December 10, 2025 could possibly be a date that goes down in music enterprise historical past. This was the day on which December 10, trade legend Simon Cowell’s newly assembled boyband, had been unveiled to the world, through Netflix collection Simon Cowell: The Subsequent Act. With further backing from EMI, supervisor Cassandra Gracey – plus a dream group of writers and producers – the seven-piece are set on world domination. The query is: after years with out a profitable UK boyband, can they get there? To reply it, Music Week meets the band, plus Cowell, Gracey, Island EMI Label Group president Louis Bloom and extra. What follows is the unmissable story of how among the most interesting minds within the enterprise are reigniting the idea of boybands for 2026 and past…
WORDS: ANNA FIELDING
PHOTOS: FRANK FIEBER
There are seven of them, that’s the very first thing you discover. December 10 are Britain’s latest boyband: chosen by Simon Cowell, backed by Netflix and signed to EMI. Not considered one of them is older than 19 they usually can sing in a spread of excellent harmonies.
Bear in mind the names: Cruz Lee-Ojo, Danny Bretherton, Hendrik Christoffersen, John Fadare, Josh Olliver, Nicolas Alves and Seán Hayden.
You might know them already, due to the Netflix collection that introduced them collectively. Titled Simon Cowell: The Subsequent Act, it dropped on – when else – December 10 final yr. They launched their first single, Run My Means, on January 30 through EMI.
“It’s been six months of anticipation, ready for the present to air,” begins Alves, who’s simply turned 17 and is the youngest. “When it lastly comes, all of the months of ready simply bubble up.”
For Simon Cowell, creator of The X Issue and one of the vital highly effective music executives of his technology, this represents an enormous comeback, an opportunity to show he can nonetheless wield vital affect.
“I haven’t labored with a band like this for a really very long time and I discovered I had actually missed it, surprisingly,” he tells Music Week, in his first sit-down with us since 2017. “The excitement of discovering folks, it’s all the time thrilling, and the folks at Syco had missed it too.”
Warming to the topic, Cowell is fizzing with vitality.
“I believe all of us miss that period of when there have been loads of British boybands,” he continues. “I mentioned to the manufacturing firm, ‘I can’t clarify what it appears like. If it really works, you’ll perceive why I’m doing this.’ All of them mentioned to me afterwards, ‘Okay, we get it now!’”
December 10 had been signed whereas the cameras had been nonetheless rolling, within the sixth and ultimate episode. Earlier than that, there have been two label conferences that didn’t work out. “We confirmed up and did our greatest, but it surely simply ended up not being for us,” says Bretherton. Then got here Common. On display, you’ll be able to see the chaos that ensues when all seven members enter a room filled with Common execs.
“What number of of you’re there?” says a barely incredulous Louis Bloom, president of Island EMI Label Group, on the present.
“I used to be taking part in spot the scene,” remembers Bloom, who was an intern at BMG throughout Cowell’s tenure there. “We knew that Simon was cooking one thing up – it was everywhere in the press – however when it got here to the precise deal, that consciousness got here by way of Sir Lucian [Grainge, Universal Music Group chairman & CEO]. He’s acquired a long-standing relationship with Simon, in order that was instrumental. Dickon [Stainer, Universal Music Group UK & Ireland chairman & CEO] was very exact about how we did every part; he simply needed to win it for the label group. Fortunately, EMI was the eventual residence.”
Finishing the heavyweight government line-up is Cassandra Gracey, who launched administration firm Gracey & Co after a golden interval on the helm of Sony’s 4th Flooring Inventive division, throughout which period she received a Music Week Girls In Music Award for Businesswoman Of The Yr in 2021.
“The present has been an unbelievable launch pad and the social pick-up has been very robust,” she states. “What’s plain is that they will actually sing, they usually have a powerful bond as a result of they’ve spent a lot time collectively. Sure, they had been put collectively by a TV present, however that’s given them a possibility that they couldn’t have dreamt of.”
The band’s John Fadare echoes these sentiments.
“We knew Common was the place we needed to be – it felt like residence,” he says. “They matched our vitality, it was simply so constructive.”
“As quickly as we went in, they began clapping,” provides Olliver.
We meet December 10 at a vital second. It’s the day earlier than their first single is because of drop. They’re jet-lagged and ingesting cups of scorching chocolate in a West London resort, fascinated by their scenario. Clearly, it’s nonetheless all very new to them.
