Simon Cowell’s new boyband search forced to slash auditions and hire TikTok stars to promote show

WHEN they made their X Factor debut, the One Direction boys had to join queues packed with thousands of wannabes at one of a dozen audition days.

But that’s not quite the case with Simon Cowell’s new bid to find the next big boyband - which is set to appear in a Netflix documentary called The Midas Touch.

I can reveal that the two Newcastle dates - where they planned to kick off the “nationwide hunt” tomorrow (July 4)  -  have been quietly axed, shrinking the number of auditions from nine to seven.

Simon surprised the industry when he announced he was launching the tour, first in Newcastle, then Liverpool, Dublin and London.

And he even admitted: “There’s always a high degree of risk and I genuinely have no idea what’s going to happen! We might uncover an incredible group; we might not get there. What if no one shows up to auditions? That could be awkward.” 

When the process was launched last month, Simon even boasted about how much he wanted to be in the capital of the north-east, a region which has seen him find talents including James Arthur and Cheryl Cole.

Just a few weeks ago he was praising the local cuisine, in the form of Gregg’s chicken bakes, and added: “I wanted to go to places with fun people, so Newcastle, yeah. I like the people from Newcastle.”

Yesterday representatives for Simon said that the Newcastle dates hadn’t been officially cancelled because no venues had been booked for the auditions. Instead it was down to their “travel schedule.”

But in further worrying signs, Simon has also been forced to take the unusual step of promoting the call-out itself by booking TikTok and Instagram stars to plug the opportunity. 

Producers reached out to a number of creators and asked them to post content about the try-outs.