We all probably know by now that Cherion Studios are closing in only a matter of days but still acts seem to be queuing up for the writing talents of Max Martin. If STEPS did have any plans to use him for their next proper album (excluding the Greatest Hits) they might have to jump in sooner as he is bound to work on the next projects from *NSYNC and Britney but now Westlife are rumoured to be in the frame, this is from Worldpop:
“The report claimed Westlife and their manager Louis Walsh are unhappy with the group’s latest album Coast To Coast, feeling that it contains too many ballads and too few upbeat tracks. …. In fact, they band’s failure to produce any upbeat singles is a standing joke in the music industry. Even Ant and Dec pointed out on this week’s SM:tv live that each Westlife performance has the fivesome sitting on stools! …. The Sunday Times reported that Max Martin would soon be asked to produce Westlife’s third album with recording commencing in early 2002. The group’s plan to approach Martin suggests that they are looking towards a global market, in particular the US charts which are notoriously difficult to conquer, with the report also alleging that Louis Walsh plans to amend the band’s image, believing it to be ‘too clean’ to break America.”

Okay this isn’t truly STEPS related but STEPS are planning to break the US with It’s The Way You Make Me Feel by all accounts which is a Cherion produced track of which Max Martin was part of the setup with and if STEPS do get any success in the US they probably couldn’t go too far wrong with a couple Martin tracks.