Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman Cuddle at Boyband Debut

and his partner cuddled as they watched his new boyband December 10 take to the stage at the O2 Islington in London on Thursday.

The music mogul, 66, created the seven part group on his series, The Next Act, in a bid to try to emulate the success of One Direction. 

After December 10 released their single Run My Way last month, Simon showed his support as the boys stopped in the capital on their tour. 

The band, which consists of Cruz, 19, Danny, 17, Hendrick, 19, John, 17, Josh, 17, Nicolas, 16, and Sean, 19, put on an energetic performance. 

The group sold out their live dates across the UK and Ireland. They kicked off in Glasgow on 16 February and will finish in Dublin on 22 February.

But their debut single limped into the charts at number 72, shifting just 6,300 units (that's physical sales, digital downloads and streaming) within seven days.

Music industry insiders have described Simon's latest project as a 'catastrophe' and a 'disaster'. Even their future at EMI/Universal is no longer as secure as Cowell would have perhaps hoped. You can . 

The Netflix project came five years after the closure of his music label, SyCo. 

Over the years, Simon has created a number of successful groups and solo artists, including , , and  - which are all down to shows such as 's X Factor and the Got Talent franchise.

On the show, Simon was joined on-screen by Lauren, 48, as well as a number of music industry professionals.

 The likes of Savan Kotecha, Kamille, Poo Bear, Pete Waterman and Robert Stevenson appear on the doc alongside the entrepreneur.

But the show was called 'dated, derivative and as flat as his hairdo' in a number of scathing reviews. 

Metro's Jon O'Brien wrote : 'It’s been four years since The X Factor was finally put out of its misery and a good dozen since its halcyon days, a period in which pop music, and its star-making methods, have significantly moved on from the bog-standard TV talent show.

'Unfortunately, no one seems to have told Simon Cowell.'

Meanwhile The Telegraph's Anita Singh's headline stated : 'Simon Cowell’s comeback series is as flat as his hairdo.'

She added: 'Netflix attempts to recapture that X Factor magic, but this vanity project feels dated and derivative.' 

The Guardian's Stuart Heritage described the doc as 'the billionth take on his one idea'.

Meanwhile Grazia's Nikki Peach said : 'The toxic 2010s called, they want Simon Cowell back.' 

She added: 'A few episodes later, it becomes apparent that Simon’s influence and relevancy has plummeted in the last decade; he’s pushing 70 and he wants to prove to himself (and his 11-year-old son) that ‘he’s still got it’. Ah-ha, there it is.

'Simon Cowell: The Next Act is a vanity project – and a glossy, big budget one at that. It’s as much about his next act as it is about finding the next big boyband. He always did have a way with words.'

Greg Wheeler at The Review Geek said it's 'a dated vanity project dressed up as a revival' and wrote: 'Executively produced by Simon Cowell himself, the show unashamedly hammers you over the head with how success Cowell is and what a big deal he is (was). 

'The documentary side of things looks at Cowell’s past, the artists he’s worked with and how much the business means to him. 

'For obvious reasons, it sidesteps a lot of the allegations thrown his way from said artists.

'There’s a dated quality to the show’s setup, even without the usual reality-TV tricks. Sure, Cowell throws out his familiar platitudes now and then, but there are no dramatic pauses, applause cues, or engineered tension. 

'Removing them helps, but it doesn’t modernise the bones of a creaking format.'