Westlife, the Irish boy band that inspired the devotion of a generation of teens with their middle of the road covers of mostly dusty old pop standards, were this week voted the best boy in the history of pop after a two-week poll of an MTV audience of 12 million viewers.

According to the Irish Independent the Irish stars beat off stiff competition from newcomers The Wanted and Disney superstars, The Jonas Brothers.

With this amazing vote of confidence the toothy  Irish foursome can now take on farewell tour (beginning next week) knowing they have emerged as the surprise winners of the poll that included 32 of Europe's best loved bands.

A spokesman for MTV told Irish Daily Mail: 'The fans have spoken. After two weeks of intense match-ups and more than 12 million votes Westlife have come out on top in MTV’s Battle of the Boy bands.'

News of the Irish pop groups win in the Battle of the Boy Bands is particularly well-times because their 14-year long career is scheduled to come to an end soon. Earlier this year Westlife announced they would disband after the conclusion of their Greatest Hits Tour, which begins later this week and concludes at the end of June in Croke Park stadium in Dublin. Now thanks to the public vote, they're going out in a blaze of glory.