Westlife is an Irish pop music group that formed in July 1998. They were signed by Simon Cowell and managed by Louis Walsh. In recent years, Westlife's sound has evolved from boy band "teen pop" sound into a more adult contemporary music (ACM) sound, with an emphasis on ballads. Westlife has had 14 number one singles in the United Kingdom between the years 1999 and 2006, the third-highest such total in UK history, behind Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and tied with Cliff Richard. Westlife was awarded the Best Irish Pop Act, a public voting category, at the annual Ireland Meteor Awards for the seventh consecutive year on 2 February 2007. They are also the only artist/group to win 'Record of the Year' in the UK four times. Westlife is also the only band in UK chart history to have entered straight at number one with their first seven singles. Formation Louis Walsh, then the manager of Boyzone, took an interest in a six-piece group called IOU, in