring Cristian Castro from the album Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 (Spanish/ Mexican edition)
Released	2002 (Mexico)
Format	CD single
Genre	Pop
Length	3:36
Writer	Wayne Hector, Steve Mac

In 2002, as part of the promotion of their Unbreakable - The Greatest Hits Vol. 1 album, the band re-recorded the song as a duet with Mexican singer Cristian Castro and South Korean pop singer, BoA. Both duets were included on the album in their respective regions. Both duets were also released as singles in their respective regions.^[19]

Track listing

• Mexico^[20]

1. "Flying Without Wings" (Duet with Cristian Castro) - 3:35
2. "Never Knew I Was Losing You" - 4:09

• Asia^[21]

1. "Flying Without Wings" (Duet with BoA) - 3:35
2. "Never Knew I Was Losing You" - 4:09

Live version

In 2004, as part of the promotion for their Turnaround Tour , the band released the live version of the song. It was recorded during their tour in Stockholm Globe Arena. Their live version peaked at number one in UK Singles Chart and was the first ever number one in the UK downloads chart.^[22]

Track listing

• UK

1. "Flying Without Wings" (Live)^[23]

Chart performance

Video album

A karaoke version of "Flying Without Wings" was released on DVD in 2000 and debuted at number one. It includes easy to read lyrics, photographs & interactive menus, picture sleeve. It has a running time of 45 minutes.^[24]

Track listing

1. Swear It Again
2. If I Let You Go
3. Flying Without Wings
4. Fool Again
5. Seasons In The Sun
6. I Have A Dream
7. More Than Words
8. Against All Odds

CD production

Tours performed at

• Where Dreams Come True Tour
• World of Our Own Tour
• Unbreakable Tour
• Turnaround Tour
• Number Ones Tour
• Face to Face Tour
• The Love Tour
• Back Home Tour
• Where We Are Tour
• Gravity Tour

Other appearances

The Westlife song has appeared in Pokémon: The Movie 2000 as the final song of the credits in the film and on the official movie soundtrack.^[25] It also featured in the 2000 Australian film The Magic Pudding and 2000 French film Archibald the Koala: The Movie.

Ruben Studdard version

"Flying Without Wings"
Single by Ruben Studdard
Released	June 10, 2003 (2003-06-10)
Format	CD single
Genre	Urban contemporary, contemporary R&B
Label	J Records
Writer(s)	Wayne Hector / Steve Mac
Producer(s)	The Underdogs and Face
Certification	Gold (RIAA) 3× Platinum (CRIA)
Ruben Studdard singles chronology
"Flying Without Wings" (2003) "Superstar" (2003)

"Flying Without Wings" was covered by American Idol winner Ruben Studdard as his debut single in 2003. The single was released on June 10 and charted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 28, behind "This Is the Night" by Clay Aiken. "Flying Without Wings" also gained attention on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, peaking at number thirteen, while it reached number 27 on the adult contemporary chart. It was also released in New Zealand and reached number two behind Clay Aiken. The single had sold 751,000 copies through December 2006. This version of the song also appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol.

Track listing

1. "Flying Without Wings"
2. "Superstar"

References

External links

• "Flying Without Wings" - Westlife official music video on YouTube
• "Flying Without Wings" - Westlife with BoA official music video on YouTube
• "Flying Without Wings" - Westlife with Cristian Castro official music video on YouTube
• "Flying Without Wings" - Ruben Studdard official music video on YouTube
• Official Westlife website