Simon Cowell explains why Little Mix left his Syco label

Simon Cowell has revealed just why Little Mix left his label ahead of their album release.

It was revealed at the weekend that former X Factor winners Little Mix would no longer be working with Simon’s Syco company.

Their new album LM5 is out at the end of the week but will now be serviced by RCA Records.

According to tabloid reports, both Little Mix and current X Factor champs Rak-Su left Syco after a row between the label and their management teams.

Simon now says that the clashes involved arguments over songwriting credits and the decision to record Little Mix’s new single Woman Like Me.

“It was just embarrassing but, funnily enough, I was more annoyed, again, not about me, but about the fact people who had worked so hard in my company were being misrepresented,” Simon said. “Why do artists think they’re more important than staff members? They’re not. They’re the same.

“The irony was the record they were arguing about, which is Woman Like Me, they didn’t want to record. This was one of those ironic times that we were having a hit and nobody was happy.”

In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Simon insisted the move “wasn’t down to money”, explaining: “Basically, they said we’d done a terrible job. I had agreed not to talk about this publicly because I thought it was a private matter. I said, ‘We can’t work with the management, it’s as simple as that’.”

Simon went on to dismiss the suggestion that “something massive” must have happened to cause the split.

He said: “Well, I can show you all the correspondence between me and the girls over the years, there’s never been an instance when we’ve fallen out.

“As I said in my email to them, I stand by the fact they are the hardest working bunch of girls I’ve ever worked with. They deserve everything they’ve got.”

It’s said that despite the behind the scenes changes, Little Mix will still make an appearance on The X Factor final next month. Their album LM5 will be out on Friday.