Simon Cowell has incurred the wrath of BTS and K-pop fans after opening up about his hunt for the next boy band, calling One Direction the most successful boy band in recent years. The has said that he’s looking to create a new boy band almost a decade after . The internationally successful group were signed to Cowell’s record label Syco Records after coming in third place in the singing competition in 2010.
However, the music mogul failed to recognise the international success of K-pop artists in the exact market he’s trying to tap back into. Cowell’s campaign was recently launched in the UK, with a billboard showcasing the record executive re-creating Lord Kitchener’s iconic WWI poster with the words: “Simon needs you! Future megastars wanted for new boyband. No time wasters.
” “Every generation deserves a megastar boy band and I don’t think there has been one to have the success of One Direction in over 14 years,” Cowell boldly claimed via a statement. “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,” he said.
K-pop boy bands like BTS, Stray Kids, and Seventeen have garnered international acclaim in recent years, but Cowell appeared to survey the current boyband scene through a Western lens, as many fans pointed out. “My brother in Christ BTS literally exists, get out of your west bubble,” on.
