Simon Cowell: "I Hate Manufactured Boybands"
But he loves his huge money-spinners One Direction
Simon Cowell has made the surprise revelation that he “hates” manufactured boybands.
However, Simon distanced his beloved One Direction, who have made him millions since their inception on The X Factor in 2010, from boybands who he reckons have their strings pulled behind the scenes.
Speaking at The X Factor press launch, Simon was asked what his biggest “X Factor turn-off” was. He responded: “I think it’s normally a boyband that’s been put together by a manager, and told what to wear, what to say.
"They all come running in and everything they say is scripted, and they pretend to laugh at each other’s jokes, I hate that.”
Explaining why his sacred cow One Direction are different, Simon added: “I’d rather find something much more raw – like we had with One Direction.
"We had 5 talented guys, we never once said ‘wear this, say this, do this’ - they had that relationship. That’s my most annoying thing - I loathe those people.”
The new series of The X Factor returns with a double header this weekend on Saturday and Sunday night (30th and 31st August) at 8pm.