Fans of One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer announced on a glorious Monday that 2024 is coming, “Welcome back, 2014.” Ashton Irwin’s unexpected decision on TV and music legend Simon Cowell shook the combined psyche of both pop fans.
Stepping out for an interview on Stephen Bartlett’s ‘The Diary of a CEO’ podcast, the ‘Got Talent’ boss revealed his biggest regret with One Direction. The pop sensation, who initially signed with Cowell’s record label Syco Records, stunned the world when they formed ‘The X-Factor UK’ (another entity created by the former 1D boss) in 2010.
Cowell naively revealed his biggest mistake: “The one thing I regret is that I should have kept the name… I should have taken ownership of the name.”
The pop band’s members – Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson – own the rights to the music artist’s name, which prevents Cowell from using the brand and its fame for any spinoff projects without the quartet’s permission.
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“That’s the problem. I could have made an animation or something, but when you put a name on an artist, it’s not yours – and that’s my only regret,” Cowell said.
He joked about the situation and even made an offer to members: “If you’re listening, I’ll buy it back from you.”
Simon Cowell on One Direction’s reunion
The former 1D boss’ reply came in response to Bartlett’s question about whether One Direction would ever return to more music. He replied curtly, “I doubt it.”
Extending this notion further, he added, “If one band member says for whatever reason that he or she doesn’t want to go on tour, that could prevent other members from doing so as well.” [from] Cowell hinted that if he had the reins of control, he could have put together some sort of 1D reunion tour or project.
One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer fans came back to life after Ashton Irwin took a dig at Simon Cowell
Like many fans of 1D, the group which disbanded in 2016 and whose each member soon pursued their own solo careers, Cowell is still living in the glory days of the supposedly ‘perfect’ ‘One Thing’ of the early 2000s that is now ‘history’.
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Directioners have had feuds with Cowell before, and that same rejecting atmosphere has returned with the record producer’s comments about the band, rekindling old “hatred” against the man.
Many fans took notice of Cowell’s podcast appearance and left comments criticising the former One Direction boss on the internet.
User @sunfl0werv0l369 highlighted the issue with a snippet from the podcast: “Ummm is this new???! Have you all seen this???? cw: Simon Cowell… I absolutely despise this man.”
Among the many fans who were moved by the resurgence of this blast from the past, an unexpected comment took precedence.
5SOS drummer Ashton Irwin, who is currently planning his solo adventures alongside the promotion of his second album ‘Blood on the Drums’, gave his verdict on the TV personality.
Irvine’s two-word comment fueled the fire and fans of 5SOS and 1D immediately went back to the 2010s when the bands maximized their “joint slay” by touring together. In 2013, One Direction announced the Australian boy band as the opening act for their ‘Take Me Home’ tour. Furthermore, several reports in 2014 also suggested that One Direction had a financial stake in 5SOS.
In the early years after their debut, both 1D and 5SOS were primarily managed by London-based Modest Management. Harry Magee, one of the company’s key executives, credited 1D as “early adopters of 5SOS” in an interview with Billboard.
Beyond the supposedly glossy covers from the group’s peak pop-culture days, fans are aware of the alleged controversies, disputes, feuds with management, and more. Despite all of that, it’s hard to ignore that Irvine likely knows what he’s talking about, especially since he and the rest of 5SOS had first-hand knowledge of the secretive affairs that likely occurred between One Direction and Simon Cowell.
Fans react to Ashton Irwin’s Simon Cowell comment
Irvine’s two-word ex/Twitter comment is enough to set the imagination aflame. Either way, fans have jumped back on the years-old bandwagon and gotten involved.
Standard replies given to the ‘Straight to You Heart’ singer include, “5SOS toured with 1D, Ashton knows what he’s talking about,” and “If you don’t believe the fans, at least listen to the artists ‼️
Thanks for speaking up, Ashton 💪”
Another user wrote: “5SOS Ashton Irving verdict on Simon Cowell. And he would know because his band was on the road with One Direction for years.” Another extremely surprised commented: “I never thought I’d see either of them say anything like that.”
Cowell’s podcast interview comes just days after the talent scout launched his search for a new boyband that he hopes will emulate the popular and unrivalled success of One Direction.
Auditions are due to begin in Newcastle on July 4, with Cowell explaining his latest venture: “Every generation needs a megastar boyband and I don’t think anyone has had the success of One Direction in over 14 years. The industry is so focused on solo artists – so it usually takes an outsider to bring a group together. There’s nothing like the fun of being in a group, touring around the world and performing for thousands of people.” More information is available on the recently launched website simonneedsyou.com.
