Simon Cowell‘s right-hand man has revealed the secrets behind the music mogul’s brand new talent show which aims to find the next big boy band.
American songwriter and record producer, Savan Kotecha, 45, who’s worked with the music mogul for the past 26 years, told MailOnline Simon has reunited his trusted team of experts to assist him throughout the process, which on Friday saw hundreds of young hopefuls attend the first day of London auditions.
Savan, the songwriter behind One Direction mega-hit What Makes You Beautiful and Ariana Grande chart-topper One Last Time, said Simon has scrapped having a celebrity judging panel like in the days of The X Factor and insists the show will be nothing like the former ITV series.
The Britain’s Got Talent boss isn’t looking for the next Harry Styles or someone with millions of TikTok followers but an undiscovered star with outstanding vocal ability and unmatched charisma.
After jetting into the UK, Savan has joined Simon at the Liverpool and Manchester auditions, as well as Friday’s event, and says they have potentially already met the next big star.
Simon Cowell’s right-hand man has revealed the secrets behind the music mogul’s brand new talent show which aims to find the next big boy band
American songwriter and record producer Savan Kotecha (pictured) told MailOnline Simon has reunited his trusted team of experts to assist him throughout the audition process
Speaking at London’s Shoreditch Exchange, where the first day of London auditions took place, Savan said: ‘Simon called and said we’re working with the old crew again and it’s like a high school reunion so it’s fun.
‘He said, I would love some help, I’m going to launch a new boy band, actually he didn’t say much until I came to the UK. He was a bit vague but it’s any time we need each other. He told me about it, and I was like, sure, I’m in, let’s do it again.
‘First, we’re looking for someone that has a lot of charisma and vocal ability and if they can write, that’s amazing but first and foremost, we’re looking for a vibe.
‘It’s helpful to have followers but I’m still a believer of if you give the world someone who’s very talented, they will get the followers, I want to know if they’re talented, so when we present them to the world, they will grow.
‘It’s about personality if I’m honest. Rather than how someone looks it’s more about what charisma, do they have and personality and energy, that’s the most important shift. It’s an energy shifting presence. Some of the biggest stars I have worked with, even with your back turned to the door and they walk in, you feel a shift.
‘Harry Styles is a one of one so we’re not going in and looking for that. We are going in looking for the best talent, charismatic kids, whatever that is, is what it is.’
Simon, who arrived Friday lunchtime wearing a grey T-shirt and shorts with sunglasses, greeted the queuing contestants and patted a dog before making his way into the venue.
He was surrounded by camera crews as his search for the next boy band is being filmed for a new Netflix series called The Midas Touch.
Savan, who joins Simon on his panel of music specialists, wrote One Direction hit What Makes You Beautiful about his wife
He’s also the man behind Ariana Grande hits, Bang, Bang, Problems, and One Last Time, which he says is his all-time favourite song he has worked on
The response from aspiring boy band singers aged between 16-18 has seen Simon add an extra day to the east London audition process.
And Savan, who’s from Texas, says joining forces with Simon on the project has so far seen the music duo bond over their long-standing partnership.
Indeed, it was Simon who first gave Savan his big break in the music industry, working with Westlife, before his experience led to his collaborations with some of pop’s most successful artists.
He said: ‘My relationship with Simon has changed over the years. It used to be that he was a big record executive, and I was a new songwriter, but we have a lot of history, so there’s a lot of stories and we’re bantering.
‘Simon was my first record company meeting when I was 19-year-old new songwriter and I’m 45 now. He gave me my first big break with Westlife, it was a bonus song called Bad Girls, it’s so bad now but after that I did more like Obvious and Us Against the World.
‘Since then, I’ve done One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful, which is about my wife, Can’t Feel My Face, The Weeknd, Love Me Like You Do, Ellie Goulding, a number of the big Ariana Grande hits, Bang, Bang, Problems, One Last Time, How Do You Sleep? Sam Smith.’
Savan says Simon realises the popularity of boy bands has been in decline since One Direction split in 2015.
But the former X Factor judge hopes his new talent show will rejuvenate the younger’s generation desire for boy bands and recreate the same hysteria felt by The Beatles and 80s group New Kids on the Block.
Hundreds of aspiring singers attended the London auditions on Friday hoping to impress music boss Simon with their vocal ability
Savan said: ‘People haven’t been taking the time to form boy bands.
‘So, this is great, to have auditions where people need to show up, it’s so easy for kids to want to do music and pick up an instrument and put themselves online, but this sort of community building is unmatched.
‘I love pop music and I love boy bands, my sister was a New Kids on the Block fan, she was super introverted but when they happened I remember all her friends were round and it created a community.
‘Bands do that, not only with each other but with the audience. We need that in the world, there’s a lot of people feeling isolated, there’s a lot of division everywhere and we need to reunite again.
‘That’s why Simon is great, he will take a shot, he won’t do the easy thing because it’s not easy. A lot of the UK record industry have been signing things based on data rather than gut and if it doesn’t work, they move onto something else, but Simon has historically been one of those people to put something together and make it great.’