INSIDE SHOWBIZ: Why 'uncool' Simon Cowell is defying Liam Payne's grieving bandmates to press on with his televised search for a new One Direction, by KATIE HIND
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When Simon Cowell announced he was on the hunt for a new boy band – a challenge he would film for a television audience – members of his biggest success story, One Direction, were not exactly thrilled. While Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne made tens of millions of pounds, it came at a cost.
![[Liam's membership of One Direction tragically put him on the road to destruction. Two months ago he died after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/28/17/93543955-14232367-image-m-105_1735408756941.jpg)
Some of the band believed they lost their 'best years', while others fell into a spiral of booze and drugs. Liam's membership of One Direction tragically put him on the road to destruction. Two months ago he died after falling from the third-floor balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
![[Simon Cowell and his wife Lauren Silverman attend the funeral of Payne in Amersham on November 20]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/28/17/93543957-14232367-image-m-107_1735408793864.jpg)
And it is for that reason that music industry executives had been expecting Simon, 65, to ditch the project. After all, One Direction was managed by Simon, the music mogul and X Factor judge, after they found unimaginable fame on the ITV reality series back in 2010.
![[The Mail on Sunday previously revealed that Cowell's ambition of finding a band that could hit the same heights as One Direction had been scaled down after auditions were cancelled]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/28/18/93543953-14232367-image-a-108_1735409212909.jpg)
The Wolverhampton-born singer's passing at the age of 31 left Simon devastated, as evident at Liam's funeral last month. He was seen embracing Liam's parents Karen and Geoff outside the church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Following Liam's death, Simon posted a tribute to the singer on Instagram, describing him as a 'kind, funny and talented' pop star who 'never forgot the fans'.
One Direction was managed by Simon Cowell after they found fame on The X Factor in 2010. Pictured from left, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Cowell, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Liam Payne. He added: 'Liam, I am truly devastated. Heartbroken. And I feel empty. And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.'.
