In little over a year, December 10 have emerged as one of the fastest growing new acts in British pop, racking up more than 16 million streams and over 8.4 million YouTube views. The seven-piece boyband, formed by music mogul Simon Cowell on the Netflix series Simon Cowell: The Next Act, have now opened up about what it is like working with the industry legend and why they feel fortunate to have him as a mentor.
Who Are December 10?
The group consists of Cruz Lee-Ojo (19), Danny Bretherton (17), Hendrick Christoffersen (19), John Fadare (17), Josh Olliver (17), Nicolas Alves (16) and Sean Hayden (19). Hailing from Chorley, Rochester, Dublin, London, Lisbon and Walsall, the members bring a diverse mix of Irish, Brazilian, Indian, Nigerian and Jamaican heritage to the band.
Simon Cowell's Return to Boy Band Management
Speaking in January, Cowell admitted he formed December 10 because he missed the buzz of managing a boy band. “I just got to a point where I felt so comfortable. And I think when you feel comfortable, it gets boring,” he told The Times. “Even though I like my job, what I used to do was just so much more risky. Did I need to do it? No. But you know when you go to Disneyland, you look at one of those rides and you think, ‘I’m not sure I should do this, but I’m going to do it anyway’? It’s that adrenaline. I really missed working with bands.”
Barbecues and Wisdom at Simon's House
When asked about their regular contact with Cowell, Danny said: “Yeah, we talk to him a lot. We were all at his house the other day for a barbecue chilling but also talking about the next steps that we’re going to go through. We couldn’t ask for anyone better to guide us through what we’re going through at the minute.” As for whether Cowell gets involved in the cooking, Danny laughed: “Nah!” Sean interjected: “We had chef Jeff to do that!”
Creative Input and Mentorship
Regarding songwriting and producer suggestions, Danny explained: “He’s definitely got a good say, but we’re lucky that he’s happy for us to give our input a lot of the time. We respect him for doing that.” Nicolas added: “Obviously with Simon he’s had so many years in this industry and he has so much experience so every opportunity we get to spend time with him he’s always imparting his wisdom upon us. It’s just a really good thing to have him as our mentor we’re really lucky to have him by our side.”
Rapid Rise and Upcoming Tour
With over 16 million streams, 8.4 million YouTube views, and a social media following of more than 3.2 million, December 10 have built a massive fanbase. Their 50,000 mailing list sign-ups represent the fastest fanbase growth in Universal Music Group history. Their tour starts next month, taking them from Amsterdam to Berlin, Paris and almost everywhere in between.
