Is THIS the new Harry Styles? Meet Simon Cowell’s prodigy set for stardom with girls throwing themselves at him

THIS time last year floppy-haired teenager Josh Olliver was washing cars and nervously preparing for a life-changing TV audition. Then, in December, he was shown on our screens blowing away talent show judges with a belting rendition of Backstreet Boys’ As Long As You Love Me for Netflix series Simon Cowell: The Next Act. Josh Olliver can barely set foot outside without being mobbed by screaming fans desperate for a selfie Credit: Jules Annan / Avalon Despite Josh’s limited experience, Simon recognised his talent Credit: instagram/joshdecember10 Simon and his panel of co-stars — Savan Kotecha, Kamille Camille Purcell and Pete Waterman — were amazed when Josh, then 16, admitted he had only been singing for two years after growing up idolising One Direction. Despite Josh’s limited experience, Simon recognised his talent — and decided to take a gamble that would change the teenager’s life for ever. The TV boss placed Josh front and centre of a new seven-piece boyband, later named December 10 after the premiere date of the Netflix six- parter. Now Josh, 17, can barely set foot outside without being mobbed by screaming fans desperate for a selfie. After a sell-out UK tour, a Top Five debut EP and millions of streams under their belt, the boy band — also featuring Cruz Lee-Ojo, 20, Danny Bretherton, 17, Hendrik Christoffersen, 20, John Fadare, 18, Nicolas Alves, 17, and Sean Hayden, 19 — are well on their way to superstardom. And with his curly locks and boy-next-door charm, Josh has quickly become its breakout star. It comes 15 years after Harry Styles, then just 16, auditioned for ITV mega-hit The X Factor and helped spark one of the biggest pop ­phenomena the world has ever seen. Josh also possesses that same impossible-to-manufacture charisma every music executive dreams of — and growing whispers across the industry suggest Simon has found the next big teen heart-throb. One music insider told The Sun: “Josh is just so thrilled to be in the band and that they’re doing so well. “He’s likely to be as successful as Harry Styles. “Josh is really enthusiastic and wants everyone to make the most of the opportunity.” Those who have worked with both bands insist Harry and Josh have that intangible “It” factor. Music insiders believe Josh is on course to become as successful as Harry Styles Credit: Ken McKay The boy band — also featuring Cruz Lee-Ojo, 20, Danny Bretherton, 17, Hendrik Christoffersen, 20, John Fadare, 18, Nicolas Alves, 17, and Sean Hayden, 19 — are well on their way to superstardom Credit: Click News and Media Becoming Britain’s latest overnight sensation comes with a price, though. Just as Harry found himself thrust into endless speculation over his private life — with romance rumours involving Taylor Swift, Emily Atack, Kendall Jenner and Nicole Scherzinger during the band’s meteoric rise —Josh has quickly discovered the realities of modern fame. His love life has sent social media into a frenzy, with fans speculating over who he is — or is not — dating despite those close to Josh dismissing much of the gossip. While Harry’s romances played out on Twitter and gossip blogs, Josh’s are dissected in real time across TikTok, Instagram and fan accounts. But Josh appears to be taking it all in his stride, knowing that the wave he is riding is ultimately unique. For more than a decade, the UK has delivered a string of chart- topping solo artists, rappers and DJs, but one thing that has been missing is a home-grown boy band capable of sparking the mass hysteria once reserved for Take That, Westlife and One Direction. While K-pop groups continue to sell out stadiums around the globe and young girls pine after international acts, Britain’s boy band machine had run out of steam. Cowell was determined to change that. He said recently: “I think we all miss that era when there were a lot of British boy bands. I said to the production company, ‘I can’t explain what it feels like. If it works, you’ll understand why I’m doing this’. Simon Cowell placed Josh front and centre of a new seven-piece boyband Credit: Click News and Media Tickets for their first headline tour sold out in minutes “They all said to me afterwards, ‘OK, now we get it!’ ” And judging by the response to December 10, Britain was more than ready for Simon’s fledgling stars. Their debut EP, On Your Side, stormed to No5 in the UK Albums Chart last month and the band have already racked up more than 30million streams and a social media following of 3.7million. Tickets for their first headline tour sold out in minutes, forcing promoters to extend the run of shows. They have played to packed crowds at Wembley Stadium during Capital’s Summertime Ball, sold out London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire on consecutive nights and are now gearing up for Reading & Leeds Festivals and Japan’s Summer Sonic. Not bad for seven lads who only officially became a band a matter of months ago. Those working with the boys say they are witnessing something they have not experienced since One Direction. An insider who has