All six episodes of the Netflix collection had been launched collectively, and the present hit the streaming service’s Prime 3 in its first week. Their Instagram following is heading quickly in direction of 400,000, whereas they’ve 4 million likes on TikTok and over 190,000 month-to-month Spotify listeners. Single Run My Means is the sound of the brand new Toyota Aygo X Hybrid advert and this month’s run of reside dates – together with three reveals per day in Glasgow, Dublin and Birmingham, and two in London and Manchester – have utterly offered out.
Within the midst of all of it, the boys have bonded, which is clear as they go around the desk noting each other’s good factors.
For Alves, born in Portugal, they take a break up second earlier than crediting his intelligence and “the rock’n’roll tone” of his voice. Josh Olliver, from Chorley in Lancashire, is the “good wanting” one with a deeper register to his singing. Dublin boy Seán Hayden “is the funniest man, and with among the finest voices”. Danny Bretherton – additionally from Chorley, he and Olliver have been good associates for a while – brings vitality, singing chops “and biceps!”. Londoner Cruz Lee-Ojo is “swaggy” with the very best dance strikes, and “would offer you a pound if it’s all he had left within the financial institution”. Then there’s John Fadare from Rochester – “there’s not a sweeter soul on the earth, and he’s the very best piano participant!”. Lastly, Walsall’s Hendrik Christoffersen is the older brother, the voice of cause and “musically and vocally very gifted”.
At this level, Bretherton raises his voice above the hubbub.
“Hendrik makes me consider Sensations crisps…” he says. “As a result of he’s sensational.”
There’s laughter and a few groaning. Their view of Simon Cowell is equally constructive.
“Simply good vibes!” blurts Olliver.
“A stunning, pretty individual,” notes Fadare.
“He’s the dad of the band,” chimes in Bretherton.
“He’s very form and real,” provides Hayden, who has taken the time to assume it over. “He treats everybody [to things].”
“There’s a very good instance of that,” says Christoffersen. “We had been at Simon’s home as soon as, simply chilling and we’d been speaking about how a lot we love curler coasters. After which, a few days later, we came upon that he had paid for us all to go to Thorpe Park with the highest passes.”
Cowell himself is equally effusive about his new prices.
“I used to be fairly stunned by how rapidly they bonded,” he says. “They actually assist each other they usually’re loads of enjoyable. They take the piss out of me consistently. They do an excellent impression of me they usually punk me consistently…”
Cowell notes that he identified the worth of coming into the music trade as a bunch to December 10.
“I did say to them that I used to be positive all of them should have thought that they’d like to be a solo artist at one level, which I get,” he explains. “However what I’d say at this age is, ‘I believe you’re going to have a significantly better time collectively. You’ll have extra enjoyable and also you’re going to seek out out who you’re.’”
Supervisor Cassandra Gracey additionally leans on the thought of enjoyable.
“I inform them that the very worst factor that may occur is that they’ll have had the very best hole yr ever,” she says. “, there’ll be cynicism connected to it, however Harry Types began the identical method, and he’s simply offered out a number of Wembley Stadiums…”
The group, reminiscing concerning the thrills of Thorpe Park, are clearly having enjoyable and have clearly turn into a gang. Certainly, the sense of a band crystallising earlier than your eyes is inescapable.
There have been no boybands on the UK horizon for a while. It’s nearly 15 years since One Path launched their first single, What Makes You Stunning. Busted’s What I Go To College For got here out in 2002. Take That, at present additionally streaming on Netflix, burst on to the scene in 1991 with Do What U Like.
So, why a boyband, and why now? One of many solutions appears to be that the broader tradition wants a extremely seen, glad, hard-working gang of younger males.
“For youngsters right this moment, it’s a lot tougher than it was,” gives Simon Cowell. “It’s actually tougher to get a recording contract than it was 10, 20 years in the past. So why did I select this explicit band? I did need them to be function fashions for folks their age. I hoped boys would need to be within the band and would see that, if you happen to put your thoughts to it, issues can change for the higher. It sounds a bit corny, however I did take into consideration that.”
“They’ve a lot vitality, they mild up the room,” says Louis Bloom, who additionally notes that the primary act he introduced into Common as a younger A&R was Busted. “You may see Simon’s affect. It’s very, ‘Be your self, showcase your character,’ however on the similar time, Simon’s acts are all the time very respectful and hardworking. They had been offered to us as the very best of younger males. We haven’t seen that for some time, from a UK act within the pop area.”
Bloom says that he’s hoping December 10 will turn into constructive function fashions.
“That’s not essentially what they’re serious about, as a result of they’re simply being themselves, however that’s what I’m hoping for,” he says.
