Simon Cowell has helped discover many A-list musicians through his work on American Idol and X Factor. However, his biggest success story is probably the formation of One Direction. In the 2010s the boyband took the world by storm, and following their breakup Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne went on to have successful solo careers with some reaching incredible levels of superstardom by themselves. Now, the judge who brought them together is reflecting on signing them after X Factor, and he revealed his one “regret” about their deal.
When it comes to a One Direction reunion, Simon Cowell has said he’s here for it, and every once in a while he throws it back to the old days when 1D was on X Factor to reminisce. However, he also recently said on The Diary of a CEO podcast that he doubts they’ll ever get back together. With that in mind, the America’s Got Talent judge explained that he has one “regret” about the deal he made with them back in the day, and it all comes down to that iconic name:
The one thing I regret is I should’ve kept the name. … I should’ve owned the name. … They [own the name]. That’s the problem. I 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. So, if you’re listening, I’ll buy it back from you.
When One Direction was signed, the five members of the band got the rights to its name. Cowell didn’t get any of it. Now, it sounds like the judge regrets it because he’s not able to capitalize on it since the members are no longer together.
Now, all five have careers of their own, and the prospect of 1D coming back together is slim to none. With Harry Styles being a megastar, Niall Horan finding success through his solo career and his work as a coach on The Voice, and Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne all releasing multiple solo projects, all of them are thriving by themselves. Therefore, Cowell can’t capitalize on One Direction at the moment.
He went on to explain this regret further, saying:
But that’s the only thing I do regret because if one of the band members, for whatever reason, say they don’t want to tour, it can stop the others touring. So, if it was me who owned the name, it wouldn’t be a problem.
If Simon Cowell had ownership of the name One Direction it seems like he would have continued to keep creating work under it. Whether that’s a TV special or having a few of the members tour without some of the others, he wouldn't have let the name slide into the past as its members moved forward.
Cowell went on to explain that he believes they all own 20% of the name, and that led him to say that at times he can be “naive.” The former American Idol judge said:
I can be very naive at times, and that was me being very, very naive. So, next time, that will be part of the deal; I have to own the name. They can still make most of the money, but I need to own the name.
So, if he goes on to discover another boyband who becomes as big as One Direction, he’ll be keeping the name. However, while he said he has plans to do just that on the podcast, he’s also very busy with his various judging gigs, because America’s Got Talent just kicked into high gear on the 2024 TV schedule.
With all that in mind, it’s interesting to hear Simon Cowell reflect on one of the most successful moments of his career and point out what he would have done differently. While he occasionally does not like the finalists who end up on shows like the Got Talents and X Factor, sometimes he strikes gold and gets a phenomenon like One Direction. However, even when you reach that level of success, there's still room for regret, as the judge explained.
To see what all these guys are up to now, you can catch Cowell on America’s Got Talent every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesdays on NBC or with a Peacock subscription. As for the former boyband, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson are both on tour, Harry Styles is on a break after his massive tour, and Zayn Malik and Liam Payne both released new music this year.
So, while you can’t hear new One Direction music or see any of the projects Cowell would have made if he owned their name, there’s no shortage of music and entertainment when it comes to these guys.
