Simon Cowell he later earned the reputation of television’s “Mr. Nasty.” American Idol made him a world star. However, the music mogul isn’t too happy with his reputation.
the first idol i X factor said the 66-year-old judge The New York Times in an interview published on Saturday, November 29, he regrets some of his insulting comments to contestants on the hit singing competition, explaining: “I wasn’t trying to be ad*** on purpose.”
“All I wanted with these shows was to find successful artists to sign to the label,” he continued. “So when all these people would come in and they couldn’t sing, I was like when I was auditioning people and someone would come in and they couldn’t sing. After 10 seconds we’d be like, ‘You can’t sing.’ No, ‘You’re going to be brilliant.'”
Cowell apologized for some of his comments on the talent show, on which he was a judge from 2002 to 2010. Interviewer Lulu Garcia-Navarro noted to Cowell that the show often “cuts to people who look absolutely crushed” after receiving feedback from him.
In the two decades that American Idol has graced the small screen, fans have witnessed many tense interactions between the show’s contestants, judges, and hosts. Things got heated between season 22 contestant Madai ChaKell and judge Luke Bryan during a March 2024 episode of Hollywood Week after ChaKell stopped her performance of Ariana Grande (…)
“That’s why I changed over time. I realized I’ve probably gone too far,” he said. “I didn’t particularly like audition days, because they’re long and boring. I’d get tired. And of course, out of a hundred nice comments, what will they use? They’ll always use me in a bad mood. I get it. What can I say? I’m sorry.”
Asked why he was apologizing specifically, Cowell said: “Well, he’s just being a ***.”
Despite her lax demeanor, Cowell agreed with Garcia-Navarro that her personality was part of what made her American Idol so successfulalthough he has expressed some regrets.
“Yeah. It was then. I’m not proud of it, let’s put it that way,” said the British talent show judge. “I never watch that stuff online, so when I hear about those clips, I’m like, Oh, my God. But then again, the upside is that it made the shows really popular around the world.”
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Cowell was part of the original American Idol judge alignment with Paula Abdul i Randy Jackson before leaving the show in 2010 to launch the US version of The X factor on Fox in 2011.
In his New York timeIn the interview, the music executive talked about working with the host Ryan Seacrestof whom Garcia-Navarro said she was “bewildered by how it’s so ubiquitous and so popular.”
“I can’t really answer that. He works hard,” Cowell replied, giving an update on where they are now.
“He was very, very ambitious. I didn’t follow his career, so I don’t know what he’s done. Now we rarely talk. He was very determined about his career: he wanted to be famous. This massive, massive desire to be, you know, very famous,” he added.
Cowell also reflected on working with Britney Spearswho was a judge The X factor for one season in 2012. In his 2023 memoir, The Woman In MeSpears said she “absolutely hated” having to judge the contestants’ singing skills.
“Did she?” Cowell responded to learn about Spears’ experience on the show. “It’s a shame. I said to the network, ‘I don’t know if she wants to do it, and if she doesn’t, we have to give her the option to be able to leave.’ No one was forcing her.”
“He also mentioned to me that he didn’t like pop music. He liked a different kind of music. So I think he probably had a hard time mentoring artists,” she added.