December 10 Talks Reality TV, Simon Cowell, One Direction Comparisons, and Debut Single “Run My Way”
Thu Feb 05 2026
Simon Cowell — label exec, talent reality TV judge OG, “bad guy,” perma-aviator sporting, tight top-and-high pant wearer etc. and so on — fancies a challenge. He wants to create a new boy band, one that will challenge the omnipotence of K-pop, a band that will put his name back in the cultural conversation. A lot is on the line.
He scours Dublin, Liverpool, and London for plucky teen hopefuls. The initial response to his call for auditions is a little meh, but then the judges uncover some gems, albeit ones with strikingly similar haircuts.
A thousand is whittled down to under ten hopefuls who battle it out for five spaces in the as-of-yet unnamed boy band and across the six episodes viewers start to really care about the journey of these wannabe stars. Cowell is torn! He ultimately plumps for seven members (in true KPop style) and so we have Cruz Lee-Ojo, Danny Bretherton, Hendrik Christoffersen, John Fadare, Josh Olliver, Nicolas Alves, and Seán Hayden. And know they’re on our couch.
We find out a bit more about the septet: where they’re from, previous talent show accolades, what instruments they play, who loves school, who used to be a semi-pro soccer player, who almost pursued rugby full time. And of course we ask about Cowell, working with storied songwriters like Poo Bear and Savan Kotecha (Bieber, 1D, respectively), why Brits are so obsessed with breaking America, One Direction comparisons, squaring up to BTS, and so much more.
Stream "Run My Way" ►► https://tinyurl.com/2e793du9"
SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5
SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Simon Cowell — label exec, talent reality TV judge OG, “bad guy,” perma-aviator sporting, tight top-and-high pant wearer etc. and so on — fancies a challenge. He wants to create a new boy band, one that will challenge the omnipotence of K-pop, a band that will put his name back in the cultural conversation. A lot is on the line. He scours Dublin, Liverpool, and London for plucky teen hopefuls. The initial response to his call for auditions is a little meh, but then the judges uncover some gems, albeit ones with strikingly similar haircuts. A thousand is whittled down to under ten hopefuls who battle it out for five spaces in the as-of-yet unnamed boy band and across the six episodes viewers start to really care about the journey of these wannabe stars. Cowell is torn! He ultimately plumps for seven members (in true KPop style) and so we have Cruz Lee-Ojo, Danny Bretherton, Hendrik Christoffersen, John Fadare, Josh Olliver, Nicolas Alves, and Seán Hayden. And know they’re on our couch. We find out a bit more about the septet: where they’re from, previous talent show accolades, what instruments they play, who loves school, who used to be a semi-pro soccer player, who almost pursued rugby full time. And of course we ask about Cowell, working with storied songwriters like Poo Bear and Savan Kotecha (Bieber, 1D, respectively), why Brits are so obsessed with breaking America, One Direction comparisons, squaring up to BTS, and so much more. Stream "Run My Way" ►► https://tinyurl.com/2e793du9" SUBSCRIBE to Our Podcast ►►https://tinyurl.com/48yfe4v5 SUBSCRIBE to YT ►►https://tinyurl.com/5n8km55u See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.