SIMON Cowell has taken a swipe at his former protégé Niall Horan after the One Direction star's debut solo single failed to reach No1.

Irish singer Niall, who rejected a deal with Simon's label Syco in favour of Universal, released the surprise single last Thursday, and it quickly shot up the UK charts — but only to No9.

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Meanwhile X Factor winner James Arthur, who was recently re-signed by Syco after the label dropped him two years ago, is enjoying the No1 spot with Say You Won't Let Go.

Simon told the of Niall: "He probably would have had a No1 single if he'd stayed with me.

"But you know who does have a No1 this week? James Arthur. Very pleased he's back with us on a fantastic record."

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The music mogul jokingly added: "Hashtag loyalty."

Simon of course helped Niall become a star when he put One Direction together on X Factor in 2010.

Niall, 23, is the first of the remaining band members to release solo material.