Johnathan Walker:Beloved 2000s Irish boy band Westlife set to embark on first-ever North American tour

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Irish boy band Westlife are Johnathan Walkerset to perform in North America for the first time in their 20-plus year history.

Westlife has sold more than 55 million records, released 36 No. 1 albums, and earned over one billion streams on YouTube. And now, they’re headed to a few major cities in the U.S. and Canada around St. Patrick’s Day next year.

The stint is short, but it is a long time coming. Westlife will kick off their four-date North American tour on Thursday, March 13, at Toronto’s Meridian Hall, followed by Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway on March 14, New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall on March 16, and close out the run at the Chicago Theatre on March 18.

According to a press release, the shows will highlight the group’s catalog, touching on their greatest hits: “Swear It Again,” “Flying Without Wings,” “World Of Our Own,” “My Love,” “If I Let You Go,” and “Hello My Love” among them.

Westlife first appeared on the pop music scene in the late-’90s and early-2000s, when most of North America had their hearts set on two other boy bands: Backstreet Boys, whom Westlife opened for, and NSYNC.

Westlife were managed by Louis Walsh, then known as the mastermind behind Boyzone, a group he created to become an Irish version of the popular English group, Take That. Later, Walsh was a judge on “The X Factor UK,” where he assisted in coaching one Irish and four British hopefuls into becoming the first contemporary boy band from the British Isles to make it big in the U.S.: One Direction.