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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
| Cowell Recruits McFadden To Pen Il Divo Tracks |
May 28, 2006
Posted by MusicMan for PopDirt
Neil Sean of Sky News reports Simon Cowell has asked former Westlife star Brian McFadden to write tracks for the next Il Divo album.
The singer had a tune on the band's debut, which sold seven million units worldwide.
"I love the art of writing and it's my way of getting my sound out there," McFadden said.
| Paul and Debbie First out in 'X Factor' |
May 30, 2006
By Kris Green for Digital Spy
Magical duo Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee have become the first act to be ejected from X Factor: Battle of the Stars.
Out of the nine performances, the viewers' phone vote put Gillian McKeith and the duet into the final showdown, forcing both acts to sing again.
Paul and Debbie gave a rendition of Robbie Williams' hit 'Let Me Entertain You', described by Sharon Osbourne as “bizarre, very bizarre but in a fabulous way” while McKeith sang the Etta James classic 'I Just Want To Make Love To You'.
Judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh voted to save their own acts, leaving the final decision down to Sharon.
Talking of his short time with the show, Paul said: "I'm sad to be leaving the guys. We watched the show backstage and I think it's one of the best shows on TV. They should all go through to the final."
Their mentor Simon Cowell added: "The show will lack magic without them. They've got great attitude and are very supportive to everybody."
| ITV Has X Factor over C4 in Ratings Battle |
May 30, 2006
By Staff Writers for The Daily Mail
Celebrity X Factor beat Big Brother last night in the opening round of the reality TV ratings battle. An audience of 5.5 million tuned in to the launch episode of ITV1's The X Factor: Battle of the Stars. Over on Channel 4, Big Brother had 4.6 million viewers.
But both were trounced in the ratings by BBC1's police drama New Tricks, which had ratings of 7.9 million.
The new X Factor show features a line-up of celebrities including Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles, former Coronation Street star Nikki Sanderson, diet guru Gillian McKeith and rugby star Matt Stevens. Every night they will sing live in front of judges Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh.
Last night magician Paul Daniels and his wife Debbie McGee were the first celebrity crooners to be voted off. The show reaches its climax next Monday with Moyles odds-on favourite to win.
ITV bosses are hoping to snatch the reality TV crown from Big Brother this summer. They will follow up the X Factor with a second series of Celebrity Love Island.
Monday, May 29, 2006
| X Factor's Gillian McKeith Gets Vocal |
May 29, 2006
By Claire Higney for The Mirror
Straight-talking Gillian McKeith loves to give junkfood addicts a piece of her mind on national television. But tonight the health guru could get a taste of her own medicine.
In a star-studded version of talent show The X Factor, Gillian and eight other very nervous celebrity acts will this week battle it out to impress talent judges Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louise Walsh with their voices.
But feisty Gillian insists it's the judges who should be quaking in their boots.
"They should be more afraid of me," says mum-of-two Gillian, 46. "I'm known for my tongue-lashings, so if anyone dares criticise my performance I'm going to have to wash out that attitude with some colonic tubes!
"I could slip them laxatives and they'll be running to the loo all the time."
But surely TV's Mr Nasty is a force to be reckoned with?
"Simon has met his match," insists Gillian. "I can't wait to have a round with him.
"He's looking good at the moment and the other day he was letting everyone know it's down to me. He's been following my advice and eating lots of fruit and raw vegetables. But I think I need to do a bit more work on him."
And Gillian says she'll be scoring the judges too. "I'll be judging the way they eat and how they take care of themselves..."
But while Gillian "loves" Simon and would like to work with Sharon, she's less enthusiastic when it comes to Louis.
Tonight viewers will see the nutritionist throwing a hissy-fit when she realises the Westlife manager is tutoring her over-25 category.
"I'm not going to do it if you are my judge. I want to see Simon, now!" she shouts. Louis, who recently remarked "she looks like she's been hit by a bus," hits back: "I don't really want to do it if you are in my category."
So it looks as if the gloves are off already - and they're not the only ones who aren't happy.
Simon Cowell wasn't exactly ecstatic to hear he'd be mentoring the group category. He admitted: "After 30 years of the recording industry, finding out that I'm mentoring Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee - no offence to them, they are nice people -- but it's really not what I was expecting this year."
So the duo are going to have to work some magic to change his tune...
| Motormouth Meets Mr Nasty |
May 29, 2006
By Paul Robinson for Leeds Today
He proved his credentials as one of the cockiest men in showbiz when he marched into the BBC and immediately declared himself the saviour of Radio 1.
But today motormouth DJ Chris Moyles was gearing up for a challenge which could have even him quaking in his boots – going head to head with Simon Cowell.
TV's Mr Nasty will be one of the judges this evening when Moyles puts his vocal talents to the test in the opening edition of The X-Factor: Battle of the Stars.
And, if the Leeds-born radio favourite's frivolous pre-competition comments are anything to go by, there could be blood on the carpet by the time the night is out.
Moyles, who grew up in Temple Newsam, joked: "I like to sing in the shower and have many years experience of singing in the bath. One of the other areas where I am very confident is my rendition of Happy Birthday.
"All in all I am feeling pretty confident."
Moyles' rivals on the show include former EastEnders actress Lucy Benjamin, magician Paul Daniels, pin-up girl Michelle Marsh and diet guru Gillian McKeith.
The contest will run along the same lines as the normal X Factor series, with one hopeful being voted off each night by the public ahead of next Monday's final.
Returning to sit alongside Cowell on the judging panel, meanwhile, are Irish pop impresario Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, often referred to as the first lady of rock.
And former Mount St Mary's RC High School pupil Moyles admits he has some concerns about crossing swords with Sharon, the wife of Black Sabbath legend Ozzy Osbourne.
He said: "If you upset her then you upset Ozzy and that's a complete no-no as he is a god."
| Pink's Idol Fears |
May 29, 2006
By Staff Writers for The Sun
Pop punk Pink is relieved she found musical fame herself, because she would never get past the audition stage on TV talent show American Idol.
The Stupid Girls hitmaker hates Idol's Mr Nasty judge Simon Cowell and admits she would probably have got violent if he turned her down during an audition.
She says, "That Simon guy is a smart a*s and I'd probably have to jump the table."
Sunday, May 28, 2006
| X Factor Star Wars |
May 27, 2006
By Jon Horsley for The Sun
His acid-tongued put-downs have made Simon Cowell his fortune.
Now he¹s determined not to go easy when he judges the latest X Factor wannabes even though the person singing in front of him is already a star!
"If they are bad, I will be cutting," smiles Simon, 46. "It depends on what they sound like."
Simon is sharpening his wits as he prepares to rejoin fellow judges Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne for a special star-studded charity edition of The X Factor, which runs over eight nights.
Nine acts will compete, with the seven celebrities opposite already signed up for the show.
They are split into three categories - Under 25s, Over 25s and Groups.
Simon, Louis and Sharon will look after one set of contestants each, although no one will know which judge will look after which set until the first evening!
Viewers can vote by phone and text to raise money for their favourite stars' charities. Every night, the act with the least number of votes will be kicked out.
"You never know what¹s going to happen," admits Simon, who also returns this autumn with a third series of The X Factor.
"I'm definitely going to have fun with these celebrities. We can be very cruel indeed.
"We need to be that bit harder on them than usual, because they are famous already."
Simon, who has homes in LA and London, has been dating Terri Seymour, 31, for two years, but is not looking to settle down yet.
"I'm happy with my girlfriend," he smiles. "But marriage isn't on the cards. Terri knows that I'm not the marrying sort."
Sorry, guys, there's been nothing at all in the last few days. It's all been about Taylor, not Simon. :-)
Thursday, May 25, 2006
| Cowell Wants Prince on Talent Show |
May 25, 2006
By WENN for UK Yahoo
Simon Cowell wants Prince Charles and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles to appear on a celebrity version of his talent show The X-Factor.
A star-studded new series of the hit show has kicked, and Cowell is dreaming of adding the royal duo to the bill.
He says, "I'd have them on for sure.
"You never know what we might have up our sleeves."
| Mr Nasty Backs Sun Anthem |
May 25, 2006
By Victoria Newton for The Sun
Simon Cowell is backing The Sun’s World Cup Song – and reckons it will storm straight to No1.
I played the X Factor judge Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Jurgen Klinsmann? yesterday.
And he had no hesitation in naming the track — which won our competition to find a football anthem for 2006 — as his favourite ball-ad.
Cowell, the show’s Mr Nasty, said: “It’s dreadfully brilliant. It’s the kind of song you have nightmares over because it goes round and round in your head for ever. I’m sure it will be a huge hit.
“Compared to everything else I’ve heard, especially the FA’s Embrace song, it’s a million times better.
“Trying to convince me that it’s not going to go straight to No1 is like Louis Walsh trying to convince me he’s good-looking — a hopeless task.”
The song, written by Sun readers Ben Gray and Al Siesta, is based on the theme tune of TV’s Dad’s Army.
They got together with 1966 legends geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, Frank Bruno and Dad’s Army actor Bill Pertwee to record the song under the collective name Tonedef Allstars.
Bookies have already made the song even-money favourite to top the charts after it is released on June 5.
Radio 2’s Chris Evans says he loves it and the track is also being championed by Richard Bacon on his Capital 95.8FM Drivetime show.
Bacon believes it is the best of the many World Cup releases.
He said: “I said on air that I think it will beat Embrace to the top of the charts and a lot of my listeners agreed.
“Any song based on the theme tune to Dad’s Army is automatically a winner.
“I can listen to it repeatedly and I never stop smiling.
“I have been sent in excess of 20 World Cup songs and The Sun’s is the only one I like. Easily the best.
“It is the Jules Rimet of World Cup songs — all the others are in the Nationwide Conference.”
The single is already available to pre-order from various outlets — including amazon.co.uk and hmv.co.uk.
| Simon Cowell Was Wrong about Taylor Hicks! |
May 24, 2006
By Staff Writers for Reality TV Magazine
For much of the competition, Simon Cowell has been getting it wrong about Taylor Hicks. When the charismatic judge first saw Taylor Hicks in Las Vegas, he was against sending him through to the next round and told Taylor Hicks that Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul “will not put you in the final group to be judged by the public.” Cowell probably took one look at the nearly thirty year old, slightly chubby, gray- haired singer and thought it was too late for this guy to ever have any type of substantial career.
Of course Simon Cowell turned out to be wrong, and the judges did put Taylor Hicks through to be judged by the American public. After a semi-final performance of “Levon,” Simon Cowell even seemed to be coming around and admitted his error saying “I said in the beginning, if you remember, I didn’t think you should make the finals of this competition, I was wrong.”
However, during the early stages of the top twelve finalists competition, it became obvious to many viewers that Taylor Hicks was not Simon Cowell’s favorite. While Simon Cowell would sometimes begrudgingly acknowledge how good a singer that Taylor Hicks was, he constantly criticized his dancing style, ridiculed his wardrobe, and made insinuations of intoxication. While the true motives of Simon Cowell are often a mystery, the perception among many fans was that Simon Cowell did not like Taylor Hicks because he did not look marketable.
However, looks can often be deceiving. When a nerdy looking guy named Clay Aiken auditioned in Atlanta, Georgia, there probably weren’t many that imagined he would eventually finish second in the competition (and go on to have the most successful career of any of the competitors that season). Even though vocally the two singers sound nothing alike, there is one large similarity between Taylor Hicks and Clay Aiken.
Both Taylor Hicks and Clay Aiken have extremely loyal and supportive fan bases. There is something about seeing a singer that probably wouldn’t have a chance otherwise make it on American Idol that can build a strong level of support among fans. How many executives would have given a geeky looking Clay Aiken or a gray haired Taylor Hicks the time of day? In fact, Taylor Hicks had been trying to make it in the music industry for years and at his age, American Idol was likely his last chance. At its best, American Idol takes the decision of who will make it out of the hands of executives who think they know what America wants and puts it in the hands of the American public.
Even though Simon Cowell jumped on the Taylor Hicks bandwagon and proclaimed him as the favorite after Chris Daughtry was eliminated, Cowell seems to still not completely get what makes Taylor Hicks so special to his fans. After Taylor Hicks gave one of the most exciting performances in Idol history with “Living For The City,” Simon Cowell couldn’t resist taking another shot at Hicks wardrobe calling his purple jacket “arguable the worst jacket I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Where Simon Cowell is still getting it wrong is that he is criticizing part of what creates the mystique of Taylor Hicks. The unusual wardrobes, the crazy dancing, the head bopping screaming out of “Soul Patrol” is all part of what Hicks' fans love about him. Perhaps more than any other Idol finalist, Taylor Hicks sends the message “I’m here for my fans, and I’m going to do what I think is best for me and my fans, and nobody’s going to change me.” Taylor Hicks has a special connection with his fans that builds trust and creates a level of support so strong that he could do an album that defies what is normally accepted in mainstream music and it would be tremendously successful. Great singers don’t conform to molds, they make the molds and often redefine the type of music that becomes popular to the public at large.
By the end of competition, Simon Cowell did finally get it right for once. After Taylor’s performance of the new single “Do I Make You Proud,” Simon Cowell declared “assuming that I was right that the show was tied, then you just won American Idol.” Perhaps, Cowell finally realized that a singer doesn’t have to look like an Idol to be an Idol. America doesn’t need another cookie-cutter pop artist. America needs a Taylor Hicks in all his crazy dancing, purple jacket wearing, harmonica playing, soul singing glory.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
| Simon Isn't a Grinch |
May 23, 2006
By Billy Watkins for The Jackson Clarion Ledger
Although Tom Rice is under a confidentially clause after working seasons 2 and 3 as script supervisor on American Idol, there are certain things about the show he is free to discuss.
Such as: Is Simon Cowell really the Grinch he seems to be?
"No," says Rice, who grew up in Jackson. "He's one of the nicest, most genuine people you'll ever talk to. He's there to help the contestants. He's frank. He speaks the truth. That's his job."
| Quickly... |
May 22, 2006
By James Warren for The Chicago Tribune
. . . With "American Idol" building toward this season's climactic choosing of a winner, Ken Tucker analyzes "the most commonly consumed chunk of bittersweet pop culture in the nation" in the May 26 Entertainment Weekly.
Among the reasons for its astounding success, he writes, is that Simon Cowell "is, give or take Roger Ebert, the only true critic on television, making shrewd pop distinctions between the quality of a performance and its chances of succeeding in the current music marketplace. And the pros do notice." . . .
