Music boss Simon Cowell is reportedly planning to replace David Hasselhoff as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent. The 51-year-old is said to be ‘unimpressed’ with Hasselhoff’s start on the show after joining along with comic Michael McIntyre. A source close to the music mogul said to UK newspaper Sunday Mirror: "He’s not thrilled about the start. He feels that The Hoff hasn’t quite taken off with BGT viewers." It’s claimed he could be lining up Louis Walsh to take over on the hit British talent show. Cowell himself will not appear on the line-up until the live finals.
Simon Cowell believes that the world is in need of something to look forward to, like the royal wedding. The 51-year-old X Factor boss said that watching Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange their vows will be a welcome break from the doom and gloom of recent years. He told Entertainment Tonight, "I think this is exactly the right time. We need something like this at the moment. "It’s been a bit gloomy the last couple of years, so this is going to lift everybody. Everyone’s excited."
Simon Cowell has announced that he is installing booths in American shopping malls for wannabe contestants to audition for the US X Factor. Aspiring performers will be able to film their audition tape at one of the MyStudio recording studios across the US from this week, if they cannot attend an open audition. The first audition studios will open tomorrow at the Pearlridge Centre Uptown in Honolulu, and Arizona Mills, Phoenix, with additional studios opening at Coolsprings Galleria, Nashville (9 April), Dimond Centre, Anchorage (12 April), Oak Park Mall, Kansas City (15 April), and Colorado Mills, Denver (16 April). All studios will remain open until 30 April. The 51-year-old music mogul said in a statement: "We think they are a brilliant way to audition for people who haven’t made it to the cities. "MyStudio has kindly let us use these high-tech studios for the X Factor auditions, which record studio-quality sound and video to make the audition tape, and I’m very excited for anyone who decides to use these to audition." The auditions are open to all singers over the age of 12, with the winner taking away a $5m recording contract with Syco/Sony Music.
It looks like the latest season of American Idol is spreading optimism all around… especially with the high-ups. After all of the records the tenth season has been breaking recently, it seems that FreemantleMedia’s CEO, Tony Cohen, believes the show might just attain the highest ratings a season of American Idol has ever reached. It looks like the new trio of Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler is really doing a terrific job and they are making their superiors proud as peach. It will be interesting to see how Simon Cowell is actually going to manage to top this one with his new pet project in the US.
X Factor boss Simon Cowell is planning a new lottery TV show giving contestants the chance to win £1million. The 51-year-old music boss has signed up comedy duo Ant and Dec to front the new ITV1 show, which will reportedly be called Roulette. According to UK newspaper The Sun, 17,000 people will pay approximately £1 for a ticket and then go into a draw to get the chance to compete in live challenges in a bid to win a top prize. The contestants will compete from London’s Wembley Arena and it’s claimed a pilot episode will be filmed in June. A source said: "It is a big gamble for Simon as it could be telly’s biggest ever turkey if it goes wrong. This will be one of the most ambitious TV shows ever staged. "Details are under wraps for now but the idea is that people will pay a small price – say £1 – to get a ticket which will give them a chance of taking part. "Simon is confident that because millions vote for the X Factor every week they will be prepared to pay."
Simon Cowell reportedly wants Noel Gallagher and Mick Jagger as judges on the American X Factor. The 51-year-old judge is taking the UK talent show to the US next year and it is claimed he wants former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher to be part of the show. A source said to UK newspaper The Sun: “Simon wants to go one better than American Idol, who have Aerosmith frontman Steve Tyler, and has set his heart on British rock ‘n’ roll royalty – with Noel and Mick top of his shopping list. “Noel’s manager met up for early talks and there is serious wedge on offer. Simon is a huge fan of Noel’s songwriting and the no-nonsense attitude Oasis brought to Britpop in the Nineties. He’d be great to dish out feedback.”
Music boss Simon Cowell hit out at Elton John live on The X Factor after his comments about the show. Cowell, 51, spoke in retaliation to comments that the Rocket Man had earlier made about the acts on the show after he called them ‘boring’ and ‘brain crippling’. After contestant Rebecca Ferguson’s performance, Cowell said: “Elton John said in the papers… he said that these shows don’t produce stars. “Well Elton if you’re not watching, I’m going to send you this tape and you can take back what you said.” He also spoke to UK newspaper the Sunday Mirror and said: “The truth is Elton’s watching the show every week. “What he’s slightly missing the point on, and you always hear this resentment from bigger artists nowadays… they don’t like the fact that a show can make an artist. “I always say to these people who criticise – why don’t you spend some time with new artists. If Elton feels that strongly about it then my message to him is: ‘You show me how to do it’.”
