Simon Cowell says ‘only regret’ about One Direction is not owning their name

‘s greatest “remorse” surrounding pop sensation isn’t sitting properly with the previous band’s followers.

The “X Issue” character and music mogul mentioned the band’s formation throughout his time on the present on Stephen Bartlett’s  episode launched Monday.

“Once I was speaking to One Path, I bear in mind saying to them, ‘Our aim is so that you can have sufficient hits that if you happen to ever reform, that you are able to do stadium excursions. Meaning you bought to have about 10 hit singles,’” he recalled.

, , , and have been fashioned as a boy band in 2010 and signed to Cowell’s music label. Malik left One Path in 2015 to pursue a solo profession and the remaining members disbanded in 2016.

When requested if he thinks they’d ever have a reunion, Cowell mentioned, “I doubt it.”

“One factor I remorse is I ought to have saved the identify … I ought to have owned the identify,” he added. “That’s the issue. (I) might have made an animation or no matter, however if you give an artist the identify, it’s not yours — and that’s my solely remorse.”

The 5 band members personal the rights to the identify One Path, which means any licensing for initiatives associated to the band must be authorized by them.

Cowell jokingly added: “For those who’re listening, I’ll purchase it again from you.”

Directioners, the band’s fandom, was fast to chastise Cowell for his remarks.

“He’s genuinely an evil individual lol,” one individual . One other : “Oh thank god not less than they personal the identify, he took greater than sufficient from them.”

One fan steered the feedback ought to have been saved personal. “That’s the form of factor that you simply say over a beer in confidence that will get leaked to the press… not one thing you say in an interview, casually admitting you’re exploitive and slimy,” the fan .

Cowell’s remarks about One Path come as he’s getting ready to carry a expertise seek for a possible documentary within the hunt for a brand new boy band.

“I don’t suppose (there was) a band nearly as good as One Path since One Path,” he mentioned on the podcast Monday. “The one manner I do know to place a band collectively is any individual has to audition them. And so, we simply thought, ‘If I don’t do it this yr I’m going to essentially remorse it, so let’s simply do it.’ And we’re going to doc the entire course of.”

This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: