WHEN it comes to pop star potential, Simon Cowell knows a thing or two about what it takes to be successful.
Simon, 66, is the man behind the likes of One Direction, Leona Lewis and Olly Murs – with each former X Factor act going on to sell millions of records worldwide.
But he’s also the first to admit he doesn’t always get it right.
Simon has made no secret of the fact he passed up the chance to sign the Spice Girls before they achieved global domination, something he calls his “biggest mistake”.
And with the release of his latest talent show – Simon Cowell: The Next Act – he’s been open about his fears that, if he’s not successful in finding the next big boyband, his reputation could be over.
Here, we take a look at all the times Simon’s plans didn’t quite work out.
Girlband blunder
Simon lost out on the chance to sign the Spice Girls before they went on to become the biggest-selling girl group of all time.
Speaking on the Jay Leno show, he said: “Spice Girls was probably my biggest mistake.
“I knew they were going to be big and I offered them a deal but I was just too late on the deal and they didn’t want to sign to me, that kind of hurt at the time.”
Simon attempted to launch the next big girl group in 1998 with Girl Thing but, after their second single flopped, they were dropped before releasing an album.
He later worked with Scary Spice Mel B when she was a judge on America’s Got Talent and The X Factor UK.
Axed £15m TV show
In 2011 Simon launched ITV game show Red or Black headed up by presenting royalty Ant and Dec.
The show – which had a £15 million budget – saw contestants bet on colours for a chance to win the £1 million prize.
Red or Black spanned two series, but didn’t return for a third after attracting poor viewing figures.
It was also thrown into controversy when it was revealed series one winner Nigel Hageman was a convicted criminal who had served prison time for assault.
Not so glorious
Simon turned his attention to food in 2013 when he launched Food Glorious Food, in an effort to cash in on the success of the likes of the Great British Bake Off.
Hosted by Carol Vorderman, Britain’s best home chefs competed for a £20,000 cash prize and lucrative dish deal with Marks and Spencers.
The judging line-up included Great British Menu’s Andi Oliver, critic and chef Tom Parker Bowles, plus sauce king Loyd Grossman.
But the ITV show failed to draw in a big audience, with Simon later describing the viewing figures as “disappointing”.
Even the Countdown legend wasn’t hopeful for a second series, with Carol saying: “It didn’t do as well as we’d hoped. It pulled in three million viewers so I don’t know if it will be back.”
Flash in the pan
It’s unusual for one of Simon’s winning X Factor acts to be less than a one hit wonder.
Along with the One Direction boys and Leona, 40, other previous winners included Alexandra Burke and Little Mix.
But in 2019 Simon rested the traditional X Factor format and replaced it with X Factor: Celebrity and X Factor: The Band.
While Megan McKenna won the celebrity series, group RLY were signed to Simon’s label Syco after being crowned winners of The Band.
RLY was made up of Seorsia Jack, Luena Martinez, Halle Williams, Virginia Hampson, Kellimarie Willis, Jess Folley and Kyra West.
Despite winning the show and signing a deal with Simon, the group’s releases failed to chart and they split in 2024.
Simon Cowell: The Next Act is available to stream on Netflix now.
