Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English reality television judge, entrepreneur, philanthropist, film, record, and television producer. He is most recognized as a judge on the British TV talent competition series Pop Idol, The X Factor, and Britain's Got Talent, and the American TV talent competition shows American Idol, The X Factor, and America's Got Talent. Cowell owns the television production and music publishing house Syco...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth7 October 1959
CityLondon, England
One or two haven't got a cats-in-hell chance, like the kid with the glasses.
Let me tell you who's gonna be in the finals. The bald-headed kid (Daughtry) and the guy with gray hair (Hicks).
I don't like kids that are pushed into things by stage mums, but when I can see they are having a good time, they're excited and enjoying the process, then I think it's wrong to discriminate.
There's one argument that says we shouldn't be putting these kids on under the age of 16. I think you've got to take it case by case.
Normally if I go to one of these things I'm in and out in five minutes, but at Pride of Britain I stay to the end. It's a fantastic show. But it's incredibly hard on the night when you meet all the kids and hear their stories. They do get to you.
Thank God kids love following an artist. When you get a group who pop, it's the best thing in the world.
I have very good advice to give to kids this age, which is, you shouldn't listen to your mum or dad and you just have to work it out for yourself. And the reason I've taken the age range down this year, and I never would have done it 10 years ago, is what I've seen with the success of Willow Smith. You don't have to be so cutesy anymore.
The object of this competition is not to be mean to the losers but to find a winner. The process makes you mean because you get frustrated. Kids turn up unrehearsed, wearing the wrong clothes, singing out of tune and you can either say, "Good job" and patronize them or tell them the truth, and sometimes the truth is perceived as mean.
They all hate each other deep down, but they're not gonna say it on camera. Ask Kelly how many congratulation e-mails she got from the other contestants. Probably zero. But that's the music business. In a positive way, I like that. I like the fact that people enter the show because they might win.
Personally, I hope to find the next Siegfried and Roy.
Everything's open this year, isn't it? There are four, five, six people who could win.
The Super Bowl's a good analogy. You've got to make people look forward to it once a year.
Ryan, with respect, I do this for a living. I don't play at it like you.
Complete and utter mess. It was 'We Will Rock You, Gently'.