Search on for Scots boy band

The record label is searching for a Scottish Westlife

The record label behind pop stars Justin Timberlake and Dido is looking to form a Scottish boy band.

BMG Records, which is also responsible for Pop Idol, will hold auditions across the country next week in a bid to find the Westlife of Scotland.

Its talent scouts will take a look at performers from the Isle of Lewis to Edinburgh in a series of auditions.

It says the group will be the next "worldwide superstar boy band" and will have an all-Scots line-up.

The company announced its plans in a newspaper advert and will audition candidates via a number of six-hour sessions.

BMG said: "We are looking for males aged 16-24 who are great singers, dancers and look good."

Talent trawl

The first audition will be held on Monday, 26 January, in the unlikely setting of the Cabarfeidh Hotel in Stornoway.

The talent spotting team will then visit Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and finish up in Glasgow on Saturday, 31 January.

Each audition will be run by Tim Byrne, who was behind Steps and A1, but as yet there is no clue as to how many people he is looking for.

Justin Timberlake is part of the BMG Records stable

The company might have turned their eyes and ears to Scotland on the back of the massive success of the MTV Europe Music Awards held in Edinburgh in November.

Its leading artist Justin Timberlake swept the board at the event which was dubbed as the "best ever" by the worldwide music channel.

Timberlake and MTV executives spoke of the overwhelming support and enthusiasm for music in Scotland as the reason behind its success.

Another reason could be Scotland's success in the ever-popular search-for-a-star shows which dominate today's UK music chart.

As part of the team behind ITV1's Pop Idol, BMG has been directly involved in Glaswegian winner Michelle McManus' recent debut release, All This Time, going straight to number one.

While Paisley's David Sneddon started off the strong Scottish tradition of success in such shows by winning the BBC's Fame Academy in 2002.

No doubt BMG has noticed this Scottish trend and is looking to take advantage of the talent which can be found north of the border.