Monday, May 22, 2006
| Simon Cowell Says He Would Bring Back Chris Daughtry & Eliminate One Of The Other American Idol Finalists |
May 22, 2006
By Staff Writers for Reality TV Magazine
Internet message board are blazing about some comments made by Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson that appear in videos that can be viewed on the KFOX-TV website. While several of the videos have proved very controversial, one of the clips generating the most water-cooler buzz is when Simon and Randy were asked about the public’s reaction to Chris Daughtry’s elimination.
Chris Daughtry was of course eliminated in one of the biggest American Idol shockers ever. Daughtry fans immediately turned to the Internet to express their outrage over his elimination. Various conspiracy theories ranging from the show being fake to Daughtry’s phone lines being redirected to give votes to another finalist in the competition circulated. After petitions and boycott threats, the furor over Daughtry’s elimination had been dying down, but Simon and Randy’s comments are riling things up again.
Simon Cowell replied “Well, you know, you would think it was us who voted him off, you know, we were kind of like supporting him, and the public didn’t put him through, so public, you know, they control this show.” Randy Jackson interjected “But a lot of people thought he was safe, you know.” Then, Simon Cowell added “If we had our way, we would bring him back, and then we would say to one of the finalist next week that it was a joke, you’re not in the final. Good news and bad news, the bad news is you’re not here, the good news is you’ve got a seat in the audience.”
In actuality, there is both bad news and good news for Chris Daughtry fans for the American Idol finale. The bad news is that despite Simon and Randy’s comments there is little chance that Chris Daughtry will be returning to compete on American Idol. However, the good news is that Chris Daughtry will be returning for the American Idol finale show. All of the finalists usually return for the finale, and it is rumored that Chris Daughtry will be performing with the band Live.
| Brandy, David Hasselhoff, & Piers Morgan to Judge America's Got Talent |
May 20, 2006
By Staff Writers for Reality TV Magazine
Grammy award-winner and television star Brandy, (“Moesha”) actor, singer and executive producer David Hasselhoff (“Baywatch”), and U.K. television/ media personality Piers Morgan have been named as judges for NBC’s upcoming talent competition series “America’s Got Talent” from Simon Cowell (“American Idol”) and FremantleMedia (“American Idol”).
Hosted by television legend Regis Philbin (“Live with Regis and Kelly”), the series will have its two-hour broadcast premiere on Wednesday, June 21 (8-10 p.m. ET). The regular telecast time of “America’s Got Talent” will be Wednesdays, 9-10 p.m. ET; (30-minute results shows will air on Thursdays beginning July 13, 8:30-9 p.m. ET).
”We have three different judges from three different backgrounds,” said Cowell. “Expect the unexpected.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the elements and talents of this show come together on one stage. It should make for great television,” added executive producer Ken Warwick.
”Being a fan of reality television, I'm happy to be a part of a show that embraces all of America's diverse talent,” said Brandy. “When I got the call from Simon to be part of "America's Got Talent," I was thrilled because I have always wanted the opportunity to help newcomers with their career the way so many people have helped me.”
"I have a long standing relationship with FremantleMedia Media and Simon Cowell, who is always great fun to work with," said Hasselhoff. It should be a blast, especially now with Regis on board. I'm looking forward to discovering what wild new talent is out there."
"I've chased, interviewed, broken, admired and laughed at celebrities for the last 20 years and the one thing I can safely say from all my experience is that America has produced more great entertainment talent than any other country in the world,” said Morgan. “My sincere hope is that we uncover a genuinely talented new superstar in this show, as well as a few acts that make us all laugh out loud."
Cowell and FremantleMedia will bring the hottest performers from across the country to TV audiences in this new variety series that allows viewers to determine who will walk away with a $1 million cash prize. Hosted by television legend Philbin, "America's Got Talent" features a colorful array of hopeful future stars -- singers, dancers, comedic performers and unique acts of all ages will have a chance to strut and perform in front of Hasselhoff, Brandy and Morgan, who will determine which acts advance to the final rounds where America will vote for the ultimate performer.
At 26, few have reached the luminary stature of Brandy. She is a Grammy Award-winning singer, a major film and television actress, a model, a spokesperson, producer and a Mom. Having sold over 25 million copies of her 4 solo CD's, she has won over 100 awards as a recording artist. Her long- running television show, “Moesha” helped launch the UPN Network where it ran for 6 successful seasons. Additionally, she was the star of “Cinderella” and “Double Platinum,” two of televisions highest rated special programs.
Internationally recognized for both his work in television and music, Hasselhoff shot to fame with his starring role in “Knight Rider,” which garnered him a People’s Choice Award as Most Popular Actor. In 1989, Hasselhoff was cast in the internationally popular series “Baywatch,” of which he eventually became the executive producer. Additionally, he is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as "The Most Watched TV Star in the World” due to his starring roles on both series. Hasselhoff’s musical career took off in the late 1980s after he recorded the album “Looking for Freedom” at the end of the Cold War. The song became an anthem for the newly united German people and remained at the top of their charts for eight weeks. The album went triple platinum in Europe and Hasselhoff was named “Most Popular and Best Selling Artist of the Year” in Germany. Additionally, he has released six other albums in Europe, which have all gone platinum and gold. He made his theatrical debut in the Broadway musical “Jekyll and Hyde,” and went on to make his West End debut in the hit musical “Chicago.” Hasselfhoff has also appeared in several feature films including, “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” and the family favorite, “The Spongebob SquarePants Movie.” He will also star in Adam Sandler’s “Click,” a new feature film to be released next month.
A former editor of the London Daily Mirror, Morgan was arguably the best-known national newspaper editor since his good friend Kelvin MacKenzie edited the Sun in the 1980s. He became editor of the News of the World at the age of 28 - the youngest national newspaper editor for more than 50 years. Two years later, he was recruited to edit the Daily Mirror. During this time, he was responsible for breaking several high-profile stories and also became close friends with Princess Diana. Earlier this month, he launched “First News,” the first weekly newspaper for children that endeavors to educate them on social and political issues in a language they can understand. On television, Morgan served as host for two episodes of “Tabloid Tales” for BBC1 during the show’s 2002/ 2003 season. Additionally, he hosted a three part series “The Importance of Being Famous,” as well as the one-hour documentary “The Death of Celebrity,” for Channel 4. His latest project “You Can’t Fire Me, I’m Famous” starts airing in the U.K. on June 5. Morgan also created “The Pride of Britain Awards,” in which high profile celebrities and royals honor ordinary citizens for doing extraordinary and/or heroic things.
"America's Got Talent" is produced by Cowell's SYCO TV production company and FremantleMedia. Cowell, Warwick and Cecile Frot-Coutaz ("American Idol") are the executive producers. Jason Raff (“Three Wishes”) and Charles Boyd “American Idol”) are the co-executive producers.
| Cowell's 'Duets' Gets a Shot at FOX Fall |
May 19 2006
By Neil Wilkes for Digital Spy
Simon Cowell's new reality series Duets has been given a six-week run by FOX as part of its Fall schedule.
The format -- exec produced by, but not starring, Cowell -- pairs professional singers with vocally-challenged celebrities in a traditional sing-off competition. The show will air on Thursday and Friday nights in a slot yet to be determined.
The show is one of a limited number of new series joining the network's schedule, which is dominated mainly by returning hits.
| Phil Collins's Opinion of "American Idol" |
May 21, 2006
By Nick Orlando for Broadway World
Nick Orlando: What is your opinion of "American Idol"?
Phil Collins: Well, last night some lady, [Katharine McPhee], sang “Against All Odds.” I got mixed reports. I am not going to join the bandwagon. I don’t like the fact that they go on and it becomes about the judges. I hate Simon Cowell with a vengeance. I think all three of them should take a hike! The concept has grown so quickly, that it has now burned itself out into this contest of abuse.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
| To Grads: Be Original, Think Big |
May 21, 2006
By Samuel Bruchey for Newsday
...Before wrapping up his keynote address yesterday at Five Towns College's commencement, U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) left the graduating class of 2006 with one final thought: You can learn a lot about life from watching Simon Cowell on "American Idol."
Israel told the 250 graduates that the irascible Cowell eschews convention, and so should they.
"Reject karaoke. Create originality," Israel said.
That message resonated with many among the 1,200 who gathered at Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills for the college's 32nd commencement, a ceremony that included musical performances by several student vocalists and the college choir...
| Simon Cowell's Acid Reign |
May 20, 2006
By Craig McLean for The Scotsman
It's lunchtime on the Los Angeles set of American Idol, and already today Simon Cowell has earned approximately £26,694 and 50p. Mind you, his day does start earlier than most people's.
Sitting on the kerb outside the cavernous studios of CBS Television City, his PA is juggling mobile phone and BlackBerry and puffing on a revivifying fag. She and her 46-year-old boss are up at the crack of dawn each day to deal with the e-mails and messages flying over from the UK, which is eight hours ahead of LA time. Then there are the video interviews conducted by satellite with TV stations across the US, most of which is also ahead, time-wise, of California. When you're a phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic -- courtesy of American Idol and The X Factor -- that multi-million-dollar bankability needs to be attended to 24/7.
Even his legal tussle with Simon 'Blofeld' Fuller, Cowell's sometime partner, and the supremos at 19 Management who created the original television talent show Pop Idol didn't derail him. Fuller accused Cowell's X Factor of being an Idol rip-off. They reached an out-of-court settlement, details of which were not disclosed. Things are amicable now, Cowell says, "but we don't speak that much -- we're more polite with each other." Are they back on creative track together? "I don't know about that."
All around us are the trappings of Cowell's soaraway success. The electric-blue Ferrari parked in the CBS lot. The giant billboards advertising the current, ratings-topping fifth season of American Idol. The other billboards plugging American Inventor, one of the 11 other shows Cowell's companies, Simco and Syco, have in production. The magazine adverts for an upcoming TV hagiography, Simon Cowell: The True Hollywood Story.
Striding round the American Idol production offices is his girlfriend Terri Seymour, John Leslie's former co-host on Scottish Television's Wheel of Fortune. She and Cowell are about to move into a Beverly Hills mansion, a well-appointed base for the substantial part of the year that Cowell resides in the US.
The source of all this is Cowell's annual salary, which amounts to some £20 million for American Idol alone. This is more than chat- show kings David Letterman and Jay Leno earn. It dwarfs the sums revealed in the recent leak of BBC salaries. And this doesn't even include the money he makes from The X Factor, or from his job as talent executive at record label SonyBMG in London (Il Divo, lest we forget, are his fault).
America, frankly, can't get enough of Nasty Simon and his wickedly entertaining tongue. Four years after its launch, American Idol is doing better than ever. It has garnered record- breaking ratings this season, with an average of around 26 million viewers for each of the two episodes (performance and results) every week. More that 38 million tuned in for the final (to be shown on Friday on ITV2). "We've all been offered talk shows over here," Cowell says of himself and his fellow American Idol judges. "But the trouble is, you've got to be nice to everyone."
Sharon Osbourne's upcoming UK chat show will rake in even more for Cowell: his production company is making that too. He's not worried that her previous attempt at such a show, in the US, was a flop. "She'll be allowed to say what she wants on this one, that's the difference," he grins.
And heaven knows what numbers -- advertising rates, text voting revenues, viewing figures -- will be generated by this month's Celebrity X Factor, a honeyed confluence of the two biggest sells on modern telly. Let's just hope Cowell is put in charge of mentoring contestant Chris Moyles. The prospect of the bumptious Radio One DJ being cut down to size by Cowell's acid tongue is worth any licence fee.
Cowell won't divulge any details about the hush-hush Celebrity X Factor, except to say that his mentoring of the celebrities will be "interesting". "Maybe" a CD will arise from the series. Who else is on it, apart from Moyles? His lips are sealed, but he says, "I've got a few names that I think are going to be quite amusing."
Pete Doherty? "God, no! No, no, no, no..."
It's fair to say that Cowell makes great telly, and a day on the LA set of his show offers ample first-hand evidence of what a brilliant showman he is. Today is performance day on American Idol. After Cowell's help in negotiating serious CBS security -- neither terrorists nor desperate wannabes can be allowed to penetrate the citadel -- I sit down with him, fellow judge Randy Jackson and host Ryan Seacrest in the green room. The third judge, Paula Abdul, is meant to be here too -- but, well, she's a little erratic. On screen she waffles away, often to the obvious bafflement of her co-judges; off-screen she also attracts attention. Last season she was alleged to have had an affair with contestant Corey Clark. Was Cowell bothered by that stain on Idol's reputation? Not at all. "I think every scandal affecting the show makes it more interesting," says the brutally pragmatic TV maestro. Asked if he thinks she has got nuttier this season, he replies, "She's not what I'd call normal with a capital 'N', but I like that. She's an artist."
In conversation, Cowell, Jackson and Seacrest muck around like mickey-taking mates, albeit multi-millionaire ones. The absent Abdul gets some stick for taking it personally when the judges slag each other off during their individual TV appearances (it's all part of the game). Seacrest gets abuse for his rumoured relationship with Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher. He's sleeping with her only "in his dreams", chuckles Cowell.
Seacrest retaliates by ripping into Cowell's choice of car. "So whose Ferrari is that? Who would drive something like that - a convertible that's screaming, 'Please look at my car'?"
"I don't know, man," chuckles Jackson. "A convertible that says, 'No matter how cold it is outside, let me drive on the busiest street with the top open, so people can get a good look at me.'"
"Shut up!" says Cowell. "In the meantime, you've got a pimped- out Range Rover. With a chauffeur. That's discreet!"
A dog-handler wearing an imposing flak-jacket and baseball cap comes through the green room. "Is that a sniffer dog?" asks Cowell. It is, says the policeman, "but don't worry, it's not that kind of sniffer dog. It's looking for bombs."
This knockabout stuff seems to gee up the team for today's show. They're filming -- live -- the second of the 11 weekly rounds. But given the potency of celebrity in the US, why did it take a bunch of Brits to bring this show here? "I'll tell you why," says Cowell. "I don't think an American network would initially have been brave enough to put on a show that is as non-PC as American Idol. I don't think they would have had the guts to do it. They would have been talked out of it by the bosses, by the advertisers, the sponsors. But people in bars and clubs across America are exactly the same as the Brits; they say the same things, laugh about the same stuff -- thank God."
