An Update To Simon Cowellgate–One Direction Was Never His Idea
So, here’s the breakdown–after the events of last week, the discourse continues.
If you’re up to date on the writings of Words From My Wits End, you might have learned about music mogul Simon Cowell’s intentions to create a new world famous boy band last week. He also expressed regret for allowing One Direction to own the band’s name and likenesses in their contract, as he no longer profits off of them during their respective solo careers.
Cowell’s comments on “The Diary of A CEO” podcast invited Twitter commentary from Ashton Irwin of 5 Seconds of Summer, who commented that this approach to the music industry was “the worst.” 5SOS famously opened for One Direction for much of their “Take Me Home” tour. Such commentary from a musician led to ongoing discourse about what many critics feel is an outdated and cash grabbing approach to the music industry.
As we know, One Direction was formed on “The X Factor” when they all auditioned as solo artists and were admitted to the next round only if they accepted the assembly of the boy band. For years, many assumed this was Cowell, a then judge on the program and the brains behind SyCo entertainment, who later managed the group post-reality show. Now, Twitter users have resurfaced a brief clip that indicates that it was actually Nicole Sherzinger who put the group together.
Credit: @popculture2000s via X (Twitter)
Sherzinger, formerly of the Pussycat Dolls, can be seen putting the group together and explaining that at that moment the then teenaged members of the group were “little stars” who would work better together rather than solo. Cowell can be seen agreeing with Sherzinger and telling her that she had “a great idea.”
This was initially confirmed in Sherzinger’s 2022 appearance on the Sherri Show, but has resurfaced amid Cowell’s recently revealed plans to travel across the U.K. holding auditions for a boy band. Yet again, a man in power took credit for a woman’s work for years. Knowing now that Sherzinger had the initial vision to pair the group of five together, critics question whether Cowell actually has the discernment necessary for forming a boy band at all, especially in a year like 2024 in which TikTok and other short form video platforms have largely impacted the songs that top the Billboard charts.
Meanwhile, astute fans of Louis Tomlinson, previously one fifth of One Direction, noted that he unfollowed Cowell on social media last week following the backlash Cowell attracted from his podcast appearance. Some take this as confirmation of Irwin’s criticisms and assume that there may be only more negative press to emerge surrounding Cowell’s business practices.
In the years since One Direction’s breakup, the industry has seen a number of changes in regards to how artists’ contracts are drawn up and which parties maintain ownership of names, images, and original music. This was largely initiated by Taylor Swift’s re-recording process of her first six original masters, which were sold to music tycoon Scooter Braun without Swift's consent. Since Swift began this process, AI technology continues to expand, and now artists seek to maintain protections against their voices and images being used without their consent or without compensation.
These issues in mind, do the people really need to be weary of the musical dealings of Simon Cowell anymore? The jury is still out, but we will know more when Cowell’s documentary about the boy band formation process drops with Box to Box Films.