Simon Cowell is mourning the loss of his greatest boyband, One Direction, and is looking to fill this void with another hit boyband. In order to find the perfect future stars, he has launched a campaign in London with a billboard mimicking 1914 war propaganda poster of Lord Kitchener, featuring the statement “Simon needs you! Future megastars wanted for new boyband. No time wasters.”

He is clearly very serious about this, and has created a new website dedicated to finding the perfect male artists to create his dream. Auditions are set to begin in Newcastle on the 4th July, and after that will move on to Liverpool, Dublin and London. Cowell has expressed his belief that “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.” leading to this desperate attempt to expand the British music industry and move away from the focus on solo artists, and instead embrace a boyband. This campaign carries a “high degree of risk” but Cowell believes that “nothing beats the fun of being in a group, touring the world and performing for thousands.”

However, even Cowell’s hope is limited, as he has also discussed the high probability of a successful solo career branching from this venture for a megastar boyband, and in his pitch noted the success of Harry Styles after the disbandment of One Direction.

Whilst Simon Cowell has a clear eye for success, proven through the omnipresence of One Direction, even after their split back in 2015, however his last few attempts have been less successful. His last X-factor winners, Rak-Su, had a short lived success after reaching number 2 in the UK charts with their debut single “I’m Feeling You”, but their fame quickly fizzled afterwards. Nonetheless, he has high hopes that on his trek around the UK he will find exactly what he’s looking for, and that Britain will soon be treated to another musical success.