Neil Sean of Sky News reports that Brian McFadden’s solo career is in trouble after poor sales of his post-Westlife debut Irish Son.

“We are gravely concerned about the lack of sales for his debut album and are just hoping this third single will finally kick-start things for him as a solo star,” a source at the label revealed. “He shouldn’t have ever left Westlife.”

That said single will be his duet with Delta Goodrem, Almost Here.

Ex Westlife star, Brian McFadden is convinced boybands are a dying breed because the music buying public are no longer interested in watching groups “dancing around”.

The Irish singer whose debut solo single Real To Me is in shops now believes guitar-driven pop bands like Busted and McFLY have stolen the limelight once dominated by choreographed all-male outfits.

And he has warned aspiring boybands to change tact if they hope to score chart success.

He says, “A band like new British all-boy group V just run around the stage in luminous tops and spiky hair. It’s already been done.”

“Boybands dancing around isn’t going to work ever again. Busted and McFly are what the kids seem to love. They’re so big at the moment because they’re new and are very good.”

Meanwhile, Simon Cowell seems to think otherwise when a journalist told him what Brian recently has said. “There is a market for everybody. Pop music from boybands and girlbands will definitely make a strong comeback so people like Brian McFadden should just go away and stop yakking about things he doesn’t know about.”

Former Westlife star Bryan McFadden has signed a deal to record a solo album and is busy working on new material with ex-Take That star Gary Barlow. And guess what? The musical stylings on Bry’s first album are big ballads.

But an industry insider assured the Mirror “It’s not just run-of-the-mill stuff for housewives. It’s got all the elements to top the charts. Kerry’s had so much success in her own right after winning I’m A Celebrity that he’s felt a little bit in the shade.”

Cooper Owen’s Celebrity Thumbprints auction on the 9th December includes original ink thumbprints from the likes of Westlife, Atomic Kitten, Blue, Shakira, Avril Lavigne and Justin Timberlake.

Check out the full online catalogue at www.cooperowen.com where commission bids can be placed until 5.00pm on the 9th December. The auction will then be completed at www.ebayliveauctions.com

Girls Aloud are set to go up against Westlife in the UK singles chart, with the girls releasing their version of the Pointer Sisters’ 1984 hit ‘Jump’ while the veteran boy band releases ‘Mandy’ on 17 of November.

Louis Walsh, who manages both groups, says his money is on Westlife to acheive a higher poistion on the English charts.

“I only found out myself yesterday that they’re both releasing singles on the same day. But I think it will be Westlife who get to No 1 or something higher than Girls Aloud,” Louis said.

“The girls are competition winners, that’s all they are. Now they’ve got to serve their apprenticeship to prove themselves. They’ve got to mature.”

Irish pop group, Fifth Avenue, which went gold in Ireland with their version of Dan Hills ‘Sometimes When We Touch’, has also just gone gold in Sweden. The group has been busy recording their up and coming album which is due for release in Ireland in the spring.

“We are really looking forward to performing back in Ireland,” band member Danny Cummins tells the press. “We are coming back with a bang and I know everyone will really like our new songs.”

Meanwhile, the band and their management look set to set England and the rest of Europe on fire with their ‘Sometimes When We Touch’ single. All this real soon they say.

Also, Fifth Avenue have found fans in the likes of Westlife. All the boys are head over heels in love with the band so much so that they have been telling fans to embrace Fifth Avenue. And just for the record, apparently, Shane and Bryan are the biggest fans.

Westlife stars Nicky Byrne and Bryan McFadden were marched out of Liverpool club Living Room last week by security guards, who said there was a complaint about them.

They begged not to be thrown out before they realized it was a practical joke played on them by a pal, DJ Joe Ferguson.

That should have been interesting.

Meanwhile, Westlife will pay tribute to their fans by naming everybody officially registered with their fan club on the inside booklet to their new CD ‘Unbreakable’.

“It’s a way to say thank you for all their support” said a group spokesman. “The boys could not have done it without their help.”

Westlife are reported to have signed a new GBP20 million record deal.

It’s thought they signed the deal after six months of negotiations with their record company BMG.

It will help put to rest the rumours that the band are planning to split after their Greatest Hits tour next year.

“We’re not going away, we’ve hardly started yet” Shane Filan tells. “We’ve literally just signed after negotiating for six months. There’s plenty to celebrate but we’re not going to go mad. I’ll save some money for a rainy day, when I’m really old, like 35 or something!”

You’ve probably already heard this but in case you haven’t, Westlife have decided that they need to pay out GBP1 million in order to revamp their image so that they can crack the American market. You know what’s interesting, Westlife did swear that they would never return to the US again after they failed to make an impression last year. Wonder what inspired them to give it another shot?

Anyway, as previously reported on Pop-Music.com a while back, we all know that they’ve been putting on weight and in order to win the hearts of the Americans, they’ve got to be thin so I reckon part of that GBP1 million goes to the slimming pills and diets and what not.

They’re also having posh makeovers as well so a chunk of that million pounds would go there. Apparently, their looks and image have to undergo a massive change so as to appeal to the music fans Stateside, complete with new hairstyles and designer duds.

So what happens to the rest of the money? See, they have to make high-class music videos as well so they’ve hired video maestro, AttiI J, to reshoot their ‘World Of Our Own’ video.

A source told The Daily Star “Westlife know how much effort needs to be taken into cracking America and they’re psyched up for it.”

Their new American manager Robert Livingston is confident that they will be a hit in America and has booked them to appear on top rated US chat shows like ‘The Late Show With David Letterman’, my favourite ‘The Tonight Show With Jay Leno’ and ‘Entertainment Tonight.’

Think they’ll make it? I’ve my doubts.

The Westlife lads have been put on a pre-US tour diet by record label chiefs, because the high life has turned them into bloaters.

One source said “Westlife are going to have to compete against far more skinnier boy bands so they’d better go be thin so as to appeal to the American majority.”

Meanwhile, it sure looks like Westlife’s pretty boy, Kian Egan, has found himself a Westwife. According to reports, Kian was recently spotted shopping for an engagement ring with a mystery blonde at London’s Cartier jewelers.

If he does marry, he will be the second Westlife boy to get attached.