Simon Cowell to launch another new X Factor - to rival Little Mix series
X Factor: The Band will search for male and female groups - as Little Mix also prepare to launch their own music talent show.
Monday 4 November 2019 13:43, UK
We already have X Factor: Celebrity on our screens, but now it seems Simon Cowell is to launch another revamped version of the show - in direct competition with Little Mix.
The music mogul has revealed details of X Factor: The Band, which will search for new all-male and all-female groups, according to reports.
(Sound familiar? Think back to Girls Aloud and Popstars: The Rivals, the show on which they were formed in 2002.)
It will be a direct rival to The Search, a talent show set to be launched by Little Mix on BBC1 next year.
Cowell, who helped launch Little Mix's career on the X Factor when they won the series in 2011, and had them on his record label before a split last year, said he was relishing the "battle".
"This is what really happened," he told The Sun. "I was approached to co-produce that show last year by Little Mix's management.
"I told them the problem was we have a conflict of interest because we are launching X Factor The Band in 2020. We were told their show was going to launch in 2021.
"Then we had the fall-out and find out Little Mix were bringing their show forward. Was that intentional because we are doing our show? I have no idea.
"But regardless, it was too much fun not to do this year. I would rather it was us doing it first.
"It 100% makes it more exciting there being a battle."
Little Mix - of Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall - will return to their talent show roots to mentor new singers for their upcoming show.
They became the first ever group to win X Factor when they took the crown for the eighth series, having been formed on the show after originally auditioning as solo artists.
The winner of The Search will have the opportunity to join the chart-topping group on their summer tour in 2020.
:: Listen to the Backstage podcast on , , ,
The new group X Factor show will replace a proposed X Factor All Stars series, featuring previous winners including Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke, which had been set to premiere next month.
Meanwhile, X Factor: Celebrity continues, with controversy at the weekend as journalist Martin Bashir kept his place over actors Victoria Ekanoye and Jonny Labey, despite forgetting his words.