"Us Against The World" was also dedicated to Westlife's fans worldwide to mark their continuous support. The band gave their first live performance of "Us Against The World" on the TV special "The Westlife Show - Live", which was broadcast on December 15, 2007. In the Philippines, both song and music video premiered on July 3, 2008, the band's anniversary date.
Reception
Digital Spy Alex Fletcher rated the album 2/5 stars and said: "Westlife have claimed that 'Us Against The World' is the best track on their recent Back Home album, so, if nothing else, we should be grateful that the record company chose to release this rather than one of the tracks the soppy Irish warblers weren't as impressed with. Written about a relationship where the couple find themselves fighting "against the world" to stay together, it's the usual cliché-riddled, down-tempo chugger that the guys have been churning out for nearly ten years now. Knocking Westlife is an utterly futile endeavour. Millions have tried, but several million more keep on buying the records. If you love Mark's falsetto, Shane's dulcet tones, Kian's cheeky grin and Nicky's stubble, you'll doubtless be popping this on your stereo come Valentine's Day. On the other hand, if you'd rather shove your head down a toilet seat used by the entire England rugby team than hear another glossy, schmaltzy three minutes of their Louis Walsh-approved fluff, we'd advise you to steer well clear. This is regulation Westlife that only adds to the argument that the stool-occupying unit-shifters could be replaced by attractive robots without anyone really noticing."
Music video
The band announced through their official website that the video began shoot on December 4, 2007. The music video marks a major milestone in the band's decade of music. The video premiered on February 14, while the single was released on 3 March 2008. The initial video, which featured both the lads and their loved ones, was shot at the Twickenham Rugby Stadium in London over a two day span. Louis Walsh, the band's manager, had a cameo role in it. However, the band had a reshoot of the music video due to Simon Cowell's disapproval of the initial video outcome. This might have caused the release date to be pushed back to March 3 from the initial February 25. The video shows the band walking through a staged red carpet segment, inside the backseat of a moving car, spending time with their loved ones along with photos and videos of their past decade. Noticeably absent from the video though is Mark's partner Kevin. No explanation was ever offered as to why he was not included in the final video.
Release and Chart Performance
Prior to its physical release, the song managed to peak at #40 on the UK Official Singles Chart and at #27 on the Official Irish Singles Chart based on downloads alone. On March 3, 2008, the single was released in its physical format, climbing 32 spots to peak at #8 on the UK Singles Chart and at #6 on the Irish Singles Chart. A live version of the single was also made available for download. This marks the first time in Westlife's history that a single has not been able to reach the top 5 in the United Kingdom, making "Us Against The World" the band's lowest charting single to date. The single peaked also at #14 on UK TV Airplay Chart and #24 on UK Radio Airplay Chart. The song peaked at #8 in the Official UK top 40. Many fans have blamed the record label, Sony BMG, for putting the song up for download 2 weeks prior to the physical release of the single as well as choosing to release it during the Back Home Tour, thus resulting in inadequate single promotion. A similar situation occurred back in 2002 when "Bop Bop Baby" was released while the band was on tour. On May 4, 2008, the song managed to re-enter the UK Singles Chart at #74. This is believed to be due to a performance from the group on the live final of Britain's Got Talent. The single peaked at #1 on several radio charts in Ireland, UK, Vietnam, South Africa, and The Philippines, #2 in Thailand, #7 in Indonesia, #20 in Sweden, #22 in Russia. The song also entered the UK and Irish iTunes Top Songs and Top Music video Charts. The music video peaked on the MTV Asia Chart Attack Top 20 show at #16.
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