Television personality, record executive, and judge, Simon Cowell recently spoke about his upcoming nationwide search to assemble a new British boy band.
He is looking to recreate the success of the popular boyband One Direction and find the next Zayn Malik.
For those not in the know, the former X Factor judge led the band to superstardom in the early 2010s and is hoping to create that magic once again.
One Direction – consisting of Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn – topped the charts and won numerous awards during their six-year stint.
“(Zayn) was exactly who you’re looking for in a band. He was a great singer, he was charismatic, he was interesting. He had a great voice. He always knew who he wanted to be as a solo artist. I remember his first solo single, thinking this is brilliant,” Simon told Haroon Rashid while speaking on BBC Asian Network.
When the Presenter Haroon asked if he was ‘looking for the next Zayn’, Britain’s Got Talent judge responded: “YES! I want the next Zayn. Yes.”
According to Simon, Zayn was never too keen on the idea of being in a boyband anyway and even ‘hid’ from his boss before their live shows.
“I had to find him, he hid! We were looking all around the arena and I found him and we had a conversation.
“I said, ‘Look, I get it, you’re nervous. However, don’t bottle it because if you can conquer your nerves, I think you’re really talented, you’ve got a great voice and I really think you should do this.’ And he did it, and then of course then the rest is history.”
Holding back tears while receiving a standing ovationGetty Images