Chris Isaak is reportedly in talks to take over from Simon Cowell on American Idol.
The Wicked Game singer is said to have had two meetings with network executives about the role, with Fox’s entertainment chairman Peter Rice reportedly keen for the new judge to be in place to join the audition roadshow in September.
Another king of smooth, Harry Connick Jr, has also been mentioned as a possible contender, while rocker Bret Michaels was given the once-over but is out of the running, says the Hollywood Reporter.
The first round of auditions for the X Factor kicked off today in Glasgow. On the judging panel sits regulars Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh. However, they aren’t alone as former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell will also be joining them to judge the contestants, filling in for Dannii Minogue. If Geri isn’t enough for you, she isn’t the only big named celebrity to look forward to as rumors are going around that Prince might also act as a judge on the show. I’m not holding my breath for that one though. I doubt that he will creep out of seclusion just to judge those less talented than him.
The very last sing-off of American Idol between Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze apparently didn’t turn out to be such an epic ending as some might have wished… or hoped. It seems the show’s ratings fell by 23% in comparison to what they were last year and these also have every chance of being the lowest ratings ever for American Idol. And since Simon Cowell is leaving the show, it’s a surprise they’re even holding auditions for another season. If there was ever a good time for Simon Cowell to start his own American version of The X Factor, this is it. His leaving does however reminisce of what rats do when a ship sinks.
Do you care who will win American Idol 2010?
There are only a few episodes left of American Idol meaning there?s only so much time left until Simon Cowell will be gone from the judges? table permanently. However, there?s still no replacement named. It?s being said that the snarky judge?s replacement will not be revealed until after the May 26 season finale. Fox chairman Peter Rice said ?We?re not going to rush into something. We?re not going to try to find a Simon clone who can do what he does because, you know, he?s one of a kind. But the [Idol] format itself, people love.? I wonder who they?re going to pick.
Well, it?s pretty obvious who the star of last night?s American Idol episode was. A mere glance at Simon Cowell?s comment about Michael Lynche?s performance will be more than an answer to that question: “The first three performance have been OK. Now, with you, that’s all changed. … I actually felt that you listened and that everyone worked together on that performance. … Fantastic. Well done.” It looks like the American Idol contestant really managed to sell Frank Sinatra?s ?The Way You Look Tonight? to the judges? and to the audience from the looks of the Idol Meter. There?s really no doubt now about who?s going to be safe this week.
It?s pretty amazing to believe that he actually has something like that, but apparently it?s true. It looks like Simon Cowell is quite partial to screams? he must be a closet metal fan. Siobhan Magnus decided to go with ?Any Man of Mine? on Shania Twain week and she ended it with a really powerful scream of which the fabled Earl of Exigency had this to say: “The screaming at the end may have gone a little bit … it was almost like you were giving birth up there.” He just doesn?t know how to say he dug Siobhan Magnus? performance. It looks like we may have a winner on our hands? at least for this week.
Brian McFadden, an incoming judge on Australia’s Got Talent, has extended his vitriol to Victoria Posh Beckham, 35.
Could McFadden be channelling Simon Cowell, asks a report in the Daily Star.
The paper could not be mistaken for noting McFadden’s sharp tongue Down Under. He earlier pronounced Cowell’s number one discovery, Susan Boyle, 48, was “old” and “fat”.
Next he strongly suggests Beckham, hardly a newcomer as a former Spice Girl, was no good either.
“Victoria Beckham was a bit of a fan of auto-tune for different reasons from mine. It wasn’t really an effect with her. It was more like: ‘What are we going to do with this turd that’s coming out of your mouth? We’re going to have to auto-tune it, there’s no other options.’”
Paul McCartney sent a special message to the contestants of American Idol as they prepared to sing Lennon and McCartney songs.
“Hey there, Paul McCartney here,” the Beatles legend said in a message to the final contestants. “I’m very pleased that you’re singing the songs of Lennon and McCartney and I just want to say get out there, go for it – enjoy yourselves. Good luck!”
Meanwhile, new judge Ellen DeGeneres had a cheeky swipe at Simon Cowell, who recently got engaged. After one contestant sang Can’t Buy Me Love, Ellen said: “First of all, you can buy love” and, as all the judges looked towards mega-rich Cowell, she added: “Am I right, Simon?”
