Simon Cowell 'doubts' One Direction reunion; regrets lost band profits
Simon Cowell, the music and television mogul who formed the band One Direction on his show The X Factor, recently expressed regret over not owning the band's name. In an appearance on Stephen Bartlett's The Diary of a CEO podcast, Cowell discussed his role in forming the successful band. He revealed that he initially told the members to aim for enough hits to enable stadium tours if they ever decided to reform.
'I should have owned the name One Direction'
When asked about a potential One Direction reunion, Cowell expressed skepticism, stating "I doubt it." Further, he disclosed his primary regret was not retaining ownership of the band's name. He admitted, "One thing I regret is I should have kept the name...I should have owned the name." The rights to the name are currently held by band members Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson.
Cowell's regret over lost opportunities with band's name
Cowell elaborated on his regret, stating that not owning the name prevented him from using it for spinoff projects. He said, "That's the problem. Could have made an animation or whatever, but when you give an artist the name, it's not yours—and that's my only regret." He humorously suggested buying back the name and hinted that ownership would have given him more control over potential reunion tours.
Cowell's future plans and high regard for One Direction
Despite One Direction disbanding in 2016, with each member pursuing a solo career, Cowell still holds high regard for bands in pop music. He has plans to search for the next great boy band as part of a potential reality show called Building the Band. "I don't think [there has been] a band as good as One Direction since One Direction," he said, revealing his plans to hold auditions across the UK in July for his boy band boot camp.
One Direction aside, Cowell also helped form renowned girl groups
Meanwhile, Cowell also helped form renowned girl groups such as Little Mix and Fifth Harmony. In late 2023, Rolling Stone confirmed that 5H (minus Camila Cabello) had officially taken ownership of the Fifth Harmony brand, formerly held by Cowell's company. As for One Direction, the group rose to global stardom after their inception on The X-Factor UK in 2010. Despite not winning the talent show and finishing third in Season 7, the band went on to release five studio albums.
