OH NOES. The boys of Emblem3 are chafing under the tutelage of their X Factor mentor, Simon Cowell! They aren’t happy with the honcho and X Factor judge’s decision to take them in a pop direction a la his wildly successful X Factor UK boy band, One Direction.
The guys express their dismay in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
As the contestants prepare to bring their A-game to Wednesday’s performances, Emblem3 is finding themselves in need to a confidence boost. After weeks of requesting that mentor Simon Cowell allow them to play something original (or, at the very least, play instruments on stage), they find themselves performing the One Direction-style version of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.” (To listen, click here.)
“You can imagine why I’m a little skeptical about it,” Drew laments. “There’s already so many people comparing us to One Direction. This is just… it’s gonna cause so much shit.”
While there are certainly supporters (to wit: 8,841 “likes” on the clip at the time of publication), there are also 2,724 dislikes and comments including “omg, terrible” and “We don’t need another wannabe One Direction band, X Factor needs to seriously limit these boy bands.”
Says Drew, “We took a lot of heat for it. It wasn’t like, hate or anything, it was disappointment. It’s like, ‘Man, we really liked you guys. It sucks that you’re selling out.’ Compared to our first audition…”
Wesley interjects: “It’s literally like 98 percent of people loved our first audition and on this one, it’s like 70-30. That’s a huge difference of likes and dislikes.” Adds Keaton, “It’s progressively getting more and more hate.”
Ruh rho! Who is going to win this battle, Simon or the boys? Hm. Emblem3 has already been warned by a regretful Vino Alan to fight for their song choices,. “He looked at us and said, ‘This is the perfect example of why you should be able to choose your songs,’” recalled Wesley Stromberg to the Hollywood Reporter.
Unfortunately, the boys are a wee bit intimidated by the all-powerful Simon:
Asked if they’d brought the new numbers to Cowell’s attention, Drew says, “You can’t say shit. How do you say that to Simon? He’s like, the most powerful freaking man ever. He’s like a trillionaire.”
Keaton says, “It sucks because it will probably get votes, but it’s not us.”
Adds Drew, “It’s so far away from our style… We’re the opposite of One Direction. It makes me feel like I’m selling myself. I’m not being real.”
But the boys try to look on the brightside:
But if there’s a voice of reason, it’s Wesley, who reminds his band mates that, “We’re in a competition now.”
“There’s two different sides, the real world side and the TV competition,” he says. “On the competition, certain things work and get you more votes. They don’t necessarily work in the real world to get you more fans and followers as a career, so you’ve gotta find a perfect balance inbetween. This is temporary… you don’t have to trip that hard at all.”
OMG. Rude awakening ahead!
He adds: “If we win, that’s sick. Then we’ll get to do our own thing.”
*DIES LAUGHING* *MAKES MORE POPCORN*
