One Direction’s Creator Faces Backlash for Dismissing BTS’s Success

Simon Cowell is renowned for his roles as a businessman, reality TV personality, and record label executive. He has served as a judge for several prominent competitions including “Pop Idol” , “American Idol” , “The X Factor” , and “Britain’s Got Talent” . Particularly noteworthy is Cowell’s contribution to the rise of One Direction, as he signed the five boys to a £2 million deal with his label. This proved to be a major turning point for the band, as they went on to achieve unprecedented success, setting records and selling a staggering 70 million records globally by April 2020.

Simon Cowell takes great pride in the success of One Direction. In a recent announcement, he revealed his intentions to discover a new boy band that can follow in their footsteps, emphasizing the belief that every generation deserves a talented and popular boy band.

Moreover, Simon discloses his belief that no other musical group has achieved the same level of success as One Direction within the last 14 years.

Despite One Direction’s undeniable achievements, Simon’s statements have been met with criticism, particularly from K-pop fans. Many believe that he deliberately ignores the success of Korean groups, particularly BTS. In fact, some have even pointed out Simon’s previous response to BTS’s rise, where he expressed a desire to create a UKpop group to rival the popularity of K-pop.

It’s understandable for fans to feel frustrated, considering BTS has surpassed many of One Direction’s achievements. This includes having the most followers on Instagram and Twitter. In terms of music, BTS has also set records on YouTube with their 24-hour view counts for boy groups and consistently ranked high on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Despite being active during different time periods and facing initial limitations, both One Direction and BTS have been underestimated by Simon, with his comments not only applying to BTS but also other successful K-pop groups such as BLACKPINK, TWICE, NewJeans, Stray Kids, and SEVENTEEN.

Here are the opinions of netizens in response to Simon’s statement:

Although I am not a fan of BTS, I find it hard to believe that anyone could claim One Direction has been more successful when BTS continues to thrive.
In 2019, he also intended to form a group with the goal of overthrowing BTS, but as we can see, that plan did not come to fruition.
BTS holds numerous records as the most streamed, best-selling, and most awarded group of this century. They also have the most views on YouTube and have achieved six #1 hits on the Hot 100 in just 14 months. The list goes on and on.
Despite the undeniable success of K-pop, Simon continues to disregard and deny its accomplishments.

Origin: K14