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A singer has hit out at Simon Cowell for inviting him to audition for his new “One Direction-style” band.
The music mogul behind reality TV competitions The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent launched a nationwide search for a brand new pop group last month, as he lamented the absence of an act that has been able to replicate One Direction’s success.
Cowell, 64, took to the streets of London, brandishing a sign reading: “Simon needs you! Future megastars wanted for new boyband. No time wasters.”
Online, his team also reached out to singers via social media to invite them to audition.
Fin, who is already a member of the Liverpool band Stone, apparently received such an invitation, and shared his unimpressed reaction on social media.
“I got this message from someone on behalf of Simon Cowell,” he began in a TikTok video.
“‘Hello, Fin. I’m contacting you on behalf of Simon Cowell! We are working with him to scout singers around the age of 16-18 years old for a new boyband, which is being filmed as part of a potential televised documentary following him on his search.
“The company following Simon Cowell is BTBSC Series Ltd, trading as Box-to-Box Films. I’d like to provide you with further information about how you would like to audition for this, if you are interested.’”
The singer shared the brutal response he issued in response to the invitation, alongside screenshots appearing to prove the messages are real.
“’Tell Simon Cowell to go f**k himself. Team 1D,’” he wrote. “No other reply my friend, no other reply.”
It has been 14 years since Cowell and his fellow judges formed One Direction on The X Factor. After coming in second place in 2010, the group shot to worldwide fame and released several hit albums before their indefinite hiatus in 2016.
Since then, the band’s five members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne have embarked on solo careers with varying degrees of success.
Cowell told the PA news agency that he is praying he will find a band “as good as One Direction and to find the records as good as they made”.
“You can’t fake this, even though I’m the one going out to do the auditions, it really depends on the individuals. If you find the right people I’m not someone who says dress like this, say this, do this, it is just not my style and I never once did that with One Direction,” he said.