American Idol was rejected by three networks before Fox took the plunge. Last year the show made 900 million for the broadcaster. The first winner, Kelly Clarkson, is the only one to have enjoyed real international success (she won two Grammys this year), but Idol alumni have together sold 20 million albums in the US. And its success has spawned copycat shows such as Rock Star (to find a new singer for INXS), Nashville Star (a new rhinestone cowboy/ girl), Cowell's most recent show, American Inventor (self-removing pants and the like, dreamt-up by amateur boffins), and Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe's new series, So You Think You Can Dance.
But the biggest winner is Cowell. He is the tail that wags the American Idol dog: the earliest legwork on the auditions has to take place in the autumn, because that is when Cowell is in the UK working on The X Factor. His frequent hops back and forth to London dictate the filming schedules. But ultimately he isn't going anywhere. His lucrative new Fox contract has locked him in for five further seasons, in the teeth of huge offers from rival broadcasters. His status as America's favourite British pantomime villain seems secure, even considering the looming new US series of Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen.
It's 5pm now, and inside one of CBS Television City's biggest studios 500 people are acting all scary. The American Idol circus has come to town, and the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd are making my eyes water. Over-enthusiastic and over-made-up Americans are jumping up and down in customised vests and homemade hats. Mums, dads, sprogs and teens are all in meltdown. And this is before the TV cameras have been switched on.
EVERYONE in the audience has their favourite contestant. "There's a new Paris in town!" proclaims a banner, referring to 17-year-old Paris Bennett. "Pick Pickler, we want more minks!" commands another banner, incomprehensibly, next to a cut-out of southern blonde Kellie Pickler atop a bad drawing of a gherkin.
Twin women of a certain age, dressed as though they were drawn by Beryl Cook, are hedging their bets. They're holding a huge poster that announces, "Pittsburgh sisters think Ace, Taylor, Chip and Mandisa are top dawgs." Mandisa is a hefty, God-fearing finalist with a huge voice. She has many fans in the audience. "Mandisa, will you marry me?" asks the banner held by a boy in front of me. The boy is ten.
Finally, it's show time. As the 19-piece band and three backing singers tune up, and the studio speakers blare The Beatles' 'Got To Get You Into My Life', Randy Jackson slides through the doors, high-fiving audience members, monogrammed shirt billowing, multi- carat jewellery blinging. Then comes Cowell, his loo-brush hair and big teeth visible before his trademark tight black T-shirt. Seacrest has the final touches applied to his orange face. The finalists are gathered in the wings, and Lythgoe wanders around, marshalling proceedings. The gang's all here. Well, most of it is: moments before they are to broadcast live in front of almost one-seventh of the American populace, there's still no sign of Abdul. The three judges' chairs are hastily rearranged to become two.
Then the floor manager barks over the studio PA, "Put the seat back in!" With 25 seconds to go before the cameras start rolling, Lythgoe has retrieved the errant Abdul. He guides her to her seat between Cowell and Jackson, both of whom studiously avoid looking at her. We have lift-off. My ears pop at the screaming.
This week the finalists are singing songs from the 1950s, and have been mentored by Barry Manilow. ("We're going to give him some wardrobe advice tonight -- we had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction last time," Cowell had chuckled. That acerbic tongue lashes celebs as well as punters.)
Mandisa belts out Dinah Washington's 'I Don't Hurt Anymore'. "Mandisa, you are blossoming," intones Cowell gravely. "That was a great, show-stopper performance." The crowd howl their approval. My ten-year-old neighbour hits puberty instantly.
After the first ad break -- there are nine in the two-hour show -- Bucky Covington sings Buddy Holly's 'Oh Boy'. A yokel from North Carolina, he dances like he's still on a horse. "Nothing more than a pointless karaoke performance," tuts Cowell. The crowd boo and jeer insanely.
Meanwhile Abdul burbles away in a half-asleep voice and takes issue with Cowell's ruthless -- but never less than accurate -- verdicts, while Seacrest gets chummy with Katherine McPhee, the foxiest of the show's laydeez. And the audience? They keep whooping and hollering and waggling their banners manically.
Earlier, I had asked Lythgoe about the public's hunger for fame and how his ratings-trumping show compares to the UK's still-huge Big Brother. "I don't class us as a reality show. We're a variety talent show, and the reality is that these are ordinary people who were flipping burgers yesterday and are becoming stars today. That's our only reality."
"I like shows where normal people can enter and become very rich and famous," Cowell chipped in. "That's the fun of these shows. Literally, you can be a cocktail waitress one minute and then the most famous person in America."
And, in Simon Cowell's case, the most infamous too. With his $100 million salary, he's the ultimate American idol.
Friday, May 19, 2006
| Ryan Seacrest & Simon Cowell: The Odd Couple |
From the May 29, 2006 issue of OK! Magazine
By Ruth Hilton
Even though you wouldn't guess it from watching their catty fights on American Idol, we think that Simon Cowell and Ryan Seacrest secretly have a soft spot for one another, enjoying a beer together in their dressing rooms after the show while laughing about the insults they've just traded -- okay, maybe not.
Whatever the dynamic of their relationship is like behind closed doors, Simon and Ryan's snarky double act is one of the biggest reasons Idol continues to pull in massive audiences and maintain its status as must-see TV (yeah, sure, the singers aren't bad either). OK! spoke to Ryan, 31, and Simon, 46 -- who often remind us of an old married couple -- about their roles on the show. Ryan, who once tossed a drink at Simon, reveals his hero. Then, Simon, who predicts that a guy will win this season, offers a theory as to why everybody hates him.
[Ed. -- I've only included Simon's part of the interview here.]
Are you mean to contestants because you want to be or because that's what you really think?
The public always says to me, "Please say what we are thinking!" And I genuinely think now, "What are the people at home thinking?" They're thinking this person is terrible, so I'm going to tell them.
People say your comments are too mean, but do you see yourself as just being honest?
Yes. Hopefully, it's honest. I may say things in a slightly different way, btu the intention is to say what people are thinking.
Do you think your accent has anything to do with the perception of you as being mean?
Yeah, I think it probably does a bit. English people are perceived as evil. The baddies in American films are always English, aren't they?
Do you rehearse your zingers?
I'm asked this a lot. You can't [rehearse them] because then it's not a reality show. The good thing is that, for us, there's no pressure. We only have to react to what's going on at the time. If you start writing things down, you're going to be out playing to the audience.
What factor does a contestant's looks play in how viewers vote each week?
Well, there are two ways of looking at it: There's good image and unusual image. We often put people through who've got unusual images, who don't look like pop stars. But they're good singers, and we think that the public will like them even more. Talent and stories play a huge part. Look at Scott [Savol] last year. The audience liked him because he was just a normal, working-class guy, a security guard.
How much of the show's appeal do you credit to the chemistry among the judges?
We know each other very well. Before we started, we sat down and had a conversation about how we're not here as performers, we're here as judges. You have to suspend your disbelief for a moment and think of yourself as someone who is here to find a good artist, otherwise you can turn into a performer. The fact that we know each other so well is a big help.
But you're still entertaining.
Yes, but I've seen shows where people go out of their way to be controversial; the audience doesn't like that. They have to feel that they're watching a real audition.
Let's talk about Paula. What's her most annoying habit?
Just being obnoxious. Occasionally, [Paula and Randy] turn into American music critics [and I just want to say], "Oh, shut up!"
Do they ever gang up on you?
A little bit, I think - not that it bothers me. But there's a point in the day where I think there's no point in me sitting with the two of you, so just do it yourself.
Are you obnoxious yourself?
Yes, of course.
Do Kelly Clarkson's Grammy wins bring respectability to American Idol?
I've always been skeptical about awards that are voted on by committees. The ones I like are the ones in which the fans vote. I don't really care, to be honest.
Have you ever given advice to a contestant who has come to you later and thanked you?
Never. Never. I could do this show for a billion years, and you're never going to be in a situation like that. That's recording artists [for you]; artists by definition are selfish. I wouldn't say that about Fantasia - she hasn't changed one bit.
Looking back to the audition process, were you pleased with the level of talent you saw?
I liked Denver and Greensboro [N.C.] this year because we had a sense of naivete there that reminded me of the first season. It felt fresh. In L.A. and New York, if they don't get through, they're off to an audition for Cats later that day.
| William and Harry Are X Factor Fans |
May 19, 2006
By Staff Writers for ITV and Cameron Robertson for The Daily Record
Princes William and Harry have revealed they are reality TV fans and loved Pop Idol and the X Factor.
Prince Charles and his sons have given an unprecedented interview to TV stars Ant and Dec to mark the 30th anniversary of The Princes Trust.
Aired at 6.55pm tomorrow on ITV1, it is part of the celebrations which will include a pop concert at the Tower of London featuring Will Young, Ozzy Osbourne, McFly, Pink, Embrace, Annie Lennox, Lionel Richie, Sugababes and Ronan Keating.
William, 23, told the Geordie duo that Harry's taste in music is "pretty shocking" but that they liked the same TV programmes.
"We like the same sort of things, although there is usually an argument over the remote control at home about who watches what -- that usually goes on for a while." Harry, 21, added: "Friends is always a safe bet."
Ant then asked: "So Harry you mentioned you watched the X Factor, did you watch Pop Idol as well because I would say out of the two..." Harry, pointing at William, said: "He won't admit to it but we did both watch it, especially the American Pop Idol."
He described the audition out-takes as "so good".
Dec, mulling whether the princes would be keen to try out the Australian jungle, said: "We are looking for contestant for the next series on I'm A Celebrity so if...?"
Harry replied: "You can chuck Simon Cowell in there with his high waisted trousers."
Charles asked the Geordie duo on if they had ever eaten any of the bugs used for the bushtucker trials.
Ant revealed he had tried green ants, saying: "They taste kind of citrusy, apparently you just bite the bottom of them and spit the heads out, so they're not too bad, but I wouldn't try any of the eye balls."
Asked if his sons keep him up to date with modern culture, Charles said: "I'm sure they think they are very important, ha, no I do, they are very good at keeping me in touch with what's going on a bit.
William brought up Ant and Dec's former alter egos PJ and Duncan, joking: "One you did miss was PJ and Duncan... they were very good." Ant declared: "Now they were, sir, they were brilliant."
Laughing, William points at Ant and Dec: "But I was at school -- we love them, don't we ... that's those two." Ant said: "We, we had a very brief music career." Dec added: "In a former life."
Ant and Dec congratulated Charles on the 30th birthday of The Trust. The Prince said: "You're very kind -- thank you very much. I can't believe it is 30 years, do you know that?"
Charles added: "It is rather worrying. And I'm still alive."
An extended version of the programme, Ant and Dec meet the Three Princes, will be shown on Sunday May 21 at 12.45 on ITV1.
| Why Simon Cowell Is More Popular Than Bob Rae |
May 19, 2006
By Dan Brown for The London Free Press
There are many reasons why American Idol is the hottest show on TV right now, the biggest being Simon Cowell.
Cowell’s blunt critiques have earned him a reputation as Idol’s “nasty” judge, but there’s so much more to his appeal.
In fact, the real secret of Cowell’s popularity isn’t his gift for firing snooty comments at the program’s contestants — it’s something much more important.
It’s also a secret that has applications outside the realm of reality shows. Even politicians in this country —- like the contestants, er, candidates, vying for the Liberal leadership —- would do well to emulate his example.
So why do millions of viewers like and respect Simon Cowell? It’s not because he’s so good at being catty.
It’s because he stands for something.
Yes, it’s as simple as that.
Even the fans of reality shows want to look up to authority figures who act according to a well-defined set of beliefs. On American Idol, that figure is Cowell.
Paula Abdul, high on life or perhaps something stronger, pretty much likes all of the aspiring singers, no matter how crappily they perform. She’s like the teacher who gives every student in the class an A just for showing up.
It’s hard to respect Randy Jackson, too, since it’s impossible to pin down exactly where he stands from one episode to the next. Is he nice? Is he mean? He’s the classic swing voter who shifts positions whenever the wind changes direction.
Not Simon. Simon is a rock. He has a very clear philosophy about the purpose of American Idol, and he does not deviate from it. In these confusing ideological times, he’s a reliable beacon.
Simon knows that American Idol is a singing competition more than anything else, so he doesn’t favour competitors who might be better off as models or actors.
He also knows the show is an exercise in creating a star, and he has a yardstick for judging whether the young hopefuls measure up in that regard. When Simon tells a contestant “I like you, you’re interesting,” he means that he or she has the potential to hold the public’s attention for a prolonged period, to have a career as an entertainer.
Simon is not in the business of sucking up to the contestants. He does not curry favour with the show’s live audience —- quite the opposite: He’s the only judge who’s willing to endure jeers from the crowd. That’s how much faith he has in his own beliefs. And that’s why viewers at home love him.
It’s also why politicians here in Canada should pay attention to his example. One job of a politician is to capture the public’s imagination, but these days our leaders aren’t doing so well on that score. They could learn a lot from Cowell.
Just look at the seemingly endless scores of candidates who are vying to replace Paul Martin as head of the Liberal Party. No single candidate really sticks out, and that’s not solely because the field is so crowded. It’s also because no one of them has said anything memorable in the race so far. There’s been lots of talk, but not much has been said.
Bob Rae, the former NDP premier of Ontario, even wrote an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail a few weeks back to try to explain where he stands on the burning issues of the day. If you don’t want to bother reading the lengthy article, which was little more than a laundry list of platitudes, the gist was: I’m for everything. Rae’s vision for Canada sounds a lot like the one espoused by Martin, who never seemed to want to disagree with anyone. Rae agrees with everybody. That’s his philosophy.
Compared to Simon Cowell, Rae is gutless. Maybe it seems strange to compare a politician and a pop-culture icon, but interest in pop culture has arguably never been stronger. That’s because shows like American Idol are supplying people with something —- a compelling storyline involving characters who are clearly defined —- that our leaders are failing to provide.
Of course, the obvious solution would be to make the Liberal leadership race into a reality show —- maybe they could call it Liberal Idol.
If that sounds crazy, then consider this fact: In the most recent season of Canadian Idol, our answer to American Idol, 38 million votes were cast. People felt so strongly about the show, they dialed again and again. By contrast, only 14.8 million votes were cast in Canada’s last federal election.
Televised singing contests may be silly. But at this moment in our country’s history, American Idol and its other iterations are succeeding in getting a disengaged and disenchanted electorate excited. Bob Rae can’t say he’s doing the same.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
| Are Idol Fans Voting under the Influence of Simon? |
May 18, 2006
By Corey Moss for MTV
If Simon Cowell is right, Elliott Yamin will leave "American Idol" Wednesday night (May 16) and Taylor Hicks will win next week.
That, however, is a big if.