“They’re chaos personified, but in addition pleasant and actually well mannered,” says Cassandra Gracey. “On the aircraft to New York lately the air hostess got here up and mentioned, ‘Oh, you handle these boys?’ and my first thought was, ‘Oh God!’ and she or he mentioned, ‘They’re so well mannered, I took an image with them. My daughter’s going to die.’”
Gracey mentions one other Netflix hit, the Stephen Graham drama Adolescence, which confirmed the darkish aspect of teenage boyhood. She additionally tells a narrative about Bretherton visiting his old fashioned and confessing he wasn’t all the time the very best pupil.
“A child got here as much as him on the finish and mentioned, ‘I’m fairly naughty too, however you’ve given me hope,’” she says.
“This band feels actually contemporary,” says Bloom. “There’s a pleasure to those boys; it’s pure pleasure to me. They provide one thing to the tradition, a little bit of escapism. I do know it sounds clichéd, however we want extra pleasure on the earth proper now. I’ve acquired two younger sons. And in a world [where] Andrew Tate [exists], I need them to be taking a look at December 10.”
The band themselves, with their cheerfulness and willingness to indicate affection to at least one one other, are embodying that best.
“I really feel that if we present we will communicate, inside the seven of us, about our emotions, about psychological well being, about whether or not we’re doing good or not, that’s vital,” says Christoffersen. “It’s completely nice for us to say we’re not doing nicely mentally. I’ve carried out it earlier than – the not talking – and also you simply don’t assist your self if you happen to try this.”
“We need to present people who we will speak about it,” says Olliver. “That it’s alright to speak about it after which hopefully different folks will too.”
“And thru our music, we need to symbolize positivity,” says Fadare. “If we will be one thing that improves somebody’s day, that’s vital to us.”
Their group are laser-focused on caring for his or her new prices.
“Their welfare is an enormous precedence,” says Gracey. “I’m very strict with it, now we have to be. We’ve got welfare and safety with us completely. We’ve got to get licences in order that they’re by no means allowed to work longer than eight hours a day and so forth.”
Bloom notes that Common is “very front-facing” on the topic, referencing the tradition of artist wellbeing and the in-house assist service on the main, and describing Dickon Stainer and chief artist and technique officer Rebecca Allen as “very, very huge advocates”.
“It’s actually vital that they’ve time without work and the schedule has to swimsuit them,” he provides. “We’re very respectful typically; I need them to have the ultimate say on every part.”
The band discuss glowingly about their group, and Hayden emphasises the significance of their assist.
“The trade will be very robust for younger folks, and likewise getting judged rather a lot will be very robust,” he provides. “So it’s undoubtedly wanted.”
On condition that December 10 haven’t actually lived by way of any of the key boyband eras, they’re fairly nicely clued up on their predecessors.
“For John and me, coming from a Black background, we love Boyz II Males,” says Lee-Ojo.
Fadare, nodding, provides, “And you like JLS.”
“Yep, large one for me,” his bandmate replies.
“I’ve all the time liked New Children On The Block,” says Alves. “Backstreet Boys and, after all, One Path. Huge respect to all these bands which have come earlier than us and the mark they’ve left on the trade.”
Hayden is considerate on the subject.
“As a result of there was nearly a hiatus for boybands, as you become older, it simply goes out of your mind, so when the auditions got here up it was very a lot, ‘What’s all this about?’” he says. “However I’ve seen by way of this course of that we’re probably not going for the complete look of what a boyband needs to be, or was. We’re going our personal method, making one thing new. We’ve been ourselves by way of all this; we’re not singing in several accents or something.”
“It’s been a couple of years since there’s been a very huge UK boyband,” says Fadare. “Hopefully we will fill that hole.”
Simon Cowell, clearly, is an previous hand on the boyband recreation, having performed an enormous function within the careers of Westlife, One Path and extra.
“You discover one or two folks and assume, ‘I may need a shot right here,’” he says. “We thought, if we had been going to do it, then it wanted to have a documentary so we had a platform once we launched.”
Cowell and his group are relishing the marketing campaign because it unfolds.
“We communicate practically day by day,” he says. “Whether or not it’s to the label, Cassandra or the boys, when a tune is available in, there’s info to share, or we’re taking a look at video scripts. It’s been good, as a result of everyone seems to be on the identical aspect.”
Lucy Dann, MD of Island EMI, was as soon as a part of Cowell’s operation at Syco, giving her earlier expertise of seeing the boyband machine cranking into motion.
