If there was one thing that the husband and I agree on almost perfectly is music. Although he likes to play them loudly and I prefer them in low volume, our choice of genre is the same.
When we were dating, we used to listen to the Irish boy band Westlife and also played their songs on our wedding day. Anyhow, one of our favorite singers was (and still is) Shane Steven Filan. Unfortunately, the band went on their separate ways sometime in 2011. The good thing was that Shane signed a solo deal with London Records in 2013 and released a few albums. And let me share 3 of his songs that I like most.
Shane Filan - Beautiful in White
The story goes that this song was originally written for Westlife but after making a demo, it wasn't picked for their album and was forgotten until 2017 when Shane was on his China tour and fans were asking for him to sing it. He was surprised that his fans knew about it when it wasn't released. He found out that it was uploaded to YouTube and had over 20 million views. I'm guessing it was this one. So he set to record and release it as part of his album Love Always.
When I went online and the one vocal which I had done had something like 20 million hits on YouTube I couldn’t believe so after that I put it back into my setlist and when I was making this album I thought I have to do this song and at this stage Beautiful In White has over 60 million views on YouTube so it’s a very popular song of mine that I never released, it’s my biggest hit that I never released or recorded it so I wanted to do it for this album give the fans a proper version for them to enjoy.¹
I'm glad he did because it has become one of the favorites for weddings.
And speaking of weddings, here comes his second song. The fact that his family (wife and kids) and friends are part of the music video makes it unique, and more personal.
Shane Filan - Knee Deep In My Heart
Accordingly, this is one of Shane's favorites from his You and Me album and I quote:
It's all about when I fell in love with my wife Gillian. And musically it was inspired by my trip to Nashville.²
He did mention in the behind-scenes of the video that having his loved ones makes it special and he didn't have to do much acting so it's more natural.
And lastly, I leave you with this acoustic song that was included in his first debut solo album "You and Me" which he released in 2013 in Ireland.
Shane Filan - Once
The lyrics speak the truth that we only live once so why worry? This reminds me of what Tito Ed (tengolotodo) often says that we should live in the moment. It's pretty easy to say yet most of us find it hard to apply.
We worry about work, worry about money
Worry if the punch line’s funny
We worry if the sky is gonna fall
We worry about winning, worry about losing
Worry about the roads we’re choosing
We worry if that someone’s gonna call
We spend so much precious time tryna figure out
What this crazy maze of a beautiful world is all about
Chorus:
So kick on back, fill your cup
Put on your favourite song, turn it up
Find a little peace of mind in the sunshine
Don’t waste your days looking at the clock
Say I love you to the ones you got
Don’t leave a lifetime of rights
On the wrong side
‘cos you only live once, once, once
You only live once, once, once
We worry about truths, we worry about lying
We worry about how much we’re trying and
When it’s all gonna come to an end
We spend so much precious time tryna figure out
What this crazy maze of a beautiful world is all about
Yeah, it's Tuesday so let's kick our worries away, play our favorite songs, turn the sound up, and dance too! This of course is my participation in the Three Tune Tuesday initiative by Ablaze. Hop on and join us if you're not already in it.😉
Thank you and cheers!
Disclaimer: Music videos are not mine. Credits to Shane Filan. Lead image edited on Canva. 12032024/21:06ph