How much influence Cowell and the rest of the judges have on the voting has been one of the most debated aspects of Idol since the show launched, and this season's been no exception.
There have been some misses -- Mandisa, for example -- but for the most part, the judges' predictions and critiques have pretty much aligned with the eliminated contestants each week.
"I think that they have a huge influence," said Katharine McPhee, who backed up her opinion on Tuesday's show by actually confronting the judges for being hard on her in recent weeks. "It would be really interesting to know if the actual votes go up and down based on who Simon says is the best and worst each week."
Yes it would. Unfortunately, Idol never releases the vote totals until the finale. Co- executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, however, would reveal that the numbers fluctuate each week.
"Everything that I see in the votes, America truly votes for who they think is the best on the night and don't really follow one single person all the way through," Lythgoe said.
Jacob Clifton, who covers Idol for TelevisionWithoutPity.com, however, isn't buying it.
"The show is designed around the 'pick your pony' concept, which means that the majority of viewers aren't basing their votes on the performances at all, much less the judges' comments," he theorized. "From the final 12 on up to the final two, all the judges' commentary really does is narrow and focus voting time for those few voters who are undecided, want to use some of their votes to help who they see as the underdogs, or can't decide between two or three candidates."
An argument could then be made that since the number of votes remains around the same each week (40 million), that once a voter's favorite is eliminated, he or she then gets behind a different contestant, and that decision could be influenced by where the judges stand with each singer. So, then again, it becomes a question of whether voters are listening to the experts or making their own decisions.
"The judges do a lot in the beginning stages of the show, but once America knows who you are, they'll pick for themselves," third season finalist Jon Peter Lewis said.
"I think in the past, the judges have had a little bit more direct input into, certainly, what the public thinks of the kids than they do now," co-executive producer Ken Warwick added. "The public knows the show now. Simon gets it right a lot of the time, as everybody knows, but occasionally he gets it wrong."
Bucky Covington, the fifth finalist eliminated this season, agrees that Simon's influence has faded over time.
"I think a lot of people are starting to go from 'what Simon says is right' to 'Simon just likes to make money, and he just says whatever he says to make a good show,' " Covington said. "Like, he used to give advice, but now he doesn't so much give advice as he does try to just put you down and make the show [have a feeling of] 'Oh, I can't believe you said that.' Which makes people talk the next day. He told Paris, 'Weird.' What is that supposed to mean? That tells her nothing. You should have just kept your mouth shut. I don't mean to sound rude about it, but you can help and then you can just sell the show. He does a good job of selling the show."
Some of this season's semifinalists, however, have different opinions.
"I think America really listens to what the judges have to say," Will Makar said. "When I heard it from Randy, it really hurt me. ... I'm being judged by three of the best in the business."
"I do think absolutely that America trusts their professional opinions," Kinnik Sky added. "They look at them as people who have experience in the industry and they trust their backgrounds."
Gedeon McKinney, on the other hand, believes the judges don't matter. "I my case, I got all good comments, but I went home," he argued.
Shirley Halperin, Teen People's Idol correspondent, backs the "pick your pony" theory, but believes it can also apply to the judges. "If you always agree with Simon's opinion or you have the hots for him, you may be more likely to vote for who he praises on that episode," she said.
So where does Cowell himself weigh in on the whole issue? Of course he thinks his opinions are monumentally influential. Randy Jackson, thankfully, offered a more reasonable sentiment.
"I think it goes in and out," he said. "If you watch the show closely, some weeks they vote exactly with us and it's like they've listened to what we said. Some weeks they don't listen to us at all. And I think a lot of people go for the underdog, because 'Idol' is a bit the 'Rocky' story, isn't it?"
| Bosses: 'Idol' Judgments in the Workplace |
May 18, 2006
By Dana Knight for The Indianapolis Star
Yo dawg. Just in case you didn't get enough "American Idol" last night, here's some more "Idol" chat.
More than half of the nation's workers say that of the three "Idol" judges, their bosses are most like Randy Jackson, the fair and balanced guy who will give praise but also point out your pitch problems.
The Monster.com survey found 52 percent of Americans work for Jackson- type bosses, while 33 percent reported their managers were most like Simon Cowell, a boss who "tells it like it is but is sometimes cruel." Fourteen percent compared their bosses to Paula Abdul, the "perpetual cheerleader."
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
| Eric Clapton Slams Simon Cowell, U2, And Coldplay |
May 17, 2006
By Staff Writers for Female First
Eric Clapton has hit out at Coldplay and U2.
Clapton has slammed the bands for putting stardom before their music.
The 61-year-old rocker told Britain's The Times newspaper: "Right now, the power of music sits with Simon Cowell and Coldplay and U2, who are really people who just attend awards shows.
"From just listening I can't tell the difference between Coldplay and U2.
"The one in Coldplay even dances like Bono."
Clapton, who is currently touring the UK, is worried that modern musicians are forgetting the roots of rock 'n' roll.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
| Simon Picks Hicks |
May 16, 2006
By David Li for The New York Post
Look for Taylor Hicks to edge out Katharine McPhee and become the next "American Idol," judge Simon Cowell told night-owl TV watchers yesterday.
The delightfully mean-spirited "Idol" judge, appearing on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show," declared that Hicks -- a 29-year-old salt-and-pepper haired singer from Birmingham, Ala. -- is "the favorite."
"I would say [Hicks' chances to win are] pretty good, pretty good. I'm going to say he's the favorite -- but what do I know?" Cowell said in a rare self-effacing moment.
But seconds later, Cowell took all the credit for predicting that 21-year-old Valley Girl McPhee would join Hicks in the "Idol" showdown.
"Based on last week, absolutely she should have gone. But you know she's got a fighting chance. I think she'll make the final -- and I'll tell you why, because I'm choosing one of her songs this week," Cowell said.
Hicks, McPhee and Elliott Yamin face off tonight and tomorrow night with the two survivors meeting up in next week's final.
| Simon Says |
Post Date: May 11, 2006 -- Issue Date: May 22, 2006
By Franklin Foer for The New Republic
Highbrows widely regard the singing competition "American Idol" -- and the contest's mascot, its tart English judge, Simon Cowell -- as an omen of impending cultural apocalypse. To list the specifics of this grim forecast: Performing more-or-less karaoke, complete with shooting flames and ocean waves projected on a massive video screen behind them, contestants pay homage to the most irksome trifles in the history of pop. (Tonight, we fête the genius of Gloria Estefan; next week, Barry Manilow!) Despite the unspeakable lameness of these acts, their perpetrators have occasionally received vote totals comparable to presidential candidates. And, if you momentarily allow the escapist pleasures of this spectacle to sweep you away, your enjoyment will inevitably be interrupted by the ubiquitous product placements, reminding you of "Idol"'s crassness. (Damn, Coca-Cola red room!) Above all, there's the smug, cynical Cowell in his too-tight Armani t-shirts. His unceasing stream of aperçus --"If you were the only person who entered this competition, you still wouldn't win" -- are presented as evidence of a sadistic penchant for humiliating unworldly teens and the carny masses of "Idol" wannabes.
Leveling this critique at "Idol," however, requires a certain myopia. It mistakes the trappings of the show -- the endless renditions of Phil Collins, the shrieking, sign-waving girls in the audience -- for "Idol"'s true contribution to culture. That contribution comes in the form of Cowell, who, along with his fellow judges of lesser intellect, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, issues critiques of each singer's performance. Every week, he finds new pejorative descriptions for the lame music he encounters. "I think you're possibly the worst singer in the world," he has quipped. Or, "You take singing lessons? Do you have a lawyer? Get a lawyer and sue your singing teacher." But, far from precipitating cultural decline, these vicious performances have restored authority to the one figure that can salvage us from doom: the critic.
Critics don't just exist as arbiters of taste and explicators of art. They exist to bemoan their own inability to influence the world. In an essay on book reviewing, George Orwell once portrayed the critic as "a man in a moth-eaten dressing gown ... [a] down-trodden, nerve-racked creature." This self-pitying streak often makes critics sound like militant Muslim enthusiasts for the lost caliphate of Al Andalus -- always pining, with somewhat selective memory, for the moment when they exerted genuine authority over Western civilization. Countless books (The Last Intellectuals, What Happened to Art Criticism?, every homage to Edmund Wilson ever written) wax nostalgic for the time when the public paid attention to the likes of Trilling, Leavis, and Greenberg -- a renaissance that ended with the cultural reformation of the 1960s. By contrast, we now live in what The Believer's Heidi Julavits has called the "Teflon age of criticism," where reviews don't stick to either artists or consumers of art.
"American Idol," however, puts the lie to this nostalgic story line. Whatever influence Edmund Wilson may have achieved in his prime, it hardly compares with the power of Cowell. It is true that Cowell wasn't nurtured by the alcoves of City College or hardened by the rough-and-tumble of Partisan Review. He comes to criticism by way of the far less intellectually rigorous record industry, where he made a career of producing acts like the Spice Girls knockoff Girl Thing and songs like "So Macho," as well as churning out Power Rangers albums. This populist sensibility accounts for his preternatural gift for identifying the ineffable qualities of pop stardom. Call him the Robert Parker of Top 40. Unlike schooled critics, who can distinguish a major from a minor chord, Cowell understands how looks, persona, and "showmanship" can compensate for a competent but otherwise bland performance. And his career producing schlock has given him a superb eye for identifying it.
On the program, "Idol" judges render assessments but don't actually vote for contestants. Their power rests entirely in their ability to sway the public -- in other words, with the power of their criticism. Although Cowell's harsh pronouncements frequently make him the subject of jeers during the live broadcasts, his opinions routinely lead millions to pick up their phones and vote for his favored candidates. For the past three seasons, he has championed the contest's eventual winner at an early stage in the competition, celebrating singers without obvious prospects of triumphing. Last year, he (alone among the judges) declared country singer Carrie Underwood the inevitable winner of the competition two months before the season finale, thus sealing her fate. (Remind me again: How many readers did Wilson win for the French symbolists?)
Cowell doesn't just influence the outcome of the competition; he affects its substance. In response to Cowell's advice, raw-sounding rockers have experimented with unfamiliar genres to expose their "sensitive side"; torch singers have dropped their crutch reliance on ballads. Of course, Cowell isn't shy about claiming credit for these small victories. ("Well, I have to take a certain amount of credit for that performance," he boasted several weeks ago.) When spreading the good news about his favored singers, Cowell avoids the fate of many contemporary critics, especially movie reviewers. After watching so much dreck, movie reviewers get so excited when they encounter a solidly constructed film that they lose control of their faculties, slathering Million Dollar Baby and Crash with superlatives formerly reserved for Fellini and Scorsese. Cowell, on the other hand, will frequently begin his most effusive comments with a deprecating remark about the contestant's hair style or past performances. And, even in his most enthusiastic moments, he'll rarely say more than "very good" or "it worked." But, in his restraint, he has achieved the ultimate critical fantasy -- to actually shape the objects of criticism, to play the role of co-creator.
When Cowell issues his judgments, he likes to begin by denying the obvious. "I don't mean to be rude," he apologizes. Then he will go on to say something like, "You have about as much Latin flair as a polar bear. It was horrendous." And, to be fair, he isn't truly rude. His comments more precisely fall within a subgenre of criticism known as "snark," to borrow a phrase from Julavits's widely discussed essay on the state of criticism. Snark, by her definition, is when "reviews are just an opportunity for a critic to strive for humor, and to appear funny and smart and a little bit bitchy, without attempting to espouse any higher ideals." For Julavits, snark, which she denounces as both self-serving and nihilistic, has played an essential role in creating modern-day critics' impotence.
This definition of snark superficially captures Cowell. But it also gets Cowell profoundly wrong. His meanness is the source of his authority. When he keelhauls contestants, his favored terms of abuse are "karaoke," "cabaret," "cruise ship," and "wedding singer." These cut-downs capture the essence of "Idol." Contestants are singing well-known pop songs. Successful singers are those who transcend the artificiality of the format and become more than "some ghastly Xerox machine." And, while Cowell may be harsh, he is rarely strident. He has retracted criticisms that don't hold up on his second watching of the show. "We were wrong," he told contestant Katharine McPhee a few weeks ago after deciding that her rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing" had something after all. Because he never fails to point out crap--and because he has the honesty to admit failure--viewers actually trust his opinions.
Cowell, if we're honest, also owes his authority to his company at the judges' table. His judgments usually follow comments by former Los Angeles Lakers cheerleader Paula Abdul and former Journey bassist Randy Jackson. Both embody the characteristics praised by Julavits. They refrain from gratuitous bitchiness and self-consciously follow every critique with constructive criticism. "It was just alright for me, dude," is Jackson's euphemism for wretched. If Abdul can't find anything praiseworthy in a performance, she will applaud a contestant for choosing good shoes. "We love you!" she will add. The tandem has styled itself the anti-Cowell. They seem to take great pleasure in waxing indignant about Cowell's pistol-whippings, with Abdul and Jackson frequently leading choruses of boos directed at the Brit. This avoidance of snark may make Abdul and Jackson better human beings, but it makes them irrelevant, mealy-mouthed critics. Unlike Cowell, they have never exerted clear influence on the course of the competition, never anointed a winner or sunk a loser. And, in the end, their niceness doesn't expose their moral superiority--just their lack of conviction and confidence in their own taste.
Unfortunately, Cowell has used his "Idol" success as a springboard for expanding his empire of schlock. He generated a string of not very edifying reality TV shows, such as "Cupid" (wherein Americans voted on potential husbands for a single woman) and "American Inventor" (which brought us such life-changing products as the Flushpure toilet seat lid), as well as the requisite celebrity-at-the-height-of-fame memoir, I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But ... His latest confection, a boy band composed of opera singers, Il Divo, has, shockingly, ascended to the top of the charts. And premiering in June is Cowell's ultimate Waiting for Guffman-like TV production: the hopefully ironically named "America's Got Talent," which will expand the "Idol" format to include dancers, comedians, and even animal acts. What makes this so tragic isn't that his projects will inject so much more garbage into the culture; it's that Cowell might be ignoring his true calling. Last I checked, the Partisan Review franchise is still available.
Monday, May 15, 2006
| Painful Truth |
May 14, 2006
By Michael Grossberg for The Columbus Dispatch
A former American Idol finalist doesn’t view Simon Cowell, one of the judges on the Fox reality show, as all that nasty.
"People think that he is so mean because he says exactly what he is thinking and tells the truth," said Amy Adams, a contestant two years ago. "As a whole, I do not believe that America is used to telling or hearing the truth."