“This can be a full-circle second for me and I utterly understood the imaginative and prescient,” she states. “The celebrities have aligned and loads of us that used to work collectively have been reunited. The vitality within the group feels nice, and the band and the music are glorious.”
Between them, the members of December 10 have vital musical expertise. There’s musical theatre, a cathedral choir, an opera firm, earlier brushes with the truth TV format. Lots of them play devices, one thing Cassandra Gracey says they are going to be leaning on closely within the reside reveals. “It’s been an important pleasure to see how gifted they’re as musicians,” she says. “They play 14 devices between them.”
They’ve assembled one thing of a dream group within the studio, the place Gracey says they’ve had “an unbelievable expertise – I’m overwhelmed by the quantity of unbelievable data they’ve made”.
Producer and author Poo Bear (Justin Bieber, Usher) works extensively with the band within the Miami portion of the TV present. He tells Music Week he’s happy to “play a job in serving to to safe the brand new greatest boyband on the earth’s future file deal!”
Additionally concerned is Savan Kotecha, author of One Path’s What Makes You Stunning and hits for Ariana Grande and others.
“The boys are implausible abilities and it’s been very inspiring,” he says. “I’m excited for them to proceed to develop their viewers and for increasingly folks to get to know them. They’re particular children.”
Producer and vocal coach Robert ‘Raab’ Stevenson has labored with Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, Pharrell Williams and extra.
“Essentially the most thrilling factor is once I look throughout the desk and see their ardour, starvation and want to be on this trade, it jogs my memory of once I was an artist aged 18 or 19,” he says. “Wanting to place out good music, encourage folks and alter the world.”
UK hitmaker Kamille displays on the pleasure of “watching their desires unfold so rapidly – it’s not typically you get to be a part of recognizing expertise from throughout the nation and serving to it click on into place”.
December 10 now have an intensive financial institution of music to attract from for his or her debut album, which is at present within the works.
“We simply need to put out loads of songs and let everybody hear what we’ve been engaged on,” says Fadare.
“With the quantity of unbelievable music now we have and since the band need to tour rather a lot, we need to do a excessive variety of releases all year long, in all probability greater than most [artists],” Gracey says. “And we’ll proceed to play reside later within the yr as nicely.”
The sync pick-up has additionally been notable, she says. The December 10 tourbus can even be wrapped in a Toyota Aygo advert and Gracey is engaged on having Aygo vehicles as cellular merch shops.
Amongst themselves, the band make jokes about driving free Toyotas and recall Fadare’s “terrifying” laps of a Miami go-kart observe. In actuality, solely Christoffersen has a driving licence.
“However Josh can drive if his mother and father are within the automobile!” shouts Bretherton, with background chorusing of “Provisional! Provisional!”. That is an affectionate tease, as Olliver, they are saying, is keen on mentioning his almost-driver standing.
Past sync, the general plan is to construct at tempo, with an understanding that success needs to be earned.
Simon Cowell says that, amidst quickly rising social numbers, the group are constructing a responsive technique.
“We’ve acquired to do it in a barely unconventional method in comparison with, say, 15 years in the past,” he says. “Then, you’d wait a couple of months, put a single out, then wait a couple of extra and do one other one. Issues are totally different now. The followers hold asking for extra music, so we’re recording rather a lot, and I believe placing out fairly a couple of songs – which I deem singles, by the way in which – after which seeing the place we’re on the finish of the yr is the way in which to go.”
Louis Bloom picks up the baton.
“December 10 are immediately in tradition due to Netflix, Simon and a present that’s in 170 nations,” he says. “So by way of leaping on developments, influencer advertising and marketing and so forth, there are such a lot of routes to create consideration.”
However that “isn’t the core” of the technique, he says.
“It’s firstly about an important artist proposition,” he provides. “Then we’ve acquired wonderful music. We’re working with the very best within the enterprise, so the music will come thick and quick for the subsequent 4 to 6 months. However I don’t need to depend on one tune to interrupt. It’s not going to be that – it’s an attrition of greatness. We’ll stick to totally different types and showcase their personalities. Finally, the reside ticket is a real take a look at of success. We’re very inspired by the early indicators, whereas being targeted on having substance, weight and greatness.”
Bloom says that’s no simple job.
“Folks say pop is throwaway, however truly, nice pop isn’t throwaway – nice pop is fucking laborious to do,” he says. “You must be meticulous within the decision-making, and the artist has to actually embody it for it to achieve success. That’s why a boyband hasn’t been profitable for a very long time.”
