Former One Direction star Liam Payne has teamed up with music icons Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland for a new reality TV series competition for Netflix.
In “Building the Band,” the stars attempt to put a band together from scratch – without ever having seen each other… essentially a cross between “Love is Blind” and “The X Factor.”
Liam, 30, will coach the next generation of talent alongside Pusscat Dolls star Nicole Scherzinger (46) and Destiny’s Child Kelly Rowland (43), along with a number of guest judges yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, 46-year-old former Backstreet Boys star and singer AJ McLean will host the competition, bringing another pop group sensation into the race.
Personal encounters are left out and participants are encouraged to choose their bandmates based on charisma, compatibility and talent.
But how will the bands get along when they finally meet for the first time?
Executive producer Cat Lawson explained the concept to Netflix.com: “Building the Band is a brave and bold endeavor for everyone involved because we give the singers themselves the power to create their own band based initially on chemistry.”
“Can they build a deeper connection with their bandmates when looks no longer matter?”
She continued: “With a limited number of bands, there are difficult decisions and exciting moments along the way, but in the end the result is truly amazing and bands emerge that I believe are worthy of the biggest stage of all!”
On their way to fame, the contestants face a series of unexpected challenges and perform in front of both regular judges and guest stars.
Filming is set to begin this summer. The list of guest judges and challenges will be announced shortly.
With a star-studded lineup that includes personalities from not just one but four legendary pop bands, the producers are surely hoping to find the next One Direction or Pussycat Dolls.
Judge Liam followed a similar career path to the show’s contestants – he auditioned for The X Factor in 2010 as a solo artist before joining a band with Harry Styles and the rest of the crew.
Like Harry and Liam, 1D bandmates Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson also auditioned for the ITV competition as solo artists.
However, series mastermind Simon Cowell had other ideas – and that’s how One Direction was born.
Netflix will also air the documentary The Midas Touch, which chronicles Simon’s search for the next One Direction – as the band has been on hiatus since 2015 while the boys focus on their own careers.
In his search for a successor, the 64-year-old music mogul discovered that there was a lack of talent.
“The reality is that there are about 200,000 songs uploaded (to social media) every day, so oddly fewer people are signing and fewer people are breaking through worldwide,” he told Greatest Hits Radio.
“I’ve never experienced this since I’ve been in the music business,” he continued.
However, he remains convinced that there is still a hunger for the “next” One Direction.
“Those records have really stood the test of time and still sound really, really great. Imagine if they reunited and their tickets sold? They would have the biggest ticket sales ever, I really believe that,” he said.
“I don’t know if that’s going to happen or not, so I’m going to look for the next generation.”
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