Adams has parlayed her appearance on the series into a musical-theater career. She is touring as the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, although she was sidelined by a strained voice during the recent Columbus run.
Her most surprising experience on Idol, she said by e-mail, involved learning how hard everyone works. "You are nonstop go, go, go. There is a list of songs to choose from —- not a very long list. You are a bit more limited than they let on."
Last month, Adams predicted that either "likable and talented" Chris Daughtry (voted off Wednesday) or "poised" Katharine McPhee (still in the running) would win the latest Idol competition.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
| Cowell's Girlfriend Furious after Pickler BBQ Invite |
May 13, 2006
By MusicMan for PopDirt
Mike Walker of the National Enquirer reports that Simon Cowell's girlfriend Terri Seymour was furious and stormed out of the 'American Idol' judge's Los Angeles home when show finalist Kellie Pickler showed as an invited guest to a barbecue he was throwing for pals.
Seymour already was upset with Cowell for flirting with the "naughty little minx" on the hit FOX show.
| Cowell in Pay Dispute with ITV? |
May 14 2006
By Daniel Kilkelly for Digital Spy
Simon Cowell is apparently at the centre of a pay dispute with ITV.
The music mogul recently backed out of publicity work for the network's coverage of American Idol, as well as promotion for the upcoming Celebrity X Factor series.
"Simon is fuming. It's a big fall-out and a huge worry for ITV," a source told the Sunday Mirror. "It's all down to money. Simon doesn't think the channel values him enough."
An ITV insider added, "Nobody wants to fall out with Simon -- so the hoo-haa is a huge shock. Bosses are trying to keep it under wraps. They hope to come to an agreement with Simon before it jeopardises the new series."
| Private Clubs: Cocktail Empire |
May 14, 2006
By Lucie Greene for The Independent
The British are coming. From NYC to Cannes, who better to run a venue where exclusivity is mixed with snobbery and style? Lucie Greene on the clubs luring stars to the bars.
A new generation of cocktail colonials is making parts of cities from Hong Kong to Miami hip and Brit.
Their success lies in their ability to appeal both to local crowds after a bit of snooty velvet-rope, London style ("No one does snobbery and social exclusion like the Brits," says Ben Widdicombe, gossip columnist at the New York Daily News, commenting on the success of Soho House in that city), and to jetsetting Brits who want a chic home from home.
Whether you want to hang out with billionaires or comedians, there's a club just right for you.
The Hallion
Founded By: Glyn Partidge, Scotland's 13th richest man, in 2003
Bases: Edinburgh, Glasgow
Where Next: New York The Hallion in Edinburgh and Glasgow has plans for a transatlantic sister-club in Manhattan. "People want a level of social sophistication and nice surroundings. They are fed up with all these chain bars," says the Hallion's Glyn Partridge. Partridge is looking at properties in the city to house a bar, restaurant and hotel. "We think the Scottish thing will play well with New Yorkers," he says. "It won't be all tartan and bagpipes though. Just accents."
Notable members and Patrons: Matthew Williamson, Mackenzie Crook, Simon Cowell, Julie Burchill and Christian Slater.
The Vibe: The original Edinburgh venue is a glorious Georgian House. The Hallion goes out of its way to prove it's very inclusive -- in an exclusive kind of way. It boasts that, "members will be accepted regardless of race, creed, age, gender or complete lack of dress sense." There's something sexy and laidback about the place, indeed you are even allowed to strip off -- if you are going to the spa that is. The club admits to one area of sex discrimination: the women's loos are far grander than the men's. Indeed, they are so smart that they are referred to as the boudoir and come complete with make-up tables. The bar and restaurant are very good too.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
| Softer Side of Simon: Cowell's 'True Hollywood Story' |
May 13, 2006
By Adam Buckman for The New York Post
"The E! True Hollywood Story: Simon Cowell" Tomorrow at 8 p.m. on E!
Ryan Seacrest isn't as shrewd as he seems.
The first time he laid eyes on Simon Cowell, he thought Cowell would flop as a judge on "American Idol."
"I looked at this guy and he was full of himself and his pants were up to his bellybutton and he's smoking cigarettes and I thought, 'Who is this character? There's no way he's going to work over here in the States!' " Seacrest candidly reveals in this new edition of "The E! True Hollywood Story" on Cowell, premiering tomorrow night.
Seacrest was wrong, of course, and by the end of this one-hour profile of Cowell, the "Idol" host says of the show: "It wouldn't be what it is without Simon."
And Cowell probably wouldn't be what he is without "Idol." But what - or who - is he?
Everyone in America knows him as the tart-tongued British judge on "Idol" whose blunt critiques have been known to anger fellow judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, and crush young, hopeful singers whose auditions for the show aren't up to snuff.
The typical "Idol" fan likely has a vague impression that Cowell was some sort of music promoter in the U.K. before he became a star of American television.
For those curious to learn more about Cowell, this new show fills in the blanks, explaining where he came from and how his early career positioned him for stardom in the relatively new realm of TV talent competitions.
Among other revelations, the show reports that, to some extent, Cowell grew up in show business -- or, to be more specific, next door to it.
As he explains in the show, he lived with his family -- two brothers, his mother, Julie, and his late father, Eric, a real estate investor -- in a mansion in a London neighborhood Cowell likens to Beverly Hills.
According to Cowell, the president of MGM lived next door and the young Simon developed a taste for Hollywood glamour by observing the comings and goings of stars such as Robert Mitchum and Elizabeth Taylor, who once held the precocious neighbor boy on her lap.
After faring badly in school, the young-adult Simon cajoled his way into the music business and some of those he cajoled, and who eventually mentored him, are interviewed here.
We also hear from Simon's mum, his older brother, Tony, and Simon himself, who probably authorized the whole thing.
This is definitely not a warts-and-all profile. It's more like a no-warts-at-all profile, but nevertheless fleshes out the Cowell story.
| Lunch with Simon for Charity |
May 13, 2006
By Hazel Mollison for News & Star
[There was] ...an exclusive charity auction in London run by media tycoon Richard Desmond, who owns Express Newspapers.
The auction raised more than £2m for the Evelina Children’s Hospital...
[A] bidder paid £70,000 for lunch with Simon Cowell in California and the chance to see the US final of Pop Idol.
Friday, May 12, 2006
| Simon Says: No American Idol Favorite with Chris Daughtry Out |
May 11, 2006
By Tina Sims for The National Ledger
American Idol bad boy Simon Cowell has missed quite a few predictions this year and apparently he is through making forecasts on a winner. The Brit refuses to try and make a choice between the three remaining contestants Katharine McPhee, Taylor Hicks and Elliott Yamin.
Extra noted on their Thursday night show that Simon now admits there are no favorites. “The funny thing about this show is when someone goes, you never know where their votes are going to go,” Simon confessed.
“I genuinely don't know who is going to win.”
| Fish Attacks Cowell |
May 12, 2006
By Samuel Patrick for MegaStar, Staff Writers for Anorak, and Staff Writers for The Sun
Weatherman Michael Fish rarely makes the tabloids but today is a glorious example of the ludicrousness of celebrity. He's been known to upset people with his talk of rainy weekends and monsoon-themed Bank Holidays, but we have never heard him turn the air so blue.
The man who famously failed to predict the great 1987 hurricane, “kicked up a storm on Celebrity X Factor by telling judge Simon Cowell to f**k off”.
Fish was appearing before the TV talent show judge as he auditioned for a part on Celebrity X Factor. After a rendition of Singing In The Rain and It’s Raining Men, Fish waited for Cowell’s verdict.
Cowell tried to damn Fish with faint praise: “That’s not the best thing since sliced bread,” said Cowell. Hardly his best sarcasm, but, nonetheless, enough to rile Fish,.
At that the touchy telly cloud predicator stormed off saying, “Well if that’s what you think, then you can just f**k off. I’m out of here.”
Now recovered, Fish tells the paper: “I was fabulous but I thought they were taking the ‘Michael’ about my singing. I might have been a bit hasty, though.”
Whether they were or were not is a moot point. And, in any case, Fish stands no chance of winning the show – he’s not blonde...
The show starts on Monday, May 29 and runs for eight nights.
Fish was one of many celebrities who auditioned knowing they would not get in.
Others tipped to perform include magician Paul Daniels and his wife Debbie McGee, and Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
| Regis Philbin to Host New TV Talent Show on NBC |
May 11, 2006
By Staff Writers for Yahoo
Morning television personality Regis Philbin was named on Wednesday to host a new prime-time talent contest show that "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell is bringing to rival network NBC this summer.
The upcoming series, "America's Got Talent," is slated to debut June 21 with a two-hour special broadcast, weeks after "American Idol," currently the nation's top-rated program, finishes its latest run on the Fox network.
The choice of Philbin, the veteran breakfast-hour star who helped create a prime-time sensation as host of ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," was a sign that producers are going all-out to score a summertime phenomenon for NBC, which is badly in need of a new hit.
Unlike "American Idol," a singing contest limited to amateurs vying for their first professional record deal, the new talent show from Cowell is open to aspiring performers of all stripes -- singers, dancers, comics, magicians, acrobats, even animal acts.
The winner, to be winnowed from thousands of contestants over the course of the show and voted on by viewers, will take home a grand prize of $1 million.
Cowell, the brutally honest judge on "American Idol," is developing "America's Got Talent" for NBC with "Idol" executive producer Ken Warwick and FremantleMedia, one of the studios behind the Fox hit.
Philbin has been a national morning television fixture since 1989 as co-host of the syndicated talk show "Live with Regis & Kathie Lee," which became "Live with Regis & Kelly" after
Kelly Ripa took Kathie Lee Gifford's place as his on-air partner in 2001.
He also has been a frequent guest on the late-night TV circuit and emceed New Year's Eve specials for the past two years on ABC and Fox, respectively.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
| Are Simon and Ryan Being Too Mean To Paula? |
May 10, 2006
By Staff Writers for Reality TV Magazine
While Paula Abdul has often found herself on the receiving end of many a playful insult from Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell, the Elvis theme week turned into a particularly brutal week for Paula. Simon Cowell snapped at Paula telling her to shut up, while Ryan Seacrest compared Paula’s dancing to that of a stripper.
The first incident occurred during the judges’ review of Taylor Hicks first song of the evening. Both Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul were quite impressed with Taylor Hicks’ lively rendition of “Jailhouse Rock,” but Simon Cowell completely disagreed. As Simon started telling Taylor, “In the real world that was a terrible impersonation of Elvis,” Paula rose to her feet and started giving the thumbs down sign in Simon’s face. Simon continued “The dancing was hideous,” while Paula protested, “That was great.” Simon then turned to Paula and snapped “Shut up.” Paula attempted to tell Simon that he should shut up, but Simon just ignored her and finished his critique.
The second incident occurred between Ryan and Paula. During Elliott Yamin’s stunning performance of “Trouble,” Paula Abdul was up and dancing vivaciously to the music. As Ryan Seacrest stood on stage with Elliott Yamin, Ryan said “Could you even see the moves that Paula was pulling off? I feel like I’m obligated to give her a dollar after that.” Paula seemed surprised and gave Ryan a mean glare, as Simon and Randy protested that Ryan was being disrespectful.
Was Simon rude to tell Paula to shut up? Or was it about time he said something? Did Ryan Seacrest go to far with his stripper joke? Was it inappropriate for a family show?
| Simon May Show up in Fantasia Film |
May 10, 2006
By Michael Starr for New York Post
Fantasia Barrino's up coming Lifetime biopic, "Life Is Not a Fairy Tale," will include scenes from her "American Idol" victory, with "Idol" judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson playing themselves -- maybe.
"We've heard through an 'Idol' executive that Paula, Randy and Simon love Fantasia so much they'd be willing to do a cameo if we can get it worked out," "Fairy Tale" co-executive producer Ellyn Williams told The Post.
"At this point, we don't know if we'll be able to work with [Paula, Simon and Randy], but we're thrilled to know they support the movie, and we're thrilled how much Fantasia means to them."
Part of "Fairy Tale," which begins filming May 17 in New Orleans - and is based on Barrino's autobiography -- will document her march to victory on "American Idol" in 2004.
Barrino is playing herself in the movie, with Kadeem Hardison and Viola Davis cast as her parents.
Williams said that if Cowell, Abdul and Jackson are not available, producers would use stock footage of the "Idol" judges. "We wouldn't have other actors playing them," she said. "How can you replace Simon Cowell?"
Williams also said that, as it stands now, the "Idol" scenes won't include show host Ryan Seacrest (either as himself or being played by an actor).
"We'll show different segments leading up to Fantasia's ['Idol'] performances and we'll show a couple of different sections [from 'Idol'] that were very memorable to Fantasia before she won," Williams said.
| The World According to Simon Judging Himself on His Attitude |
May 10, 2006
By Gerri Miller for I.Village
Figuring out Paula is probably a lost cause, but do you ever wonder what makes Simon Cowell tick? Why is he so mean? Does he ever get to revel in being right? How does he come up with his signature lines? We check in with the American Idol judge and let him speak for himself.
After you've heard what he has to say, you can chime in on our ongoing debate: Has Simon Gone Too Far?
Why do you get perceived as mean? Is it the accent?
Yeah, I think it probably is a bit. The baddies in American film now are always English.
Do you feel pressure to be meaner this year?
The public always says, "Please say what we're thinking." And I genuinely think now when we're doing the audition shows, "What are the people at home thinking?" And I think that [the viewers] think they're terrible. So I tell [the contestants]. Maybe I say things in a slightly different way than other people, but the intention is to say what people are thinking when they're watching at home.
| British Parking Meters Are Given a Voice |
May 9, 2006
By Staff Writers for UPI
Police in Sheffield, England, have turned to a celebrity voice impersonator to try to fight vehicle crime.
Mimic Stuart Smith was hired by law enforcement officials to add celebrity voices to the town's parking meters, TMZ.com reported Tuesday.
Putting coins in the meters will now result in a sound-alike Sean Connery saying, "The name's Bond, James Bond"; "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell warning, "Ok, I'm going to be honest with you, leaving things in your car would be an absolute disaster"; soccer star David Beckham saying, "Don't give away a free kick" and actor Michael Caine saying, "Blow the blinkin' doors off!"
The goal is to make driver's more aware of their responsibility to care for their vehicles.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
| Is Simon Cowell Nothin' but a Hound Dog? |
May 09, 2006
By Alex Strachan for The Ottawa Citizen
Elvis is back tonight -- just not the way his fans expected.
