In a candid moment during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Simon Cowell shocked audiences by referring to Westlife as “the world’s ugliest boyband.” The outspoken music mogul, known for his blunt commentary, was discussing why he ultimately decided not to sign the Irish group, despite their undeniable success later on.
Cowell, 54, recounted a past interaction with the band’s manager, revealing that he had initially turned them down. He shared an amusing story about how one of the band members—whom he described as “one of the ugly ones”—dyed his hair blonde, which led to him being reintroduced to the group at a second audition. Although Cowell didn’t initially recognize him, he admitted that it all “worked out fine” in the end, as Westlife went on to sell over 50 million albums globally.
The comments came just days after Westlife member Kian Egan’s victory on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, where he was crowned King of the Jungle. As of now, Louis Walsh, the group’s manager, has not publicly responded to Cowell’s remarks.
The music mogul also reflected on one of his biggest regrets in the music industry—missing out on signing the Spice Girls. Cowell revealed that he had offered the girl group a deal early on, but was too late, leading to them turning him down. Despite the setback, Cowell admitted that he was aware of their potential to achieve stardom, which, in hindsight, still stings a bit.
Simon Cowell’s comments about Westlife, while humorous, underline the unpredictable nature of the music industry. Despite his early misjudgment, Westlife’s career speaks for itself, with their success as one of the world’s best-selling boybands.
