When Simon Cowell announced he was on the hunt for a new boy band – a challenge he would film for a television audience – members of his biggest success story, One Direction, were not exactly thrilled.
While Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne made tens of millions of pounds, it came at a cost.
Some of the band believed they lost their ‘best years’, while others fell into a spiral of booze and drugs.
Liam’s membership of One Direction tragically put him on the road to destruction. Two months ago he died after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
And it is for that reason that music industry executives had been expecting Simon, 65, to ditch the project.
After all, One Direction was managed by Simon, the music mogul and X Factor judge, after they found unimaginable fame on the ITV reality series back in 2010.
The Wolverhampton-born singer’s passing at the age of 31 left Simon devastated, as evident at Liam’s funeral last month. He was seen embracing Liam’s parents Karen and Geoff outside the church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
Following Liam’s death, Simon posted a tribute to the singer on Instagram, describing him as a ‘kind, funny and talented’ pop star who ‘never forgot the fans’.
One Direction was managed by Simon Cowell after they found fame on The X Factor in 2010. Pictured from left, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Cowell, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Liam Payne
He added: ‘Liam, I am truly devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.’
As Simon struggled to come to terms with the death of Liam, whom he first met as an X Factor auditionee aged 14, there was speculation that the search for a new boy band might be cancelled.
At the time, Simon’s representative was keen to stress that the show was to continue, adding the caveat that they ‘didn’t have a crystal ball’, suggesting that plans might change.
But, weeks later, I can confirm it is business as usual for Simon and the staff working on the project.
One industry insider said: ‘Of course it was hard for Simon to concentrate on the new show in the weeks following Liam’s tragic death.
‘But a decision has now been taken – it feels right to continue making the documentary. Staff will return early in the new year to continue work on it.’
The programme was initially thought to be named Simon Cowell: The Midas Touch. However, Simon’s representative denied this, saying that the title will be revealed in due course.
Liam’s membership of One Direction tragically put him on the road to destruction. Two months ago he died after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Simon Cowell and his wife Lauren Silverman attend the funeral of Payne in Amersham on November 20
The decision is likely to baffle Liam’s former bandmates, most of whom no longer have a relationship with Simon, making plausible the rumour that they didn’t speak to him at Liam’s funeral.
‘Simon pushed and pushed One Direction,’ said one source. ‘He took the view that if they worked hard now then they would never have to work again.
‘At the time they did it. In the early days they worked and worked, but as they got more long in the tooth they realised what they were missing.
‘They were doing more than 100 concerts in a year, jetting across the globe, it was a lot. Would One Direction wish that upon anyone else? No way.’
A former colleague of the music supremo also said: ‘You have to wonder why Simon is doing this at this point in his career.
‘One Direction worked hard but it was also hard work for Simon.’
It is unlikely such success – and its exhausting regimen – will be replicated, however. At least not at the hands of Simon.
The Mail on Sunday has previously revealed that the show’s original ambition of finding a new boy band that could hit the same heights as One Direction had been scaled down after auditions were cancelled. So disappointing was the talent pool that Simon instructed social media influencers to promote the show to coax more fledgling singers.
But the stinging truth may be that the once mighty music mogul, who previously dominated the charts with artists such as Leona Lewis, Westlife and Sinitta, is struggling to attract new talent.
Industry insiders have in fact rolled their eyes at his policy of approaching music executives at smaller labels with promises to catapult their acts to superstardom. He hopes that they will bow before his power in the industry.
But the strategy has yet to pay off, in no small part because he is seen as ‘utterly uncool’.
This is the damning verdict of several artists who insist they would prefer to go their own way rather than sign with Simon. They hope to get greater recognition via social media instead.
In fact, one rising star, who already boasts more than three million followers on Instagram, laughed at the boy band impresario’s offer of a record deal.
The Mail on Sunday previously revealed that Cowell’s ambition of finding a band that could hit the same heights as One Direction had been scaled down after auditions were cancelled
The highly respected manager now working with her insisted that signing with Simon would be the ‘worst thing that could possibly happen to her career’.
A second aspiring urban act – signed to the same manager – says he would rather work in a shop than join Simon’s roster.
As the manager put it: ‘It’s always tempting to take the advance from the big players, and Simon is where the money is.
‘But, truthfully, [the artists] don’t want to. As a manager, it’s easy money – but the new generation would rather fail than sign up with Simon. It’s just not cool. Music today is all about artistic integrity – Simon is from another era.’
While it has been widely reported that Simon’s new show will be screened on streaming giant Netflix, a buyer for the project has yet to be finalised.
Simon’s team did not confirm this when approached.
Bizarrely, producers believe much of the strength behind Simon’s proposed project could come from it showing him to be a has-been – with doors being slammed in his face for a change.
But whether or not fans will ever see the king of the withering put-down get a taste of his own medicine remains to be seen.