Simon Cowell hopes for a 1D reunion concert

Music mogul Simon Cowell believes that, somewhere, sometime along the way, the boys of the pop band One Direction will share the stage once more.

“I just think the legacy is too big not to go back to at one point,” he said of the group—
which he helped create in 2010 as a judge in “The X Factor.”

“They have enough songs,” he told “Entertainment Tonight.” “I didn’t realize how many hits they have had.”


The members of 1D—Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Liam Payne—are all pursuing solo careers. But Simon would love to see them back together, he said, even if only for a concert series.

“When they do get back together it will be a huge event. But look, they’re all doing their own thing and they’re all being successful. But I have a feeling it will happen,” Simon said. “I really do. I would love it to happen.” —ALLAN POLICARPIO

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

22-year-old Filipina Alisah Bonaobra wows judges of 'X Factor UK' in auditions round

On week 4 of the auditions round of X Factor UK, 22-year-old Filipina Alisah Bonaobra wowed all four judges with her rendition of Beyonce’s “Listen.”

 “I’m here to represent all the Filipino communities here in the UK,” Alisah says when asked to introduce herself. She tells the judges of her gig as a wedding singer, how she gives her extra money to support her family, whose income comes from selling packed food on the sidewalk.

“This is not the best version of this song I’ve heard but there’s something about you that I really really like. Great, great energy,” Simon Cowell said after Alisah sang.

The three other judges agreed with Simon. “I think you’re adorable. You are a great singer, you’re a great person it was a great audition. There’s something about you we really like,” Louie Walsh said, while Sharon Osbourne simply said “It’s a yes for me”.

Alisah got half-Filipino judge Nicole Scherzinger shedding a few tears: “I am crying because I come from very humble beginnings as well. You’re just gorgeous. You have an unbelieveable gift blowing everybody away. I connect with you and everybody. It’s a yes for you.” — LA, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Simon Cowell forms female version of One Direction

After managing one of the best boy bands in music history, music tycoon and judge of “The X Factor Judge” and “Britain’s Got Talent” Simon Cowell has embarked on forming a female version of One Direction.

Cowell has tapped One Direction member Louis Tomlinson to help him in this endeavor.

Cowell told entertainment news sites Mirror and The Sun, “They (the female group) are unbelievably good. They are as good as I have ever heard.” When asked about Tomlinson, he said, “He has got fantastic instinct… I think he has got a real knack for this,” adding that Tomlinson, 24, told him about this idea over a year ago, and “he stuck with it.”

The 56-year-old tycoon also revealed that he had encouraged another One Direction band member, Harry Styles, to sign a solo record deal with Columbia. The 22-year old has also landed a role in the World War II film “Dunkirk,” which is directed by Christopher Nolan, People Magazine reported.

The two other One Direction boys, Liam Payne and Niall Horan, both 22, are building up their solo careers. Payne recently signed a deal with rival Capitol UK records while Horan will sign a contract with Cowell’s company Syco soon.  Gianna Francesca Catolico

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

'One Direction' movie predicted to outgross 'Skyfall' in UK

The "intimate, all access" 3D concert film “One Direction: This Is Us” premiered in UK's Leicester Square August 20, with hordes of fans turning up to catch a glimpse of the British boy band. But what's interesting is that odds-maker Ladbrokes is offering unprecedented odds of 4/1 for the film to overtake James Bond movie “Skyfall,” which took £102m last year, at the top of the all-time UK box office chart.

“One Direction: This is Us,” which is directed by “Super Size Me” filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, will benefit from the huge following for One Direction members Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Niall Horan in the UK and across the globe.

They are the most followed British band on Twitter, with more than 14 million followers, and have more than 19m "likes" on Facebook. Twitter has reported more than 3.6m tweets were posted on the social network site about One Direction and the One Direction world premiere in London August 20.



Styles told reporters: "We made this for the fans. We just want to say a massive thank-you to them." X-Factor creator and “This Is Us” producer Simon Cowell, who signed the band to his label Syco, said: "It has been my dream come true to produce a film. But without their fans, this couldn't have happened. They have the best fans in the world."

The other films in the current UK all-time box office top five are “Avatar,” “Titanic,” “Toy Story 3” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two.” No other concert movie has even made the top 100, so “This Is Us” has a challenge on its hands to live up to bookmakers' expectations. Ladbrokes is also offering odds of 5/1 for the film to win a BAFTA for Outstanding Debut in 2014.

"One way or another this film is going to break records and win awards," said spokesperson Jessica Bridge. "The '1D' phenomenon is showing no signs of slowing down and the odds suggest they could be adding a BAFTA to their tour bus mantelpiece."


 More than just a filmed concert and tour documentary, “One Direction: This Is Us” is a chance to get up close and personal with the world’s biggest band.

