Simon Cowell
News (Page 3)

You'll miss him when he's gone.

Simon Cowell says he won't be on American Idol forever. In fact, he's pretty much announced his departure date from the blockbuster show:

"There has to come a point when I will step down from being on camera and remain behind the scenes because you can't keep doing this for ever.

"I have three more seasons under contract with American Idol and that will be it. And it will probably come at the same time (for talent show The X Factor) in the UK.

"I am contracted for another two or three seasons in Britain and I think by that point the public will be sick to death of me anyway and it will be time to go."

Did Simon Cowell learn nothing with From Justin to Kelly?

The American Idol judge was not involved in that fiasco, which may explain why he still think a movie inspired by his hit reality show could be a success.

Enter Star Struck.

The film's plot is a hybrid of a fictionalized American Idol-like show and Alan Parker’s 1980s’ film Fame. Star Struck follows the lives of ten celebrity-hungry contestants as they pursue their fifteen minutes.

“The story is told through the eyes of those ten contestants,” Cowell said. “We want it to be the musical version of Rocky — an underdog story, a feel-good film. Fame was all about young people wanting to be famous, and in order to do that, they enrolled in a drama school; everyone who wants to be famous today signs up for American Idol.”

To further the life-imitating-art-imitating-reality narrative, Star Struck will be cast via nationally held auditions and the film will open with Cowell presiding over potential candidates, just like those first weeks of Idol. Cowell is aiming for a summer 2008 release date.

Would you watch this?

Isn't this cute?

Simon Cowell would like to have a conversation with the new boyfriend of Paula Abdul. He wants to make sure this gentleman is a suitable match for his fellow American Idol judge.

The man in question is restaurateur JT Torregiani.

And, according to Abdul, it’s not the first time the acerbic judge has taken an interest in her love life.

“Simon is already calling me and bugging me and saying: 'Let me talk to him',” Paula revealed in an interview with World Entertainment News Network.

That's because he cares, Paula. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

Sorry, Simon Cowell haters, you've still got a few more years with the honest judge.

Simon told our Extra reporter, and girlfriend, Terri Seymour that the clock on Idol is ticking for him, and that in a few years he'll leave the reality show.

“There comes a point where you’ve got to move on,” Simon explained. “You’ve got to say when your time’s up.”

So, when might American Idol contestants be free from his jabs and insults?

“This is the year I decided that on American Idol, once I’ve done 10 series, your time’s up. It’s time to do something new,” he said.

But will he leave TV forever after that?

“I think I’d rather drop dead than retire," he said.

Son, don't worry fans, you'll be seeing plenty of Cowell on some stage for many years to come.

Simon Cowell is a smart man. Count us among those that admire his honest.

After his interview yesterday on Good Morning America, though, Britney Spears might not be in that camp. The American Idol judge offered some candid advice to the troubled singer.

Cowell told ABC news correspondent Juju Chang that Spears is perfectly capable of saving her career because she's "still one of the most talked about pop stars on the planet."

"She has the X-factor because people want to write about her," Cowell says. "She's not conventional, she's not normal."

That's definitely true.

At the same time, Cowell says that Britney "can't handle the tension and the pressure" that comes from being in the spotlight so she needs to refocus herself at home.

"Lock the door, don't go out with your stupid friends, have some home-cooked food, get a sense of reality," he says. "Go lie in the garden, okay? And then say to yourself, 'There's more good in my life than bad. I'm still a rich, talented girl – now I want to get my career back on track.' End of story."

Of course, the interview wasn't all about Spears. Cowell also revealed why he believes Jordin Sparks is the new American Idol. "Jordin was the most improved over the whole season," he says. "She didn't start the best but midway through, this was the girl who suddenly got momentum."

Still, Cowell feels that Sparks wasn't necessarily the one who deserved the title. "[Melinda Doolittle] should have won," he says. "She tried the hardest, was consistently the best and had the best voice."

Let's get right down to it: Who does Simon Cowell think will be named American Idol this week?

The answer? Well, he just doesn't know.

"I can't call it at this stage," Cowell told reporters on a conference call. "For Blake Lewis, he's a brilliant entertainer, but the negative is he's not a fantastic singer. The advantage for Jordin is she is a great singer and the negative is she hasn't done one performance yet which I can remember as a 'wow.'"

