Simon Cowell hellbent on finding boy band 'bigger' than One Direction

Simon Cowell is firm on finding another boy band, even bigger than One Direction, according to a source.

The 64-year-old music mogul, who launched his new campaign Simon Needs You earlier this year, recently cancelled his first two originally scheduled dates in Gateshead and is now moving to Liverpool to look for new talent.

Insiders tell Mirror that Simon is taking his search “very seriously.”

“These auditions will not look like The X Factor in the slightest - no shiny desks, big productions or celebrity guests. It will be incredibly stripped back. Simon has amassed a team of real experts - songwriters, producers and A&R people - who he really trusts. Together they’ll be chatting to the talent and trying to work out who should go through,” they explained.

Explaining the idea more, the source continued, “The idea is to capture that same sense of pressure behind the scenes - what the contestants are going through. And also the pressure Simon will be under to create a band that really has an impact, and achieve that standard he is looking for. He knows better than anyone what he is aiming for when he is talking about a band bigger than One Direction.”

The outlet also quoted Simon, saying that the music market needs these shows more than ever, given the virality of content online these days.

“It’s such a crowded marketplace and there are so many people trying to get attention online - hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. What these shows do is you get a bigger audience. I would argue there is a bigger need for these shows than 10,20 years ago,” he had said.

The docuseries is yet to be connected or bought by a streaming giant.