The King is the theme of tonight's American Idol in a singing exhibition that promises to be the latest highlight in the long parade of Simon Cowell's greatest hits.
After all, if Cowell thought Paris Bennett's strutting version of Prince's Kiss was "screechy and annoying" last week, what chance do you think unapologetic balladeer Katharine McPhee would have with Hound Dog, or gravel-voiced hard rocker Chris Daughtry with (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear?
Then again, as Mr. Cowell keeps reminding us, it's all about song selection. With 700 songs to choose from, the possibilities are limitless. If the grey haired dude and fan favourite Taylor Hicks should put his own personal, um, dance stamp on All Shook Up, that alone may be reason to watch. And after crooner Elliott Yamin saved himself last week -- temporarily -- with Michael Buble's Home, it's not too hard to imagine that he will choose to channel Elvis's version of My Way.
There were moments last week when Cowell looked as if he would rather be judging a Bee Gees revival concert at a hockey arena than listening to another Idol wannabe tackle a Phil Collins standard, but an Idol without an acerbic comment from Cowell is like a CSI without a body on the autopsy table.
It's best, if you're a true Idol believer, to simply surrender and let Paula help you through the night. Don't be cruel, in other words. That's Cowell's job.
| Cowell's a Great Cook, Says Terri |
May 9, 2006
By Kiki King, Eva Simpson, & Caroline Hedley for The Mirror
Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay eat your heart out, Simon Cowell is the best cook around, says his girlfriend.
Terri Seymour, 31, who has been dating the 46-year-old X Factor judge since 2002, was gushing about his culinary talents at the Baf tas. "He cooks a really mean fry-up," she told us.
But Terri's expertise in the kitchen doesn't meet his demanding standards.
Terri added: "Simon thinks that my presentation skills need some work." He doesn't mean to be rude but...
| Moyles Will Sing to Simon |
May 9, 2006
By Staff Writers for The Sun
Brash Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles is putting his money where his mouth is by signing up for Celebrity X Factor.
The 32-year-old breakfast host is well used to being a motormouth on the airwaves.
Now he faces his toughest challenge yet — showing off his lungpower to Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. He will join a host of celebs, thought to include ex-Hollyoaks babe Jodi Albert, magician Paul Daniels and his wife Debbie McGee.
Moyles’s signing comes as Simon told TV Biz at the Baftas: “This show is going to be two words —- ‘car’ and ‘crash’.”
After the ITV1 hit scooped a gong, Simon revealed: “I’m going to have fun with these celebrities. We can be very cruel indeed.
“We need to be that bit harder on them as they are famous already.”
The eight-day show X Factor: Battle of the Stars starts later this month. It will be the second ITV appearance for Chris —- Radio 1’s top paid DJ on £630,000.
He recently filmed Family Fortunes, hosted by pal Vernon Kay.
A show insider said: “Chris has the biggest gob on the radio, so who knows what will happen when he crosses Simon.
“He’ll be one of the few people to speak back to him. There are going to be fireworks.”
| Will Looks to Simon to Boost U.S. Success Odds |
May 06, 2006
By MusicMan for PopDirt
Neil Sean of Sky News reports that 'Pop Idol' season one champ Will Young is making an effort to end his feud with Simon Cowell as he hopes to find U.S. success later this year and needs Cowell's backing.
The two originally fell out after Simon backed 'Idol' runner-up Gareth Gates on the show in 2002.
Monday, May 08, 2006
| Winners at the BAFTAs |
May 8, 2006
By Staff Writers for The Daily Record and The BBC
Doctor Who picked up two awards at last night's Baftas.
The series, starring David Tennat, won best drama and a special audience award at the annual television oscars.
TV chef Jamie Oliver won best factual series for Jamie's School Dinners.
He said: "It's wonderful for the crew who made this documentary but I got my award when the Government promised to improve school dinners."
Catherine Tate, who turned up sporting a crutch, missed out again as best comedy went to BBC2's Help.
Simon Cowell was there to see The X-Factor win best entertainment programme.
And Jonathan Ross won best entertainment performance for his Friday Night chatshow.
Best feature went to Sir Alan Sugar's The Apprentice while EastEnders picked up best continuing drama.
Channel 4's The Government Inspector -- about the late Dr David Kelly, an expert caught in the crossfire over the war in Iraq -- won best single drama.
Mark Rylance won best actor, while Anna Maxwell Martin got best actress for her role in BBC1's adaptation of Charles Dickens's Bleak House.
Chris Langham won best comedy performance as the bumbling minister in The Thick Of It, which was named best sitcom.
Channel 4's coverage of England's Ashes defeat of Australia won best sports coverage.
Their documentary Dispatches: Beslan, about the Russian school massacre, was best current affairs.
BBC1's 10 O'Clock News got the news award for its July 7 bombings coverage.
Red Carpet Excitement
The mood backstage was in total contrast to the glitter and buzz outside the Grosvenor House Hotel before the ceremony.
The red carpet was chaotic, with a traffic jam of A-list stars crammed together along a passageway that was too narrow to cope with so many guests at once.
Armando Iannucci spoke of a lack of connection with politics However, the close proximity to the stars was good news for 150 competition winners with ringside seats, who made the most of their big day out by chanting the names of their favourite stars while grabbing autographs and pictures.
Edmonds, Oliver, Esther Rantzen and The X-Factor's Simon Cowell all took time to chat and were cheered the loudest.
The Full List of Winners Is:
Best Actor: Mark Rylance, The Government Inspector
Best Actress: Anna Maxwell Martin, Bleak House
Best Entertainment Performance: Jonathan Ross, Friday Night With Jonathan Ross
Best Comedy Performance: Chris Langham, The Thick Of It
Best Single Drama: The Government Inspector
Best Drama Series: Doctor Who
Best Serial Drama: Bleak House
Best Continuing Drama: Eastenders
Best Factual Series: Jamie's School Dinners
Huw Wheldon Award For Best Specialist Factual: Holocaust - A Musical Memorial From Auschwitz
Flaherty Award For Best Single Documentary: Make Me Normal
Best Features: The Apprentice
Best Sport: The Ashes: England V Australia
Best News Coverage: BBC1's Ten O'Clock News, July 7 2005 London Bombs
Best Current Affairs: Dispatches: Beslan
Best Interactivity: Coast
Lew Grade Award For Best Entertainment: The X Factor
Best Situation Comedy: The Think Of It
Best Comedy Programme Or Series:Help
Pioneer Audience Award: Doctor Who
Dennis Potter Award For Outstanding Writing: Russell T Davies, Doctor Who
Outstanding Factual Show Presenter: Jamie Oliver.
Alan Clarke Award: Adam Curtis
The Academy Fellowship: Ken Loach
| Jordan Agrees to Join Celeb 'X Factor'? |
May 7 2006
By Daniel Kilkelly for Digital Spy
Jordan will appear on the upcoming Celebrity X Factor series, according to The People today.
The glamour model apparently hopes that the show will help to boost her chances of becoming a successful chart singer.
"She jumped at the chance and can't wait to get started," an insider revealed.
Simon Cowell recently stated that he hoped to convince both Jordan and husband Peter Andre to join the show.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
| Simon Says: Dishing with Simon Cowell |
May 4, 2006
The Complete Transcript from ABC's Good Morning America
With Diane Sawyer and Heather Nauert
Diane Sawyer: (Off-camera) Well, now, the no-holds-barred Simon Cowell. As you know, he became America's favorite meany on 'American Idol". But he's branched out as co-creator of a new reality show, 'American Inventor", and you've seen it, probably, right here on ABC. He sat down with our Heather Nauert.
Diane Sawyer: (Voiceover) And among other things, he ranks the egos of his colleagues on 'American Idol". And Heather joins us now from Los Angeles. Heather?
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Good morning, Diane. We took a drive up the winding roads of Beverly Hills to get to Simon Cowell's mansion and to get a glimpse into his life. When we arrived there, he told us that in the five seasons the show has been on the air, 750,000 wannabees (PH) have subjected themselves to his criticism, yet only two have launched successful music careers, proving how right on target he is, and how tough the music business is, which is why this idol maker insists that, get this, he's the right man for the job to fix America's public relations image. It's that kind of bravado we've come to expect.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) After Paris Bennett was voted off last night, there are now four contestants battling for the title of 'America Idol." And if you believe Simon Cowell, it's not a friendly competition.
Simon Cowell: You know, they don't really like each other that much. They think they do, but they don't. They don't want anybody else to do well. They want to win.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) What is your prediction about who will win this year.
Simon Cowell: If I had to put my money on it, I think it will be between Chris or Taylor, but you can't rule out Katherine because she's just getting better and better.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Explain what it's like behind the scenes.
Simon Cowell: You've got four colossal egos, with mine being the smallest, in a very small space.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Come on.
Simon Cowell: I swear. No doubt. Everyone thinks it's me. It's not.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) How is that? Explain.
Simon Cowell: Ryan's got the biggest ego, followed closely by Paula, then Randy, then myself. Ryan would marry himself tomorrow. I mean, literally. He is the most egotistical person I have ever met in my life, and bearing in mind I am based in Hollywood, that is quite a broad thing to say. But he has. And that's kind of one of the reasons why I like him. Paula's always had an ego. Randy's developed one. And so you put all that together, shake it all up, you get a few fireworks occasionally.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) Fireworks or meltdown.
Paula Abdul: You've moved me from the beginning.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) Some Idol fans worry about Paula Abdul:'s recent emotional behavior.
Paula Abdul: You are this handsome, evolved performer...
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) A lot of people are concerned about her.
Simon Cowell: That's Paula. I mean, she is, you know, a bit crazy, but that's the way, that's the way she is.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) There was a poll that came out that looked at the 'American Idol" viewers. One in ten Americans has voted for someone on 'American Idol". Does that surprise you?
Simon Cowell: No. No.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Not at all?
Simon Cowell: No, it doesn't surprise me at all. I thought it'd be higher than that. I thought there'd be 90%.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) Also in the same poll, 35% believed that their votes counted just as much as their vote in the presidential election.
Simon Cowell: Well, yes. (laughs) Absolutely. But what if, and I'll throw this challenge out to President Bush, that we do President Idol, a couple of songs, a bit of dancing and I'll judge it. I'm more than happy to judge it. And maybe that's how we should decide the next president.
Simon Cowell: ...me, it was like, and I've said this before, like a horrible, horrible wedding performance.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) Millions who know him as the caustic judge on 'American Idol"...
Simon Cowell: Screechy and annoying.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) ...don't know that Simon Cowell is an international TV producer with 14 shows in the works, including 'American Inventor." Some contestants spend their life savings baring their products and souls to skeptical judges.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Do you ever feel sorry for those people who have spent all of their money to throw their money into the project.
Simon Cowell: There have been a couple of instances, Heather, where I almost wrote a check to a couple of people. But I thought, if I do it for one or two, you know, I'll end up doing it for everybody, and I'm gonna be broke.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Who do you predict may win.
Simon Cowell: I would like to see the guy who invented the car baby seat make the finals.
Male American Inventor Contestant: My invention is here.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) In an accident, the baby seat spins in a shell, protecting the child.
Simon Cowell: But he's in a very, very tough group this week, probably the toughest group. And I genuinely don't know the outcome because I don't want to know the outcome.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) "Good Morning America" was invited inside the lavish home Simon Cowell rents. Soon he'll move into his own mansion, and he's building another one in Beverly Hills, more stops for buses of tourists who already wait outside his gate. He admits, he's not in this for the fame, but the fortune. There are recent published reports that 'American Idol" pays him $36 million a year and that he's worth more than $80 million.
Heather Nauert: (Voiceover) There was a point in your life where you moved home and lived with your parents.
Simon Cowell: I was an '80s yuppie with a convertible Porsche, living beyond my means, etcetera, etcetera. And I lost all my money when I was 30. Literally lost everything. I owed the bank a fortune in money I'd borrowed. So I had to sell up everything and move back into my parents. And in hindsight, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Well, what did you learn from that?
Simon Cowell: I learnt that, A, don't believe the hype. Deal in reality. Don't borrow money. And now I appreciate the value of money much more than if that hadn't have happened to me.
Heather Nauert: (Off-camera) Diane, money is something that Simon Cowell will never have to worry about again. When "American Inventor" is finished and the final winner is selected, he'll get a cut of the sales from that winning product. And of course, he already signs the American Idol winner to his record label. Diane?
Diane Sawyer: (Off-camera) Somehow, all this doesn't surprise me. Not a sentimental guy when it comes to money. Thanks a lot , Heather.
| Why Simon's Girlfriend Was Caught Kissing Randy Jackson |
May 4, 2006
By Staff Writers for Extra TV
Who would have guessed Simon Cowell's girlfriend, our very own Terri Seymour, could cheat on Mr. Mean? Well, "Extra" caught Terri in a passionate lip lock with "Idol" judge Randy Jackson.
The bombshell photos even made the news in Los Angeles, and only "Extra" had Simon on the set, with Terri by his side, to see his reaction.
"Terri, I am hurt, humiliated," Cowell said.
But wait -- there's a secret behind this would-be scandal -- it's all a hoax! "Extra" put together the elaborate scheme to fake out the meanest man on TV, and his girlfriend and fellow "Idol" judges were all accomplices. Also in on the prank were our friends at LA's FOX 11, who shot the bogus newscast to bust Simon.
"You guys are good," Simon admitted.
Gotcha Simon! Now back to business…. Paris left the competition Wednesday night on "American Idol;" so does Simon have any predictions on who will walk away this year's "American Idol?"
"My favorites now have to be Chris or Taylor," Simon said. "With Katharine being the dark horse."
Meanwhile, Simon's other big show, "American Inventor," heats up Thursday night on ABC, as the judges send two contestants on to the final round.
"It is a very, very emotional episode," Cowell revealed.
But we had one more surprise up our sleeves for Simon -- our own invention that could come in handy on "Idol:" The Paula Muzzle. "It's a sock on a stick," Cowell said. "So you're suggesting I stuff this in Paula's mouth? Thank you, I'll hang on to that."
Friday, May 05, 2006
| Idol Rich: Rude Cowell Wins $36m |
May 05, 2006
By Chris Ayres for The Times of London
Being rude to Americans can be highly lucrative — and win you their trust. That, at least, is the lesson of Simon Cowell, the caustic judge on American Idol.
It was revealed yesterday that he is paid $98,630 (£53,389) per day, or $36 million a year, for insulting the efforts of wannabe pop stars.