It seems that the American Idol contestant managed to prepare a real treat for the judges last night as he chose ?Treat Her Like That? from the Cornelius Brothers. Lee DeWyze apparently almost knocked them dead with his performance and if you need any proof of that just take a look at what Simon Cowell said about it: “You know, I’ve always believed in you. This was the night your life may have changed forever.” Yes, well Simon Cowell probably believes in everybody who can get close to winning. Still it is a good thing for Lee DeWyze to be on his good side? he may never know when he might need a favor from the gods.
It seems that the producers really don?t think they can pull it off without Simon Cowell anymore? so next year?s American Idol season will be its last. And such an epic number of seasons it had: ten, to be exact. This is what a source said about the show reaching its inevitable end: “Producers know Simon really makes the show, and they feel like they could go only one season without him and the quality will suffer after that.” They probably don?t even want to try and compete with Simon Cowell?s upcoming American version of The X Factor. It seems the Earl of Exigency really does have the whole pop-star industry in his back pocket.
A US chat show host has poked fun at how close Simon Cowell’s fellow American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi is getting to the newly-engaged star – in a sketch suggesting she’ll soon be lap dancing for him.
Host Jimmy Kimmel agreed with Idol host Ryan Seacrest’s observation that Kara is sitting closer and closer to Cowell with each show.
And he put together a package of clips to support the theory – ending with his own sketch of a shapely woman wearing Kara’s dress, dancing for a man supposed to be Cowell.
The spoof was screened on Wednesday night just hours after American Idol was aired.
Kimmel introduced it by saying: ?This season – and Ryan Seacrest mentioned this on air, I was thinking it was just me – but I noticed that Kara has been sitting next to Simon.
?They seem to be getting closer physically each night.”
Host Seacrest had said to married Kara on Wednesday’s American Idol: ?I notice this year you have been cosying up close to Simon’s plunging neckline there.
?What’s happening there? Anything you want to tell us??
Cowell, whose fianc?e is Idol make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy, encouraged the banter by telling Kara: ?You want me, don’t you??
Simon Cowell is engaged to Mezhgan Hussainy. It’s all but official, People magazine reports.
The magazine quotes a reliable source saying Cowell is happier than he’s been in years.
Hussainy, 36, has shown off a sparkler on her left hand as reports of their engagement after just six months of dating surfaced on both sides of the Atlantic. Cowell, America’s top TV earner, was “very suited” to the make-up artist who emigrated to the US with her family from war-torn Afghanistan. Cowell’s representative Max Clifford told the magazine: “She is someone who is independent and says what she thinks and feels, and he likes that. He’s probably the happiest I have ever known him in the nine years I’ve been working with him.”
Clifford continued: “They have known each other for years. They’ve actually been going out together for the last year. She knows him – she’s been around him. So, she knows the person he is, and he knows the person she is. That’s why it works so well.”
Cowell is the star judge of Britain’s The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and American Idol in the US.
Simon Cowell has made a rare apology to an American Idol contestant who was booted from the show for a third time.
The acid-tongued judge said he regretted sending home down-on-her-luck contestant Angella Martin, who made it to the Hollywood round of the show three years in a row, only to be sent home.
Simon Cowell sent his apologies to her, saying that the judges got it wrong and she should have been in the top 24.
He said: “Angela, I apologise. I genuinely do, because I think you should have been in the top 24.”
Every first-grade act has to have somebody waiting in the shadows for them to make a mistake and take their place. In the case of the American Idol boys, that shadow is none other than Michael Lynche whose performance of ?This Love? by Maroon 5 didn?t really quite cut the bill. The fabled Earl of Exigency made a very scathing comment on Michael Lynche?s performance: “You were like the support act before the main act. You delivered so little on that performance.” Randy Jackson however supports Michael Lynche and so does Ellen DeGeneres? after all, Simon Cowell does seem to be wholly against him so the poor guy needs all the support he can get. Michael Lynche?s performance may not have been astounding, but at least he gets to sit in the dark corner and just way for Casey James? first mishap.
Simon Cowell’s charity record for Haiti is on schedule to hit the top spot in the charts for a second week.
The single, which features the voices of stars such as Susan Boyle, Rod Stewart, Cheryl Cole and Mariah Carey, has already sold 43,000 copies this week, just days after hitting number one in the UK.
Proceeds from the record, which is a cover of the REM hit Everybody Hurts, are being split between the Disasters Emergency Committee and the Helping Haiti Appeal.
Cowell, 50, put the record together with help from the UK newspaper The Sun and got a variety of celebrities to help out and lend their vocals.
Ellen DeGeneres has upheld her American Idol stint.
The entertainment world put the performance of the incoming judge under the microscope – and endlessly explored her “chemistry” with British man-bitch Simon Cowell. Programs like Barbara Walters’s The View analysed the on-screen gelling – or not – of the pair, with some observers saying it was too soon to tell how they got along.