Filmed while the guys were taking their world tour to arenas around the globe -- from Mexico to Japan to London’s famed O2 arena -- the movie mixes high-energy performance footage, candid interviews, and behind the scenes footage to offer a one-of-a-kind perspective into the talent, hard work and mischief that goes into being One Direction.

It’s a remarkable story of humble origins, an unprecedented rise to fame and a fan-driven phenomenon that enabled One Direction to conquer the world.

Opening across the Philippines on Friday, August 30, “One Direction: This Is Us” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

source: gmanetwork.com

Experience the band's life on the road in 'One Direction: This is Us'

Global superstars, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson introduce to you their big screen debut: TriStar Pictures' “One Direction: This Is Us.”


More than just a filmed concert and tour documentary, this is a chance to get up close and personal with the world’s biggest band. Filmed while the guys were taking their world tour to arenas around the globe -- from Mexico to Japan to London’s famed O2 arena -- the movie mixes high-energy performance footage, candid interviews, and behind the scenes footage to offer a one-of-a-kind perspective into the talent, hard work and mischief that goes into being One Direction. It’s a remarkable story of humble origins, an unprecedented rise to fame and a fan-driven phenomenon that enabled One Direction to conquer the world.

The film is directed by Academy Award-nominee Morgan Spurlock and produced by Simon Cowell, Adam Milano, Spurlock, and Ben Winston.

In the summer of 2010, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson entered Britain’s biggest talent show “The X Factor,” as talented individual artists. At the boot camp stage of the competition “X Factor” judge Simon Cowell offered the guys the opportunity to stay in the competition as a group.

“I saw five solo artists who were five solo stars, but would be stronger in a group, it was that simple,” says Cowell. “I liked each of them individually, and something made me think they would work really well as a group.”




Calling themselves One Direction, they were immediate sensations. A group of talented and cheeky guys who immediately captured a nation of young girls. They didn’t look or sound pre-packaged, they just exuded talent, friendship and charisma both on and off stage.

Says Cowell, “Right from the get-go, if I’d be honest … I was very much of the attitude, ‘I’m not gonna tell you what to do. You can probably tell me what to do,’ you know? ‘You’ve got to sort it out for yourself, ‘cause I think you’re smart enough.’ And that’s always been the way it’s worked with these boys. I had this just amazing confidence in them.”

Fans responded in their thousands, flooding social media, waiting for hours outside TV studios, and voting the boys through each round of the competition through to the grand final. Though they came in third overall on the show – narrowly missing the record deal awarded the first prize winner – the boys knew instinctively that this was not the last the world would see of One Direction.

That instinct to stay together instantly paid off. The band signed to their “X Factor” mentor Cowell’s record label, Syco Records and quickly got to work recording their debut album whilst performing across the UK and Ireland on the X Factor Live Tour. A book chronicling their experience on the road – Forever Young – went straight to number 1 on The Times Best Seller List. The album, meanwhile, was coming together with a stellar team of writers and producers, from Steve Mac (Westlife, Leona Lewis) to Rami Yacoub (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys) and Red One (Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez).

The band’s debut album, Up All Night, released in October 2011, was an instant smash; a feat forecast by the fact that their first single, What Makes You Beautiful, had already become the biggest single pre-order in Sony Music’s history. In the United States, the boys sought North American success with a string of appearances and performances that not only turned What Makes You Beautiful into an iTunes hit, but led Up All Night to a feat never before achieved by a British band: entering the Billboard chart at number one with their debut record. With three MTV Video Music Awards, a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award (for Favorite UK artist), and three MTV Europe Music Awards (including Best New Act and Best UK & Ireland Act), it truly seemed there was no stopping their rise to the top.



The band’s sophomore album, Take Me Home turned 2012 into a banner year for the boys, hitting the top of pre-order charts in 50 countries. The album’s first single, Live While We’re Young, went straight to No. 1. All in all, Take Me Home topped the charts in 37 countries. The Take Me Home tour, which continued into 2013, was a global sellout, taking Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry, and Louis to Europe, North America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

In July, they released Best Song Ever, a track written specifically for the film. The fun and cheeky video for the song (Directed by Ben Winston) broke records on VEVO with 12.4 million views in one day, making it the most viewed debut video ever on the platform.

Cowell says, “What I’ve loved about working with the boys is that they haven’t taken anything for granted, and they still appreciate and still are in awe of what’s going on. They’ve survived, and they’ll continue to survive because first of all, they’re smart, and secondly they understand their audience and respect their fans. They’ve matured really, really quickly.”

During the tour, though, the notion of a film came together, giving the boys a chance to conquer an entirely different medium.

Opening across the Philippines on August 28, “One Direction: This Is Us” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit the Columbia Pictures website to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

source: gmanetwork.com