Simon Cowell not looking for chart-topping act on 'Britain’s Got Talent' any more
Simon Cowell has admitted he is no longer hunting for the next chart-topping singer in Britain's Got Talent auditions now that he doesn't have a record label to sign them to.
The music mogul is still head judge on his ITV talent show, but after downsizing his business and letting almost all of his staff at label Syco go in January this year, he says he is looking at auditions differently.
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Cowell, who launched the careers of global superstar acts including Little Mix and One Direction, was asked by The Sun whether he judged Britain's Got Talent auditions differently since winding down his record label which would often sign stars of his TV shows.
He said: "I suppose so. I think in the same way as you buy an album or a track, you like what you like."
Reflecting on how the music industry has changed in recent years, he said that wannabe popstars having access to releasing music on YouTube, TikTok and other social media hadn't necessarily converted to huge success.
He said: "What’s interesting now is there are so many outlets for singers, what with social media platforms, however, weirdly there aren’t a lot of new artists breaking out at the moment."
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The pop guru said that he believed it was because "everyone’s doing the same thing" and said that he often advised people auditioning on BGT not to wheel out the same songs sung in the same way that they had already seen many times before.
Cowell, 62, added: "Britain’s Got Talent is an amazing platform for singers, you get it right, choose the right song and boy it can change your life overnight."
He named Susan Boyle as one of the most obvious contestants who'd enjoyed a rags-to-riches journey from the show after appearing as what audiences had assumed would be a joke act and going on to forge an international career with her stunning singing voice.
Britain's Got Talent continues tonight (Saturday) at 8pm on ITV.
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