The query, then, is: how will they do it?
“There’s no silver bullet,” solutions Bloom. “It needs to be backside up. You may’t inform folks to care; it’s a must to ship the products by being nice. The band have the potential to win over a big cross part of the world and I actually, actually consider in them.”
The Netflix collection was trailed as an opportunity to see why Cowell is returning to the pop-audition TV format that served him so nicely.
“It has actually been a brand new act for me,” he displays. “I like being on Bought Expertise – all of us say it’s among the finest jobs on TV because it’s a lot enjoyable. Nevertheless, once you do one thing like this, there’s no security web. There’s no ending you’ll be able to have apart from ‘this labored’ or ‘this was an entire catastrophe.’ There’s an additional thrill and generally unbelievable stress.”
It’s additionally a subsequent act for the band. Secrecy across the present meant they couldn’t speak about what they had been doing.
“That was laborious,” says Hayden. “When everybody goes to uni and getting jobs and also you appear to be you’re caught doing the identical factor.”
Christoffersen, for one, has been in a position to stop his job in Nando’s (his bandmates are incredulous concerning the quantity he nonetheless enjoys the meals – “the capability is immense!” says Fadare.)
Christoffersen takes a second earlier than responding.
“Relatively than, ‘I’m nonetheless in the identical job I had at 16, working at Nando’s,’ it’s been nice to have the ability to say, ‘I’m in a boyband!’” he provides.
Working alongside December 10 has additionally coincided with new beginnings for each Cassandra Gracey and Louis Bloom.
“Look, if you happen to’d learn the notes from my session with my life coach final January, you’d see that going again into administration was very a lot on the playing cards,” Gracey says of her profession transfer.
She sums up her time at Sony as “an important eight years, implausible” – however her coronary heart was pulling her again to administration “the place I’ve spent most of my profession”.
December 10, she notes, are solely simply youthful than her sons.
“They arrive spherical for dinner and I make all of them Bolognese and we play card video games like Mafia,” she shares, breaking into laughter. “I took my son to college and began working with the band all in the identical week. And there I used to be, nearly to start out my empty-nesting way of life…”
The band are additionally a part of a brand new chapter for Island EMI Label Group. Following UMG’s UK reorganisation, Island and EMI had been introduced along with Louis Bloom as president of each. Every label retains its identification (even right down to how the places of work look and scent – Bloom reveals that experiments with diffusers are underway), however the group are carving a brand new path to success.
“December 10 don’t slot in with earlier EMI acts and that’s why it’s good,” says Bloom. “I’ve all the time favored unique ideas, concepts or types… After I first began out, everybody was doing boybands. Simon took that and ran with it and put it on TV. We weren’t within the recreation at Common on any of that at that time, and so we needed to work with extra natural acts. We actually needed to perceive tradition and context, and the way to break acts with no platforms. That has actually helped when it comes to the data and consciousness of the way to construct fandom. Ok-Pop reveals there’s a marketplace for pure pop, and it’s good what’s taking place there. However there hasn’t been a Western boyband for therefore lengthy and there’s a spot available in the market.”
As for grand ambitions, Bloom brings up an EMI huge hitter.
“There’s a lineage from Take That to what we’re attempting to do right here,” he says. “We pray it will likely be as profitable and be one thing that can assist outline what EMI is about transferring ahead.”
“It’d be unbelievable to tour Europe, Australia, America and I’d like to have worldwide hits,” says Gracey. “We’ve got a 10-year pact for the band, after which we’ll talk about every other choices. That’s what they’ve determined. It’s an unbelievable alternative to have a profession in music, and that’s the purpose.”
December 10 are a boyband for contemporary Britain, from the very regular areas of Saturday jobs, driving classes and faculty music rooms. Success could be a totem for abnormal boys all over the place.
The boys have discovered that, for now, they fill within the gaps in each other’s lives very nicely.
“We’ve got a very shut relationship,” says Fadare. “It’s like with siblings, how generally you’re so shut that you simply simply argue a tiny bit. I believe now we have {that a} bit generally, however we additionally type it out, like siblings.”
“We undoubtedly love one another,” says Olliver, as the remainder of them refrain in settlement.
“I used to be actually shy with the blokes at first,” says Alves. “However it’s actually spectacular how far we’ve grown collectively. I actually really feel like I’ve six brothers now.”
“You see how our bond has grown within the present,” says Fadare.
“I couldn’t be extra grateful to you guys,” smiles Alves, by means of a fittingly heartfelt conclusion, as the remainder of them beam proper again at him.