“Screechy and annoying,” was his verdict on 17- year-old Paris Bennett, before she was dumped from the competition.News of Cowell’s salary, revealed by Desperate Networks, a book by the New York Times reporter Bill Carter, comes as a survey found that 58 per cent of viewers who vote for American Idol trust Mr Cowell more than his fellow judges.
Only 26 per cent trust Randy Jackson, whose catchphrase is “Dude, you were the bomb!”, and only 7 per cent pay attention to Paula Abdul, whose erratic, highly emotional, and stream-of- consciousness judgments often make little sense.The London-born Cowell, worth $80 million, was initially hated by the US public when the US version of Pop Idol was launched.
He gradually won respect, however, when his cringingly honest opinions turned out to be generally correct.
Cowell displays no traditional British reserve while filming in Los Angeles for the show, made by Fox, which is owned of News Corporation, parent company of The Times. He drives a Ferrari and is reportedly building a mansion in Beverly Hills.
A former postroom clerk for EMI, Mr Cowell become a consultant for BMG, where he launched Westlife, 5ive and Curiosity Killed the Cat. He set up the label S Records and in 2003 sold 50 per cent of it to BMG for a reported $42 million.
Mr Cowell’s initial backing of Kellie Pickler (catchphrase: “Pick Pickler”) backfired when the blonde Southerner was voted off after a couple of dire performances.
He now believes the winner will be either Taylor Hicks, whom he compared to a wedding singer, or the bald, scowling Chris Daughtry.
When told that 35 per cent of American Idol viewers thought their votes counted as much as those for the presidency, Cowell said: “What if — and I’ll throw this challenge out to President Bush — we do President Idol. A couple of songs, a bit of dancing, and I’ll judge it. Maybe that’s how we should decide the next President.”
MONEY TALKS
David Letterman $31 million
Jay Leno $26 million
Oprah Winfrey $20 million (for talkshow only)
Katie Couric soon-to-be anchor of CBS Evening News, $15 million
Jonathan Ross bidding war up to £5 million
Ant and Dec £3 million
| Find Out Who Simon Cowell Thinks Should Win 'Idol' |
May 4, 2006
By Staff Writers for ABC News
"American Idol" is down to its final four contestants.
Paris Bennett was voted off Wednesday night. If Simon Cowell were a betting man, he'd put his money on two of the remaining men.
"I think it will be between Chris [Daughtry] or Taylor [Hicks]," Cowell said. "But you can't rule out Katharine [McPhee] because she's just getting better and better."
Although the competitors come off as friends on camera, Cowell said, that's not exactly what it's like behind the scenes.
"You know, they don't really like each other that much," Cowell said. "They think they do. But they don't. They don't want anybody else to do well. They want to win."
Apparently, there's no love lost among the judges, either.
"You've got four colossal egos, with mine being the smallest in a very small space," Cowell said. "I swear, no doubt. Everyone thinks it's me. It's not. … Ryan [Seacrest has] got the biggest ego. Followed closely by Paula [Abdul]. Then Randy [Jackson], and then myself."
Cowell didn't stop there.
"Ryan would marry himself tomorrow," Cowell said. "I mean, literally. I mean he is the most egotistical person I have ever met in my life, and bearing in mind I am based in Hollywood that is quite a broad thing to say. But he has. And that's kind of one of the reasons why I like him. Paula's always had an ego. Randy's developed one. And so. … Shake it all up, you get a few fireworks occasionally."
Abdul's emotional behavior on the show has raised some concern among her fans, but Cowell said there was no need to worry.
"That's Paula," he said. "I mean, she is, you know, a bit crazy. But that's the way, that's the way she is."
American President?
A recent poll found that one in 10 Americans had voted for someone on "America Idol." Cowell said that he thought it would be higher. Thirty- five percent believed their votes for the new idol counted just as much as their vote in the presidential election.
"Absolutely," Cowell said, laughing. "But what if — and I'll throw this challenge out to President Bush — we do 'President Idol.' A couple songs, a bit of dancing, and I'll judge it. I'm more than happy to judge it. Maybe that's how we should decide the, the next president."
Cowell might not have time for "President Idol." He already has his hands full with "American Idol" and his own ABC reality show, "American Inventor."
Cowell said he had seen such good ideas on "Inventor" that he had been tempted to fund them out of his own pocket.
"There have been a couple of instances where I almost wrote a check to a couple of people," Cowell said. "But I thought, 'If I do it for one or two, then I'll end up doing it for everybody and I'm going to go broke.'"
The Softer Side of Simon?
It may come as a surprise that Cowell knows what it means to be broke.
"I was an '80s yuppie with a convertible Porsche living beyond my means, et cetera, et cetera, and I lost all my money when I was 30," Cowell said. "Literally lost everything. I owed the bank a fortune in money I'd borrowed. So I had to sell off everything and move back into my parents. And, in hindsight, it was the best thing that ever happened to me."
Cowell said the experience helped him learn not to borrow money, and made him appreciate the money he has now. He certainly has a lot.
Cowell reportedly makes $36 million a year on "Idol" and is worth more than $80 million. It's hard to believe that he actually still rents, but he has plans to move into his own mansion soon and is building a second one in Beverly Hills, Calif.
| Cash Cowell |
May 5, 2006
By Ryan Parry for The Mirror
Simon Cowell is Britain's biggest-earning showbiz star, raking in £19.5million a year for hosting American Idol, it has been revealed.
US network Fox pays 46-year-old Cowell the huge sum as TV chiefs consider him to be their biggest star.
The US version of Pop Idol is on air for 45 hours per series - so Cowell earns more than £400,000 an hour.
American TV critic Bill Carter has uncovered the huge pay packet in his new book Desperate Networks.
Carter reveals that Cowell threatened to walk out on the show unless Fox agreed to the deal. He claims the telly judge is now tied to a five-year contract.
American Idol propelled Kelly Clarkson to fame when she won in 2002 and it has become the most popular TV show in the US with an average of 25million viewers. Cowell - famous for his put-downs - is a judge on the show alongside Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
He has appeared in cameos in The Simpsons, Scary Movie 3, and Shrek 2.
Hugh Grant plays a thinly-veiled version of Cowell in new film American Dreamz.
Cowell once said: "Americans embrace other people's success. Everything in America is larger than life." He recently came joint ninth in the Daily Mirror's Rich List.
The cash rolled in after Cowell hosted Pop Idol in 2001. His company S Records had No1 hits with winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates before he sold his half-share in the firm for £25million.
In 2004, he created The X Factor. He was a judge alongside Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. It was a massive ratings success and returned last year.
Cowell recently bought Jennifer Lopez's Beverly Hills mansion for £6million and is spending £3million rebuilding it. He also owns a £6million house in Holland Park, West London, two Range Rovers, two Rolls-Royces, a Jaguar, a Porsche and a Ferrari Spider 430.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
| Simon Cowell's Girlfriend: 'He Can Dish It Out' |
May 3, 2006
By Rita Cosby and Staff Writers for MSNBC
Terri Seymour says 'Idol' judge is exactly the same at home as on TV
Simon Cowell is the “American Idol” judge that everyone loves to hate. What is it like to be in love with Simon Cowell? Rita spoke with Cowell's girlfriend, Terri Seymour, after Tuesday's show. Seymour is also a correspondent for “Extra TV."
This is a transcript of their conversation.
RITA COSBY: Before we get to Simon, you just came back from the show tonight. Any surprises? I understand Katharine sang on her knees for a whole song?
TERRI SEYMOUR, CORRESPONDENT, “EXTRA TV”: It was very erratic. Or at least that’s how Simon described the shows. There were some ups and there were some downs. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a great show.
COSBY: If you had to guess, who is going to get kicked off tomorrow?
SEYMOUR: It's so hard at this stage to say who I think it would be.
If I had to say based on tonight’s performances, oh, my goodness, I would say either Paris or Elliott.
COSBY: And who is your prediction of who is going to take it all?
SEYMOUR: What was that?
COSBY: Who do you think is going to win?
SEYMOUR: I would like to see Chris or Katharine win.
COSBY: Well, you know, we asked your boyfriend, Simon Cowell. He was on my show not too long ago. How often is he right on about who is going to take it all?
SEYMOUR: Do you know, I hate to say it, but he is normally right every season so far, until now, because, obviously, Kellie is gone, so he’s got it wrong but every season he has gotten it right. I hate to say that, because his head is big enough as it is.
COSBY: Yes. What is it like to date him? We are looking at pictures of the two of you. Is it Simon says, or do you get to have a say in this, Terri?
SEYMOUR: I would say it is interesting, hard work. And I keep him grounded. I like to think I keep him grounded, or at least I try.
COSBY: How did you two meet? Tell us about how the relationship started and bloomed.
SEYMOUR: We have been together for three-and-a-half years now but I have known Simon for 15 years. We were friends in London. And he actually went on a couple of dates with my best friend. That's how I met him.
COSBY: So, he went on a date with your best friend and ended up with you.
SEYMOUR: Exactly. I must be crazy, right?
COSBY: No, you know what? He’s a lot of fun. When we had him on, I really enjoyed him.
SEYMOUR: He is.
COSBY: What is he like off camera? You know, is he tough? Is he a tough critic?
SEYMOUR: You know, off camera, at home, he is exactly the same as when he’s on TV. He’s always very honest, can say things in, you know, maybe not the way that we would say them. He can be a little harsh sometimes. He just says things the wrong way.
COSBY: And how do you deal with that?
SEYMOUR: But he is always critiquing me.
COSBY: Yes. How do you deal with that?
SEYMOUR: I give him as good as he gets.
COSBY: Good for you.
SEYMOUR: But he’s not good at taking it, though. He can dish it out, but he doesn’t like taking it.
COSBY: Well, good for you. So, you are standing up for all the rest of us out there, which we appreciate.
SEYMOUR: Absolutely.
COSBY: You know what? It’s amazing. You look at some of the polls.
There was a poll recently on “American Idol.” It actually came out Tuesday and it said, whose opinion counts the most? And this is staggering: Simon, 58 percent, Terri; Randy Jackson, 26 percent. And poor Paula here, 6 percent.
SEYMOUR: Oh, no.
COSBY: Why do you think people care so much what Simon thinks?
SEYMOUR: I think it’s just because he is really honest. I think people just admire him for his honesty. But he is going to love that poll. Let me assure you, he will love that poll.
COSBY: Yes. Is he going to plaster it all over the home and everywhere else, and his car?
SEYMOUR: Oh, yes, absolutely.
COSBY: He will be rewinding the TiVo, pausing. Not a bad poll to be posting. Is he watching tonight, Terri?
SEYMOUR: He will be watching, yes. He was leaving the show to rush home to watch. So, he will be watching.
COSBY: OK. Good. I want a good critique from you after the show, OK, how we did.
SEYMOUR: OK, 10 out of 10.
COSBY: Thank you very much, Terri. And please tell him we said hello. We enjoyed having him on.
| Sinitta and the Woman Carrying Her Baby |
May 4, 2006
By Victoria Kennedy for The Mirror
With their heads huddled together and Sinitta's arm placed fondly around Kerry West's shoulders, they look like the best of friends -- but they are much more than that. It is thanks to surrogate mum Kerry that Sinitta can finally announce to the world: "I'm having a baby..."
Two of Sinitta's eggs, fertilised with her husband Andy Willner's sperm, were transplanted into Kerry's womb. So she may be expecting twins if both eggs survived the medical procedure..
"You never know," smiles Sinitta, who has already chosen her old friend and X Factor co-star Simon Cowell to be the godfather...
"When Andy and I were dating we used to say that our baby would have that name -- Tiger after Tiger Woods, because we both love golf, and Mouse is my husband's nickname for me because I'm small.
"I know you hear about celebrities calling their children strange names like Apple or Fifi Trixibelle and you don't want your child to get bullied at school, but Tiger Mouse is starting to grow on us."
No one could begrudge Sinitta -- who dated Brad Pitt, Simon Cowell and John Fashanu before settling down with 45-year-old businessman Andy -- for choosing such a strange name...
The baby, or babies - due on Christmas Day -- will be born by Caesarean at Wimbledon Parkside Hospital in South London.
Now there is just one person left to tell her good news to -- Simon Cowell.
"He's flying over from LA next week to start filming Celebrity X Factor, so Kerry and I will tell him in person," smiles Sinitta. "I know he'll be thrilled.
"Simon is a complete oxymoron. When we used to date he'd say 'eugh' whenever I mentioned kids, but now he loves to talk to them."
| Simon Cowell: 'Ryan Would Marry Himself Tomorrow' |
May 3, 2006
By Staff Writers for ABC News
Simon Cowell is not known for his kindness toward contestants on the hit show "American Idol," and in an interview with ABC News' Heather Nauert, he pulls no punches when describing the vibe on the show.
"You've got four colossal egos, with mine being the smallest in a very small space," Cowell said. "I swear, no doubt. Everyone thinks it's me. It's not … Ryan's got the biggest ego. Followed closely by Paula. Then Randy, and then myself."
Cowell didn't stop there.
"Ryan would marry himself tomorrow," Cowell said. "I mean, literally, I mean he is the most egotistical person I have ever met in my life and bearing in mind I am based in Hollywood that is quite a broad thing to say. But he has. And that's kind of one of the reasons why I like him. Paula's always had an ego. Randy's developed one. And so … shake it all up, you get a few fireworks occasionally."
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
| Dream On |
May 2, 2006
By Staff Writers for Anorak
Another devastating blow for John Prescott this morning comes in the shape of a poll which reveals that Simon Cowell is the man most women would like to sleep with.
The man who gave the world Westlife is the choice of 21% of women in the survey published in the Star, just ahead of Robbie Williams (20%) and Daniel Craig (19%).
And he is naturally delighted. “The people who voted for me clearly have excellent taste,” he says.
But before Simon’s ego reaches heights not dreamt of even by the waistline of his trousers and Prezza demands a recount, let’s look closely at the company he’s keeping and ask just who the people who voted for him are.
Do we seriously believe that, given a choice of any woman in the world, 11.4% of the male population would opt for some horseplay with Zara Phillips?
Or that 6% would plump for “cuddly” Fern Britton, while Vanessa Feltz rates ne’er a mention?
And what of the mysterious absence of the DPM?
That would be strange in any circumstances, but doubly so given that the sponsor of the poll is none other than the UK’s biggest bed manufacturer Silentnight.
After all, isn’t their logo something to do with a little bird lying with a hippopotamus?
| Simon Says: Survey Indicates American Idol Voters Value His Tough Love |
May 2, 2006
By Staff Writers for Yahoo Biz
Wildly Popular Show Has Garnered Votes from One in 10 of Entire United States Adult Population During the 2006 Season, According to the Study.