toured with both groups told The Sun: “They’re all really lovely lads and they remind me of One Direction when they were younger. Backstage they like to have an arena-style set-up with buffet food, physical therapists — and Josh brings his boxing coach with him. “One of the biggest reminders of how young they all are is that they still like kid-style food — think mac and cheese. But they are all keen to keep a healthy diet so they feel up to doing all the tours. Josh possesses that same impossible-to-manufacture charisma every music executive dreams of Credit: instagram/joshdecember10 With his curly locks and boy-next-door charm, Josh has quickly become December 10’s breakout star Credit: instagram/joshdecember10 “The parents and siblings are always backstage and keeping a watchful eye on their kids. “The lads are still pinching themselves that they’re now famous.” The limelight is yet to change them. Crew members are apparently more likely to find the boys bombing around arenas on scooters and skateboards than ­disappearing into VIP clubs. An insider told The Sun: “The main change for the lads is all the female attention they are getting now they are on tour. “Backstage they often can’t believe how much the girls seem to love them. “It’s quite sweet that they can’t believe how much of their fanbase is teenage girls. “And the consensus is that they will just keep growing. “Simon’s currently reaching out to producers, who worked on One Direction, to give December 10 a hand in finding their musical feet. “He’s keen that they’ll have a What Makes You Beautiful-style hit this year.” Another insider added: “Unlike a lot of bands, they’re all actually friends backstage. “Dodging them racing about on their scooters and skateboards is a common occurrence for crew working with them. “After they are back on the bus for the night, they’ll be downing energy drinks and playing Call Of Duty until they go to sleep.” It is exactly that mixture of superstardom and teenage normality that fans appear to have fallen head over heels for. Affectionately nicknamed the “Tenners,” their superfans have embraced the band with a level of devotion rarely seen since One Direction’s heyday. Social media is awash with painstaking fan edits, friendship compilations and backstage clips, while queues regularly snake down the streets whenever the boys announce a pop-up appearance. After being asked whether they’d experienced fanmania yet, Danny recently told The Sun: “We’ve had a group of girls ­following us around Westfield.” The group certainly aren’t taking their supporters for granted. They have said: “We just love our Tenners. We know we would be nothing without their support and commitment. They help us ­fulfil our dreams on a daily basis.” NO MORE TAY – IT’S ALL DEC 10 By Veroncia Lorraine Veronica Lorraine’s daughter Lyla meeting Josh Oliver from December 10 Credit: Supplied MY ten-year-old daughter Lyla, like most sassy girls her age, knows EXACTLY what she likes. Until the beginning of this year, it was Taylor Swift, with some Zara Larsson or Katy Perry thrown in. Boys, frankly, didn’t feature in her top ten songs to belt out loudly from the back of the car. I mean, what primary school girl doesn’t think they’re generally smelly, silly and best ignored? Until, that is, Josh, Hendrik, Cruz et al suddenly entered the conversation. And not just entered – DOMINATED – the ­dinner chat. Suddenly, we’d gone from talking Taylor over pasta pesto to crushing and blushing about Simon Cowell’s new boy band. Lyla hadn’t even seen the show that spawned them. But like every tech-savvy girl her age, they’d entered her life through her big sister’s YouTube videos. So when December 10 announced they’d be appearing at the sold-out Capital Summertime Ball, I knew we had to beg, borrow or steal some tickets. And that’s when I realised quite how huge Hendrik, Josh, John, Cruz, Sean, Nicolas (and let’s not mention Danny) had become. The young crowd had perked up a bit when Myles Smith came on, but let’s be fair – Take That, Sekou, Robyn and Bebe Rexha were hardly relighting their fires. But when the boys bounced on stage in the late afternoon, it was as if One Direction were back. The screaming was so deafening during Run My Way, you could barely hear the words. Words which, by the way, included the phrase “flipping your hair”, which took me straight back to 1D’s What Makes You Beautiful. And I’ve NEVER seen my daughter look more excited, belting out every word of every song to perfection – along with thousands of girls decked head to toe in December 10 merch (which you could get in pretty much all High Street stores) The moment they appeared alongside Simon Cowell, that whole side of Wembley stopped watching the show to turn and scream (and scream and scream). And when my canny daughter managed to work out when they were leaving, and ran to meet them in the corridor, I thought she might explode. She wasn’t the only girl racing towards them, although she might well have been the youngest. Like One Direction, Take That and New Kids On The Block, December 10 is proof that, when it works, the boyband phenomenon is still nothing short of magical.