Simon Cowell from American Idol
“And just who are you?” That is the comment Simon Cowell is often asked after he makes one of his callused remarks to an American Idol hopeful. While many Americans only know Simon as the crass judge on “American Idol” he actually has quite a background in the recording and entertainment industry.
Simon was born in 1959 in Brighton, England. He dropped out of school at the age of 17 and bounced around several menial jobs before his father, an executive at EMI Music Publishing, got him a job – in the mailroom. Simon might have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but his father made him work his way up in the business. Simon left his producer job at EMI in 1985 to start his own label, Fanfare Records, with partner Iain Burton. He signed Sinitta and scored with two big hits, “So Macho” and “Toyboy.” However, in 1989, Fanfare went bankrupt and, having lost so much money, he moved back home with his parents. He claims this low point in his life taught him the value of money.
Simon started his climb back up the ladder of success with BMG as an A&R consultant. It was at BMG that he had some of his biggest selling hits. Simon can be credited with producing records for such television shows as “WWF,” “Power Rangers,” and “Teletubbies.” Simon has produced singers and groups that have recorded over 70 Top 30 records, sold over 25 millions albums, and had 17 #1 singles.
Of course, we all know Simon best for “American Idol,” but before “American Idol,” he hosted a similar singing show in Britain called “Pop Idol” in 2001. It was this combination of music and television that catapulted Simon to super stardom. The show featured pop star hopefuls vying for a chance to win and make a hit record. It was Simon’s bitter, brutally honest personality that has made both “Pop Idol” and “American Idol” a success. Love him or hate him, people were turning out in droves to see Simon critique the singers. The winner of season one of “Pop Idol,” Will Young, went on to have the biggest selling debut single ever with 1.8 million in sales, of which Simon got a share with his producing credits.
Along with creator Simon Fuller, Simon Cowell decided to bring “Pop Idol” to America. Renaming it to “American Idol,” Simon added Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson as the two additional judges and a television juggernaut was born. The finale of the season one saw Kelly Clarkson (who has gone on to win several Grammy awards) pitted against Justin Guarini. It brought in 22.77 million viewers. Each year, the success of “American Idol” only seems to get stronger and stronger. By season five, over 36 million viewers watched the finale between Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee. Other networks have even had their otherwise successful shows take a hiatus during the “American Idol” audition weeks so their ratings don’t suffer. Simon’s reported salary for his part in the success – a cool $36 million a year.
Simon divides his time between the UK and the US and set up his own production company, Syco TV. Syco TV has produced the successful “The X Factor,” a British talent show and Simon just signed a contract with Fox to appear on “American Idol” for another five years. His ABC show, “American Inventor,” will return for a second season this year. He is also the executive producer of “America’s Got Talent,” which drew 12 million viewers a week to NBC last season, beating the popular “So You Think You Can Dance.” He also launched Il Divo, a combination of three opera singers and one pop singer of different nationalities, in 2004. Life is indeed good for America’s nastiest judge.
Read these other great entries