Appearing on her own show, DeGeneres gave herself a tick: “I was honest with [the singers]. I was concerned going into it I would be tiptoeing around too much, but I wasn’t.”
DeGeneres received a congratulatory message on Twitter from Simon Fuller, the show’s creator, and another from her wife Portia de Rossi. “Well, she loves me no matter what,” she said.
The chemistry issue may become a little moot since Cowell is moving on from Idol to focus on his US export of The X-Factor. DeGeneres for her part has signed on for three more seasons of the Ellen show, taking her up to 2014.
She said: “Everyone is anxious to see how Simon and I are going to be together and, you know, I am too. I know how we were for Hollywood Week, and I know there were good days and bad days. But I don’t know how we’re going to be on live TV. That’s going to be an interesting thing.”
Helping Haiti, the single released by Simon Cowell and The Sun, has become the century’s fastest-selling charity single.
The British newspaper reported that it had sold 206,000 copies in two days.
Cowell selected the REM tune Everybody Hurts for the single, which the paper forecasts will hit number one in the charts this weekend.
Cowell masterminded the track on the request of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who arranged for the VAT tax to be dropped on it.
Stars including Robbie Williams, Cheryl Cole and Susan Boyle have contributed to the song. Half the proceeds will go to the Disasters Emergency Committee and half to The Sun’s Helping Haiti Appeal.
Simon Cowell did a mighty fine job organizing and finding artists to sing on the cover of REM?s hit ?Everybody Hurts?. The cover features some of the biggest artists on the UK and US music scenes. The song will be available for download on Sunday, February 7, and released on CD the following day. The song features the voices of Leona Lewis, Mariah Carey, Jon Bon Jovi, Kylie Minogue, Miley Cyrus, Susan Boyle, Mika, Michael Buble and more. According to HMV, the single will split proceeds 50/50 between Disasters Emergency Committee and The Sun?s Helping Haiti appeal. Go out and buy the single and help the earthquake victims!
New American Idol judge Ellen DeGeneres has revealed Simon Cowell is meaner than she realised.
DeGeneres has joined the panel of judges – that includes Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi – this year after Paula Abdul sensationally quit.
But after spending time filming the new series of the hit reality show, DeGeneres admits she finds it hard to listen to TV’s Mr Nasty crush people’s dreams.
She told US TV show Entertainment Tonight: “I had one idea of Simon when I came in, and it’s changed. He’s actually meaner than I thought. It’s hard to listen to him tell people things and me not to go: ‘You poor thing!’”
She says, however: “I’m getting good at delivering bad news, myself, but I’m trying to do it in a tender way. I hate hurting people’s feelings, so that, I think, is the hardest part. But I think we have good people. I’m going to fight very, very hard to keep the people that I believe in, so that we have a wide variety, somebody for everybody, I hope.”
DeGeneres will debut as a judge on the February 9 episode of the show while Cowell will exit the show at the end of this season.
Men who wear their trousers as high as Simon Cowell are just showing signs that they are getting older.
The 50-year-old X-Factor and American Idol judge is well known for his love of trousers with a high waistband.
British department store Debenhams claims that while teenagers like their waist lines low, older men choose trousers with a much-higher waistband.
According to research, an average man’s trousers are just seven inches from his armpit when he turns 57.
Debenhams spokesman Paul Baldwin said: “Our findings are very important because the position of the waistband determines how men’s trousers are tailored.”
The music mastermind and talent show king is going to be doing his own part in helping the victims of the Haiti disaster. Simon Cowell will be making a single in which he will gather of bunch of famous voices from around the globe in order to raise money for Haiti. This is what Simon Cowell said on the matter: “It’s very, very short notice. We made the decision today, so I’ve got to get it all together in about 48 hours. It’s going to feature as many people as possible. I haven’t made up my mind on the song yet, I’ve got a couple of ideas. It will be a cover version, yeah.” Why donate yourself when you can make others do it for you? and maybe gather up a little extra for the effort. And if anybody can do that, then it?s most definitely Simon Cowell.
La Toya Jackson has apparently become so delusional that she thinks she is qualified to take over for Simon Cowell on American Idol. She has apparently put the offer out there and is hoping that the AI execs would jump all over it. Take a place in line honey because you and every other D-list actor, singer, record producer, mime and Jackson in Hollywood wants to take over for the snarky judge. William Hung has a bigger chance of getting picked for this job than you so don?t hold your breath. None of us even know if they will get another judge or just stick to the original three-judge panel.
