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“Welcome back, 2014,” proclaimed One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer fans on a fine 2024 Monday. Ashton Irwin’s unexpected verdict on TV and music mogul Simon Cowell shook the joint psyche of both pop fanbases.
Stepping out for an interview on Stephen Bartlett’s ‘The Diary of a CEO’ podcast, the ‘Got Talent’ boss divulged his biggest regret with One Direction. The pop sensation, initially signed with Cowell’s record label Syco Records, took the world by storm upon its formation on ‘The X-Factor UK’ (another entity created by the former 1D boss) in 2010.
Cowell came out naive and expressed his biggest mistake: “One thing I regret is I should have kept the name… I should have owned the name.”
The pop band members—Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson—own the rights to the music act’s name, which bars Cowell from using the brand and its intertwined fame for any spinoff projects without the quartet’s permission.
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“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,” Cowell added.
He joked lightheartedly about the situation and even offered a deal to the members: “If you’re listening, I’ll buy it back from you.”
Simon Cowell on the One Direction reunion
The ex-1D boss’ answer came as a response to Bartlett’s question if One Direction would ever come back for more music. He curtly replied, “I doubt it.”
Expanding on the notion, he said, “If one of the band members, for whatever reason, say they don’t want to tour, it can stop the others [from] touring.” Cowell insinuated that if the reins were in his hands to control, he could have put together a 1D reunion tour or project, one way or another.
One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer fandoms come back to life as Ashton Irwin takes a dig at Simon Cowell
Like many fans of 1D, a group that seemingly disbanded in 2016 with each member going on to pursue their solo careers soon after, Cowell is still living in the glorious past of the supposed ‘Perfect’ ‘One Thing’ of the early 2000s that is now ‘History.’
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Directioners have had their issues with Cowell in the past, too, and the same disapproving air made its comeback with the record producer’s comments on the band reigniting that nostalgic “hate” against the man.
Several fans took note of Cowell’s podcast appearance and flooded the internet with remarks bashing the former One Direction boss.
User @sunfl0werv0l369 spotlighted the issue with a snippet of the podcast: “Umm is this new???! Have yall seen this???? cw: Simon Cowell… I absolutely despise this man.”
An unexpected comment took precedence among the many fans hit by the revival of this blast from the past.
5SOS’ drummer Ashton Irwin, who’s currently mapping out his own solo adventures with the promotions of his second album ‘Blood on the Drums,’ hit back with his verdict on the TV personality.
“The worst,” Irwin’s two-word comment fanned the fire out of control, and fans of 5SOS and 1D were instantly transported back to the 2010s when the bands maximised their “joint slay” by touring together. In 2013, One Direction announced the Australian boy band as the opening for their ‘Take Me Home’ tour. On top of that, several reports from 2014 also suggested One Direction held a financial stake in 5SOS.
During their initial years after debut, both 1D and 5SOS were primarily managed by the same London-based Modest Management. One of the company’s principal officials, Harry Magee, even credited 1D as “early adopters of 5SOS” in a Billboard interview.
Beyond the supposed glitzy covers of the groups’ pop-culture peak days, fans are privy to alleged fallouts, controversies, tussles with the management, and whatnot. Despite all that, it’s hard to ignore that Irwin presumably knows what he’s talking about, especially since he and the rest of 5SOS had first-hand knowledge of confidential matters that possibly transpired between One Direction and Simon Cowell.
Fans react to Ashton Irwin’s Simon Cowell comment
Irwin’s two-word X/Twitter comment is enough to make the imagination run wild. Either way, fans have jumped back on the years-old bandwagon and chimed in.
Standard replies to the ‘Straight To You Heart’ crooner included, “5SOS toured with 1D, Ashton knows what he’s talking about,” and “If you don’t believe fans, at least LISTEN TO THE ARTISTS ‼️
Thank you, Ashton, for speaking up 💪”
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.” Yet another utterly dumbfounded comment read: “Never did I ever think I’d see any of them say ANYTHING omfg.”
Cowell’s podcast interview comes days after the talent scout launched his search for a new boyband in hopes of replicating the buzz-worthy and unmatchable success of the One Direction phenomenon.
With auditions set to kick off in Newcastle on July 4, Cowell described his latest venture: “Every generation deserves a megastar boyband and I don’t think there has been one to have the success of One Direction in over 14 years. The industry tends to focus on solo artists – so it usually takes someone from outside to put a group together. Nothing beats the fun of being in a group, touring the world and performing for thousands.” Further details are listed on the recently launched website, simonneedsyou.com.
