Simon Cowell

As American Idol gets ready for another season, there’s no doubt that Simon Cowell and his brash personality, at times overshadows the singing contestants. Along with the other two American Idol judges (Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul), Simon has brought American Idol into mainstream pop culture and every day water cooler chat.

Simon Cowell has worked in the music industry for 27 years. He started in the post room at EMI Music Publishing. After starting his own label at the age of 23, Simon joined BMG in 1989 and began a relationship that has now lasted for 20 years. During his time at BMG, Simon has sold over 150 million records and has had over 50 number one records. His artists have included Westlife whose first 7 singles all went to No 1 and most recently Il Divo, whose first 2 albums have collectively sold 15 million copies around the world.

Simon first became a household name in England as a judge of the singing competition Pop Idol. When that hit how was brought to the U.S. as American Idol, well the rest is history. He also wrote the book titled, “I Don’t Mean to Be Rude, But…”.  Beyond his role as a judge,  Simon has produced the following reality TV shows Cupid,  American Inventor,  America’s Got Talent, and Celebrity Duets.

When asked about American Idol’s popularity, Cowell answered “No. 1, it’s a great TV show. The second reason is that it only runs once a year so I don’t think the public is bored with it. Thirdly, it’s probably the most realistic reality show I’ve seen on American TV.  There are so many under the banner that have no reality in them. My idea is to make the audience believe that they are looking through the keyhole. That is the true definition of reality TV.”

When asked who his role model is, “I actually really like Donald Trump. I think he’s entertaining. There are so many unhappy billionaires, and he’s a happy one with a great sense of humor. I didn’t think I’d like him. I like people [who] don’t take themselves too seriously.”

So behind the famous Cowell scowl, is a multi-talented entertainer who has the knack for finding winning shows and winning singers.  Some people hate him and think he’s too harsh. But with his long string of successes, my bet is he’ll be around for a long, long time.