Two best friends who grew up on the same street have said they are “doing their dream job” after they were both chosen by Simon Cowell to join new boyband, December 10.
Danny Bretherton and Josh Olliver, both 17 and from Chorley, are among seven band members handpicked by the music entrepreneur on his new Netflix show, Simon Cowell: The Next Act.
The band, tipped by Cowell to be the next One Direction, have just released their debut single, Run My Way, and their first UK tour dates sold out within minutes.
Summing up what it all meant to their families back in Lancashire, Olliver said: “They’re all really proud of us and what we’re doing.”
“For our tour they’re all going to wear T-shirts saying ‘I’m Josh’s mum’ with photos of us now and when we were little,” Bretherton told North West Tonight.
Unbeknownst to each other until the day itself, the pair both auditioned in Liverpool.
Bretherton said his friend had called him asking him what he was doing, and “I said, ‘I’m going to audition at this Simon Cowell boyband thing and he was like, ‘me too’ and I was like, ‘no way’ – see you there then’.”
The band also includes Cruz Lee-Ojo, 19, Hendrik Christofferson, 19, John Fadare, 17, Nicolas Alves, 17, and Seán Hayden, 19.
Bretherton and Olliver, who once ran a car washing business together in their home town, said they had been talking to their bandmates about Chorley and had even recommended a trip to their favourite kebab shop, The Nile.
The band have been signed by EMI Records, with the Netflix series first airing on 10 December, which is how they got their name.
Hendrick said they had been chanting “December 10, December 10” as they excitedly looked forward to the release date, and it stuck.
Since then, Fadare said: “Life has completely changed for all of us, in the best way possible.
“We’ve been doing so much music recording, spending so much time with each other, and the fans and everything, it’s just been insane, but I think we’re grateful for all the support we’ve had,”
Olliver added: “I was thinking the other day, if it was just yourself it would get overwhelming, but afterwards you’ve got loads of your mates to speak to.”
The band, who play 14 instruments between them, with Bretherton playing guitar and Olliver playing guitar and drums, had to keep the fact they were involved in the show secret for nearly two years.
Fast forward to 2026 and and their tour sold out in minutes,
“It was crazy,” Bretherton said. “They’d sold out before I was even awake.”
The band described Cowell as “down to earth” and like “the dad of the group”, with Olliver joking “when he likes you he puts his glasses up”.
December 10’s upcoming tour includes three shows at the O2 Academy in Manchester later this month.
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Originally published at BBC News
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