Cowell feels the love on ‘American Idol’ send-off

1:09 AM / Posted by yusrizal / comments (0)

May 27, 2010

Cowell arrives for the season finale of ‘American Idol’ in Los Angeles yesterday, May 26, 2010. — Reuters pic
LOS ANGELES, May 27 — Paula Abdul sat on his lap, and his best insults were turned into a song as a softer Simon Cowell took centre stage yesterday in his last appearance as a judge on “American Idol”.

The British music executive may have become a household name in the United States by trashing wannabe singers, but his send-off yesterday was a love fest.

The season finale was scattered with video clips of memorable Cowell faces, humorous tributes from fellow judges and a song that strung his most famous one-liners together.

Ex-judge Abdul teased Cowell about his haircut and recalled a love-hate relationship on screen that she said made them “America’s most dysfunctional family” before she quit the show last year.

“My darling Simon, I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years, hot cheerleaders, big movie stars, world famous recording artists, even a cartoon cat. But if I’m being truly honest, none of them holds a candle to you, my friend,” Abdul said in a surprise live appearance.

She then perched on his lap on the judges’ podium as seven former “Idol” champions and more than 15 past contestants serenaded him.

Cowell, dragged on stage shortly before the actual 2010 “American Idol” was announced, admitted to feeling emotional.

“When everyone asks who’s going to replace me, who’s going to be the next judge, the truth is, you guys are the judge of this show,” Cowell said, indicating the viewers and voters.

“And you’ve done an incredible job over the years,” he added.

Cowell is leaving “Idol” to bring a version of his British talent show “The X Factor” to the United States next year, leaving producers to find a replacement for him on the top-rated Fox singing show.

“I think they need Darth Vader to take his place or possibly Hannibal Lecter,” rock singer Alice Cooper told reporters before performing yesterday, referring to some of the movie world’s most famous villains.

Former “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe compared Cowell’s departure to when actor Sean Connery left the “James Bond” movie franchise. The movies carried on with a new Bond.

“It’s not just about Simon. It’s about the young talent and I think we’ve just got to stop talking about the judges, which we’ve seem to have done for the last two years, and worry about the talent,” Lythgoe said.

Cowell said during one video clip played yesterday that his nine years on “Idol” had been the best of his life.

“I think he personifies what separates this show from... a lot of other shows that have come before it,” singer Michael McDonald, formerly of the Doobie Brothers, told reporters.

“I can’t imagine a show capturing the imagination of the public like this show has for a long, long time,” he said. — Reuters

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Simon Cowell speaks of depression, admits mistakes

8:21 PM / Posted by yusrizal / comments (0)

Cowell said he once lost everything because he “believed my own hype”. — Reuters pic

LOS ANGELES, May 21 — Simon Cowell showed Americans his softer side yesterday, telling Oprah Winfrey he suffered from depression and that he had made “some absolutely horrific mistakes” in the past.

The normally abrasive “American Idol” judge said during an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that he was prone to dark moods.

“I get very, very down,” Cowell said “Pretty much depression. (But) what I always say is, ‘You’re taking yourself too seriously, so stop it.’ At the same time, you should never put a painted smile on. When you’re feeling down, you’re feeling down.”

Cowell, 50, who also has his own record label and created the TV shows “America’s Got Talent” and “The X-Factor,” said he sometimes felt drained by the demands of his work.

“You just become aware that a lot of people depend on you, rely on you, or you’re not giving people the time you should be giving them. It’s almost like a guilt thing, and that does drain me,” he said.

Often seen as arrogant because of his stinging put-downs to aspiring singers, Cowell admitted that he had a strong ego.

But life hasn’t always been kind. He recalled the time 20 years ago when he lost his job, car and home and had to move back to live with his parents in Britain when a business deal went wrong.

“I made some absolutely horrific mistakes. I believed my own ego, believed my own hype, believed my own abilities, and lots of times it came crashing down,” he said. “I thought I was absolutely untouchable.”

Cowell’s interview with Winfrey was broadcast a week before the May 26 finale of “American Idol”, which will mark the end of his eight year association with the most-watched TV show in the United States. — Reuters

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