Simon Cowell rolls his eyes as teen girl group disses 'Spice Girls' — then delivered a chaotic audition
Despite being inactive for nearly 25 years, the 'Spice Girls' are still celebrated as one of Britain's most iconic girl groups. Even in the age of social media, their impact shows no signs of slowing down, with Mel B, Melanie C, Emma Bunton, and Geri Halliwell reportedly planning a reunion tour—sans Victoria Beckham, though. However, it looks like one young girl band was not impacted by the 'Spice Girl' phenomenon when they stepped onto the stage of 'Britain's Got Talent.' Not only did they take a sneak jab at the 'Spice Girls,' but they also boldly claimed that they could outsell the legendary group, getting on the nerves of Simon Cowell.
In 2009, the teen band' Singing Souls, which had members Louise, Tasha, and the outspoken Hannah, auditioned for' Britain’s Got Talent' with dreams of outselling the 'Spice Girls.' Their audition began awkwardly when Cowell misheard their name as the 'Singing Trolls,' leading Hannah to fire back immediately with "Do not make me come down there." That aggressive energy set the tone for what would be an unforgettable performance, and that too for all the wrong reasons, per The Sun US.
As boos echoed through the venue, all three judges hit their buzzers within moments of the song starting. Their harmonies were completely off, and their vocals failed to land even a single strong note. Cowell didn't hold back, bluntly saying, "That was one of the worst performances I've ever heard in my life." Instead of taking the critique gracefully, Hannah doubled down, challenging Cowell by saying, "You want to come up here and sing, Simon? Because I'd like to see you face that lot!" and told Amanda Holden to "bite me." Cowell delivered a final blow with the now-iconic comment as he said, "You sound like three cats being dragged up the motorway." Unsurprisingly, the girls didn't progress, but their audition became a viral sensation.
In another instance, Cowell even stormed off the stage after being roped into ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley’s comedic act. Tamley invited both Cowell and fellow judge David Walliams on stage, placing oversized ventriloquist dummy mouths on them and asking them to participate in a silly routine that also included doing the can-can, as per Smooth Radio. While Walliams went along with the antics, Cowell remained frozen on his stool and soon walked offstage, visibly unhappy.
With Cowell gone, Tamley's act was thrown into chaos, unable to continue. Eventually, Cowell returned after a brief moment backstage and finished the routine, which ended with both judges being sealed inside a giant packing crate, and the final gag was that it would be mailed to "David's bedroom." Back at the judging panel, a visibly annoyed Cowell joked, "I'm going to throttle the production staff." Judge Alesha Dixon questioned the setup, asking, "Why couldn’t you have just used Ant and Dec?" Amanda Holden added, "It was Simon's worst nightmare, but it was great for the rest of us."