More than half of adult voters for the Fox Broadcasting Company's American Idol program value judge Simon Cowell's opinion over that of the other judges in the 2006 season, according to a study released today by Pursuant, Inc. of Washington, DC. The study found that 58 percent of voters respect Simon Cowell's opinion the most. This is more than twice that of the 26 percent who value Randy Jackson's opinion and nine times more than the 6 percent who value Paula Abdul's. According to the study, one in 10 of the entire United States adult population has voted for a contestant on the show in 2006.
"The American Idol phenomenon is representative of the American Dream - reality television's 'Cinderella Story,'" said Dr. Lori Baker-Sperry, renowned expert on popular culture and assistant professor at Western Illinois University. "It is not surprising that Cowell's opinion is the most respected, as he is symbolic of the cut-throat underside to the fairy tale."
Other characteristics of American Idol voters found in the study include:
Thirty-five percent of all respondents believe that their votes on American Idol count as much as or more so than voting in a U.S. Presidential election
American Idol viewers are more likely to be from the South (39 percent) versus viewers from the Northeast (21 percent), North Central (21 percent) or from the West (19 percent)
Almost three-fourths of American Idol voters are women (73 percent)
When asked the top three reasons adults voted for a contestant, "contestant has a great voice" and "contestant has star quality/potentially successful" made up over three-fourths (76 percent) of respondents' replies; nineteen percent of respondents answered that they "liked a specific contestant/wanted him or her to win"
"The data show that voters are acting as judges in their homes rationally evaluating talent and star quality rather than looks and perceived popularity," said Melissa Marcello, president of Pursuant, Inc. "They've constructed some sort of reality that they are the producer helping to discover the next Kelly Clarkson. My hunch is they feel they have a stake in creating a potential Grammy winner or double platinum record. As former Idols demonstrate their commercial viability, America shares in the reward and responsibility."
Fox's American Idol is a reality show in search of talented singers from all over the United States. The show airs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and has been nominated for fourteen Emmy awards since its inception.
Data for the Pursuant, Inc. study was collected by Opinion Research Corporation from April 21 -24, 2006. Telephone interviews were conducted among a randomly selected national sample of 1, 045 adults comprised of 515 men and 530 women 18 years of age and older. The margin of error for the entire sample is +/- 3% and larger for subgroups. View the full report at www.pursuantresearch.com.
| It’s Like We’re Seeing 2 Shows at Once |
May 02, 2006
By Aaron Barnhart for The Kansas City Star
■ In just four months, viewers who watch every episode of “Idol” will see 45 hours of television. By comparison, “Lost,” “24” and other hit shows will air 24 hours, or half as much … and their seasons run twice as long as “Idol’s.”
■ “Idol” judge Simon Cowell is paid one of the highest salaries in TV, according to Bill Carter of the New York Times in his new book, Desperate Networks. Carter says that before the 2006 season, Cowell threatened to leave “Idol” and Fox caved, agreeing to pay him a reported $36 million a year for the next five years.
■ Fox has often said that it would never try to do a second round of “Idol” in the fall because it would interfere with the network’s coverage of the baseball playoffs. But Carter says that’s not the real reason: Cowell has created a hit reality show of his own, “The X- Factor,” that airs in Great Britain during the fall -— and he stars on that one, too.
| Guinness’ 2006 Listing of Biggest, Fastest and More Hits Stores |
May 2, 2006
By Sean L. McCarthy for The Boston Herald
Donald Trump and Simon Cowell both make the book:
* Trump, for highest annual earnings for a reality TV show host ($7 million in 2003-04).
* Cowell, for earnings as TV talent show judge ($34 million in 2004).
Monday, May 01, 2006
| How a Hit Almost Failed Its Own Audition -- Part 2 |
April 30, 2006
By Bill Carter for the The New York Times via The Gadsen Times
Network television programmers face a challenging job, though not a complicated one: they need to find hits. That's why they spend millions to find and hire talented writers, actors and producers. In many cases they would be wiser to invest in a catcher's mitt, because really big hits, ones that can transform the fates of networks and of network executives tend to fall from the sky. Here is the story of how "American Idol," the biggest hit on television, hovered over every network in 2001, waiting for one of them to grab it. This article is adapted from "Desperate Networks" by Bill Carter, a reporter for The New York Times. Doubleday will publish the book on Tuesday.
With the talks about "Idol" stalled in Los Angeles, the C.A.A. representatives at one point mentioned the show in a conversation with Ms. Murdoch, who ran the News Corporation's most important television operation in England, the BSkyB satellite channel. She, of course, was witnessing the phenomenon of "Pop Idol" firsthand, on her home TV set.
Fortunately for C.A.A., Ms. Murdoch flat-out loved the show. Hearing that her father's American network had yet to act on making a deal for the United States rights, she decided to give the process a helpful nudge. She called her father and told him how much she loved "Pop Idol" and how big the show was becoming in England. She urged him to buy the rights for Fox.
Mr. Murdoch put in a call the next day to Peter Chernin, his No. 2 at the News Corporation and the top decision-maker on all the biggest moves made by the Fox network. "What's going on with this show 'Pop Idol,' Peter?" Mr. Murdoch asked Mr. Chernin. "It's a big hit in England. I spoke to Liz and she says it's great."
Mr. Chernin was familiar enough with the situation to report that Fox's network people had been talking about it with the agency, discussing potential advertising backers. "We're still looking at it," he said.
Mr. Murdoch shot back: "Don't look at it. Buy it! Right now."
With those marching orders ringing in his ears, Mr. Chernin followed up quickly, calling Mr. Grushow and Ms. Berman. He asked them the status of "Pop Idol." They told him that they were still waiting for the advertiser sponsorships to come through.
"Just close the deal," Mr. Chernin said. He explained the call from Mr. Murdoch.
Mr. Grushow said, "We'll get it closed today."
The actual order for the series suddenly changed as well. Instead of an eight-episode summer order, Fox began asking C.A.A. for the rights to broadcast 15 episodes the same duration as the show in Britain. The C.A.A. agents concluded that one of the Murdochs, or maybe both, had insisted that the show be done exactly as it was in England.
That did not mean that Fox would import the British hosts and judges. Fox fully expected to hire figures from the American music industry for those jobs. But after the deal was concluded, and Mr. Grushow finally was able to watch a tape of the British version, he told Ms. Berman that he was taken by the nastily charismatic figure on the British judging panel. "I think as part of the deal, we should insist on bringing this guy over as a judge," he said. At that point, he could not remember Simon Cowell's name.
"Pop Idol" made Mr. Cowell one of the most talked-about cultural figures in Britain in the winter of 2002. He was a tabloid newspaper's dream: seen by millions every week on television, saying something outrageously quotable ("You're a disaster"), doing something unconscionably cruel (several young women left the auditions convulsed in tears after hearing his corrosive assessments of their talents) and tirelessly promoting his program (by doing every sort of interview in print and on television and radio).
Mr. Cowell said he was pleased when he heard that the show had finally sold in the United States but mildly shocked when he learned that Fox was requesting that he come along to be a judge on the American version. He had not planned on turning himself into an international television star; he said he wanted only to make the show a hit for the benefit of his record label.
At first he had doubts about whether he knew enough about American music to judge American singers. He was also concerned because of the way American television executives functioned during those hideous meetings in the spring. He expected that some genius at the American network was bound to try to water down the show, and especially his honestly acerbic comments. He would have no interest in a sweetened version of "Pop Idol."
Then Kevin Warwick, one of the producers of the British show, called. "Look, Simon, we're going over to produce the show in America," he said. "I will look after your back again. You won't have to compromise what you do. You can be yourself."
Mr. Cowell asked, "So I can really be the same as I was in England?"
Mr. Warwick assured him that he could.
A few weeks later, Mr. Cowell arrived in Los Angeles for his first round of meetings with Fox and the American producer, Brian Gadinsky. At first they considered rechristening it "America's Idol." Mr. Darnell thought that made it sound as if it might be about a New York fireman, so he suggested "American Idol." (Nobody wanted "pop" in the title because nobody in the music business in the United States ever used the word "pop" anymore with the exception of Michael Jackson and because "Pop Stars" had been a failure for the WB network.)
Mr. Murdoch, as he often did, sat in on a meeting that winter to go over the full development slate for the network. When it came time to talk about reality programs, he jumped right in and asked about "Idol." Mr. Darnell was ready with his plans for how to execute the format. "Here's what I want to do," he began.
Mr. Murdoch cut him off. "You don't change a thing," he said, according to one of the Fox executives in the meeting. "This show works in England. And you're going to make the same show they made in England. The problem with you Hollywood people is you always want to change things and you ruin everything."
Mr. Murdoch had not likely studied the structure of the British format to determine that it was flawless. But he did know that the network would not have "Idol" had he not insisted on it.
No one would think of challenging Mr. Murdoch's views, but some Fox executives really did believe that the British format had some obvious flaws. For one thing, it had two hosts, which surely made the show seem unnecessarily cluttered. And the four- judge panel invited trouble because it was an even number. If the judges split two to two, the format called for Mr. Cowell to break the tie, but that seemed actually to reduce the number of judges to one.
FOX had not signed Mr. Cowell to a contract at his insistence. He told the Fox executives, "I'll do one season and see how it goes." That was music to the ears of the Fox group, still worried about the expense of this little summer show that had suddenly grown to 15 episodes. Nobody really knew how the show would do. Mr. Cowell was still emphasizing that he was in it not for the fame or the salary, but for the money that would come from having yet another hot artist for his label. He did not even acquire an American agent not right away.
The whole Fox network operation impressed Mr. Cowell because there was never a hint of an attempt to censor him or to turn him into a sweetheart of a guy. Fox seemed to him to be bravely acknowledging that the American audience, like the British audience, was ready to rebel against what Mr. Cowell called "the terrible political correctness that invaded America and England."
To Mr. Cowell, it looked as if Fox was going to allow the audience to see something that wasn't sanitized for a change. They would embrace the fact that with Mr. Cowell doing the talking, "lots of useless people were going to be told that they were useless."
The selection of the other judges went relatively smoothly. When Fox brought in Randy Jackson, the onetime bass player for the band Journey who became a successful producer and talent manager for Columbia Records, Mr. Cowell liked him immediately. When Mr. Cowell heard that Paula Abdul would also be named a judge, Mr. Cowell thought that she was also a solid choice, given her long music career in the United States.
Mr. Cowell did not meet Ms. Abdul until the first round of auditions for the show, which took place in Los Angeles. At that point, no one at Fox had ever even seen the three judges interact with one another. A fourth judge had still not been chosen, but given how much time the auditions were expected to take, the idea was to start with three and, if a fourth was found, to add him or her later.
Almost nothing was said among the judges before the first auditions rolled. Ms. Abdul seemed quiet and polite to Mr. Cowell; Mr. Jackson was affable. The first singers came in. They had already been screened, of course, and included a healthy mixture of respectable warblers and tone-deaf screechers.
This was teed up for Mr. Cowell, who unleashed his lash on every offending wannabe. He told one girl to get a lawyer and to sue her vocal coach. Others he labeled with such terms as wretched, horrid, pathetic. When one kid said he would someday regret all the hearts he was breaking, Mr. Cowell dismissed him with the line, "You're a loser."
The chorus of put-downs was clearly not what Ms. Abdul had been expecting. Several times during the first day, she looked over at Mr. Cowell in shock. He took notice. Apparently, Ms. Abdul had been anticipating the kind of audition that American kids usually got: "Oh, you were great! Thanks, we'll let you know." Instead, they were leaving either angry or in tears.
After the taping, Mr. Cowell cornered the producers. "I think Paula is going to walk," he told them. "I don't think she's going to want to continue to do the show." Ms. Abdul did not quit, but the relationship between her and Mr. Cowell was instantly tense. Their fractiousness on the air in those early shows was definitely not a put-on, Mr. Cowell said.
As the auditions moved on to a second round, Mr. Cowell remained concerned about how Ms. Abdul was going react to his give-no-quarter style. Just before the taping was to begin, one of the newer American producers came up to him with a long sheet of paper in his hand. He offered it to Mr. Cowell.
"What is it?" Mr. Cowell said.
"We've written a script for you today," the producer said.
"What do you mean a script?" the befuddled Mr. Cowell said.
"We've written put-downs for you, more put-downs," the producer said.
"What do you mean, you've written me put-downs?"
"Well, you're scripted, aren't you?" the producer said.
"No, I'm not scripted," Mr. Cowell said, now more appalled than surprised.
"Well, do you want these?" the producer said, offering the list again.
"No!" Mr. Cowell said, utterly indignant at the insult. Apparently these people were accustomed to everything being scripted.
AFTER the auditions, Mr. Cowell flew home to London. He was confident that the show would make great television. He had no idea if it would break through and be a hit, because he felt that he could not predict American tastes the way he could British tastes. But he was more than satisfied with how the auditions had gone. He would return for the live-performance shows just after the first few editions of "American Idol" went on the air.
Mr. Cowell was back at his day job in London on June 11, 2002. He had music artists and selling records on his mind, not "American Idol." The fact that the show had gone on the air the previous night in the United States had slipped his mind.
About 3 p.m. London time, he got a call. It was one of the "Idol" staff members in Los Angeles. When Mr. Cowell picked up the phone, the guy on the other end was so excited that he could hardly get the words out.
"Simon, this is amazing; it's a hit," the voice said.
Confused for a moment, Mr. Cowell said: "What are you talking about? What's a hit?"
" 'American Idol.' We opened last night, and the ratings are going through the roof."
"Fantastic!" Mr. Cowell said. "I'm really pleased."
The report was only a slight exaggeration. "Idol" was the most-watched show on American television, with 10 million viewers, on the Tuesday when it had its premiere; the next night it eclipsed 11 million. Both ranked even better among the young viewers whom Fox coveted, beating all competition in the 18-to-49 age group and, even better, finished first and second for the week among viewers 18 to 34.
Mr. Cowell immediately embarked on a round of publicity, doing 50 interviews with American radio stations in one day alone. Of course, the phenomenon that would soon dominate American pop culture and ignite Fox on a spectacular ratings run toward real competitive balance with the other three networks was only beginning. Within a matter of weeks, Fox was making arrangements to bring "Idol" back in the regular season, starting the following January.
"American Idol" would not be only the "game changer" that Mr. Grushow and Fox had been searching for.
It would be a business-changer for all of network television.
The End
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