The Irish star has managed the group – consisting of Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan and formerly Brian McFadden – since 1998 and admitted in a recent interview that he once fell out with his fellow X Factor judge Cheryl Cole when she slagged the boys off.
No doubt Cole made a remark about the cheesy music, the use of stools or the predictable key changes in Westlife songs, but Louis was having none of it and speaking to heat magazine, Walsh said he couldn’t put up with “derogatory” comments about the boyband.
He said:
“Cheryl and I had a few rows on camera but not many off-camera.
“She once said something derogatory about Westlife and no-one slags Westlife off, I am their manager and I love them”
The grey haired star – who was the only original judge to return to The X Factor this year – has also claimed some of the credit for bringin Destinys Child star Kelly Rowland on as Dannii Minogue’s replacement.
He insists that he told Simon Cowell she would be a great addition to the show three years ago, explaining:
“Three years ago, I said to Simon, ‘You know who would be a good judge? Kelly Rowland’, and Simon was like, ‘Really?’.
“She’s done it all. She knows how to sing and how to dance. She is a star in her own right. She is incredible!”
However, Walsh wasn’t quite so complimentary about new judge Gary Barlow. In an interview with The Daily Mail, he claimed that the Take That star has his priorities wrong on The X Factor, because he’s actually looking for talent. He said:
‘Gary thinks he’s the new Simon but he’s not. He needs to realise The X Factor is a television programme, not a singing contest.’
‘A show like this needs characters to make it interesting. People like Kitty Brucknell. Everyone’s talking about her. It’s acts like her that make this show work and get people watching.’