Cowell also said he was amused by the long run of Sanjaya Malakar, a contestant known for extreme hairstyles and mediocre singing.

"The whole Sanjaya thing was hysterical," said Cowell, who once threatened to quit if Malakar won. "I don't think I'd be happy if he was in the final, but looking back I think it was quite amusing."

Cowell added it was "unfair" that contestant Melinda Doolittle was eliminated from the show this week.

"When you allow the public to choose, you've got to live and die by the vote," he said.

One of Simon Cowell's habits strikes people as rude, even for him: While American Idol hopefuls are singing their lungs out, he's often seen idly chatting with Paula Abdul.

"I'm taunting Paula throughout the performance," Cowell explains on Monday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "I'm saying to her, 'Try to say something interesting, try not to use the words mountain and lakes in your critiques because it's always: You'll climb mountains, you'll swim lakes, whatever.' "

So how can he judge the contestants if he's so busy bugging Abdul? "I'll tell you a secret," he says. "I watch the dress run so I actually hear much, much easier what they really do sound like."

As for his Idol picks, he goes with the favorites Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle, but says, "I wouldn't write off Blake Lewis or LaKisha Jones.

We hope this doesn't rock the worlds of too many fans - but Simon Cowell might actually be a nice guy.

Moreover, he might actually get along with Ryan Seacrest.

An American Idol insider has leaked that Simon’s witty yet scathing comments are scripted, noting that his on-camera scuffles with Seacrest - as well as cruel remarks to contestants - are carefully crafted beforehand.

“Most of these rifts have been outlined. Simon and Ryan are real good friends off-camera," the source said. "When the show is on the road for auditions, the two go for drinks and dinner.”

The source also revealed that the show’s top producer picks who Cowell will fall out with between the other two judges, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.

“The executive producer of the show, Nigel Lythgoe, watches the rehearsals and writes notes on who Simon should make nasty comments about. That’s what’s on the sheets of paper on the judging desk," this person said. "Simon is not the evil guy you think he is. The truth is Ryan is just as focused on the show’s popularity as Simon. There’s no real drama. It’s all for the camera."

In a candid interview with 60 Minutes' Anderson Cooper last night, American Idol's Simon Cowell opened up about coming under fire for his catty commentary each week on FOX's hit reality series.

"I don't think I'm humiliating anybody," Cowell tells Cooper."Possibly [the contestants are] humiliating themselves."

And while Simon says he's "helping" the singers by hurling what some would call verbal assaults, he explained to Cooper that "No one is dragged into that audition room kicking and screaming."

Calling to attention season six auditioner Kenneth Briggs, whom Cowell said looked like a "bush baby," Cooper asked the judge if he believed his commentary to be hurtful.

"I want to meet the parents sometimes and say 'are you aware that your son/daughter has zero talent and you're wasting their time when they could be doing something they're good at?'" Cowell admits.

But don't for a minute think Cowell feels even the slightest tinge of remorse after making himself known to America for, frankly, being downright nasty.

"I don't have a conscience about this at all," Cowell says, describing his Idol duties with all sincerity. "At the end of the day, if you've decided you want to enter American Idol, you want a short circuit to be rich and famous. If that means you have to take a bit of criticism along the way - tough."

We're not sure about anyone else - but we agree with Simon completely.

American Idol judge Simon Cowell has laid claim to being bigger than Bruce Springsteen in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes.” In the interview (which will air on Sunday) Cowell stated that he is worth more to Sony BMG than Springsteen.

Cowell further stated that he sells more albums for the label than the 57-year-old music icon – who signed a deal with Sony BMG for more than $100 million. He also said that if Springsteen’s contract is based on album sales then Sony BMG should pay him even more since he has probably sold “over 100 million records.”

Cowell backed up his claim to the title due to his involvement with American Idol and the amount of top selling artists that the show has produced around the world.

Sony BMG produces albums with “American Idol” winners and runners-up through a deal with Clive Davis and 19 Recordings Unlimited – the label that is managed by Idol creator Simon Fuller.

Meanwhile, Paula Abdul is a bigger Cowell fan than she might let on typically.