This season I've detected a change in the way contestants appear to regard Simon's comments. This change is particularly noticeable with the females, who now appear to look to Kara as the authority figure, with everything in their responses and reactions indicating they value what she says far more highly than anything Simon has to offer.

Whereas once upon a time contestants' faces always dropped as they faced the Executioner (after breezing through what the other judges had said as if it didn't matter), now many of them look at him before he even opens his mouth like he's a pantomime dame who will deliberately say the direct opposite to what everyone else has said just to be contentious. There's more amusement, raised eyebrows and 'whatever' than there is a visible foreboding.

And the results in recent years show that his comments don't carry the same influence with the viewers they once did either, who may even root for someone he has unfairly criticised. This will no doubt explain why he has turned turtle and is now eulogising Crystal after labelling her a busker, because he will be aware that she'll have scored highly in the voting and may even be a favourite.

Simon has been busted on X Factor due to his brazen self-contradictions and standing ovations for his own acts. Is he suffering the same fall from grace on Idol, and if so does this bode well for any 'authority' he will carry on X Factor USA?

I couldn't disagree more with your post from start to finish.

I do think Simon is starting to look more like the grumpy old man of the panel rather than the chairman of the board. He's always been a bit of a Scrooge, but now the seperation between the two characters is getting wider.

He's still the hardest to please and so he remains the one to impress. And he has always criticised favourites on Idol, one of the reasons I think he is far better on that show than on X Factor. While Crystal was hotly tipped in week 1, she didn't do that well and so she didn't get fawning praise. Had she been one of his contestants on X Factor, she'd have got a standing ovation regardless of her performance!

And his opinions have possibly provoked viewers to act against him for years so that hasn't changed. Taylor Hicks and Kris Allen both won despite him not liking them and preferring Chris/Adam. In series 3, he made Jasmine Trias cry and she got to the top 3!

He seems fairly grumpy, which is good. I can't really be doing with the "jolly uncle Simon" version that pops up occasionally (and increasingly often) and I still think he's far nicer than he was in the early years.

I think most of what you say is in your own imagination. Simon Cowell has been busted? He has, has he? So, what's that, not coming back, show is diving in the ratings, what exactly? He's at the top of his game and they can't really make these shows without him.

X Factor and Idol are the #1 light entertainment shows in their countries, largely due to Simon Cowell. He's the #1 figure on US and UK TV in terms of ratings and income. Just watch the audience in the USA switch from Idol to X Factor when it starts there.

He hasnt been busted at all - His reputation is also on the line everytime X Factor comes around, of course he's going to show biased towards his acts if they're not good.

Mind you he has sent home and criticised his acts before.

ribtickle, you're spot on.

Kara articulates her (knowledgeable) opinion so well, concise, realistic and helpful to the singer. Her body language, the way she engages with people, is so impressive.

After Kara, it seems irrelevant what Simon says. And his regular "I'm with (pause) Randy/Kara" is irritating.

He has, but he seems to do it less these days. Particularly last series where he and Dannii seemed to be on their feet after all of their own acts performances (despite a frequently sh*t standard). Fortunately that crazyness hasn't set in on Idol yet and him getting on his feet is still extremely rare.


It's often her body language and the way that she "engages with people" that irritates me. It all seems so try-hard and often extremely patronising ("honey" - "sweetie"). The attempts at "girl power" in the auditions were embarrassing to watch. And yet she can come across quite well in interviews as well, perhaps she's more relaxed?

But one word I would never use to describe her is "concise". She talks way too much and way too fast. Whoever replaces Cowell needs to have the same "punchy" critiques and work the audience.

At least she stopped talking about "your instrument" this week. Now if we can just get a ban for one week on all of them using the word "artist" and the phrase "know who you are".

Also, sometimes they just need to judge rather than coach. They keep giving all this advice that gets nobody anywhere because some of them just aren't good enough.

I'd say he has indeed been busted on the UK's X Factor in recent years, the forums have certainly indicated so. Only in America does he still retain this curious image of being an honest Joe who is all out of BS. The American viewers have long mistaken his "uncharacteristic" British rudeness for being disarmingly frank.

If he adopts the same persona on the US version of X Factor as he has the UK in recent years then the duplicity will be obvious, and he will be busted over there like he has been here, where rather less people revere him as a man of integrity and instead see him as a populist who "ruined music" while providing good light entertainment television. It's why 'Geraldine' did so well.

The reason for X Factor's success in the UK is the show itself, the drama of it all, an element which introduced a serious, life-determining edge to a tired old Opportunity Knocks formula (which also topped the ratings). Forums like this, the media, and chat shows don't spend their time loving Simon Cowell. There's no active Simon Cowell appreciation society here at DS, instead it's Dannii Minogue, and away from DS, it's Cheryl Cole who are more popular than he is because they are perceived to be direct and emotionally honest.

His behaviour on XF6 was dire and irritating but there were few good ones this year, but American Idol also have stinker seasons, i.e Season 6 also and probably Season 9 as well so far.

And Cheryl is seen as Simons lapdog more than anything else, she thinks he's always right.

Dannii and Louis have been getting along great though, they made a complete fool out of him, especially Dannii when Jedward and Olly were in the bottom two, she simply asked him straight on air, 'Do I make this decision on the music and singing, or do I make this decision for novelty reasons?' Simon stuttered and basically couldnt answer her question and started to bother Cheryl.

You couldn't write that shit, I'm telling you.

Can't agree - Kara is articulate and passionate about music. I have to agree with the OP. her opinion is the one the contestants will listen to as she is an artist herself, and not in a Danni Minogue, Cheryl Cole kind of way. Her critiques are far more interesting than Simon's "relevant "and "current" comments as he's only interested in whether they'll make money or not. He's not bothered about music for it's own sake.

Forums mean next to nothing. If they did, Dannii Minogue would be in line to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol and Cheryl Cole would never be in the papers because people apparently hate reading about her.


I hope he goes for a more honest approach with his acts on the show like he had in the first few years of XF UK. But it doesn't really matter so long as the show is a hit. The whole Jedward debacle was a case of him losing some personal credibility for the sake of the show.

Also, the fact that he is the boss of such a successful show (plus BGT as well) puts plays into his image as a media mogul. Even where another judge (as has happened with Cheryl) becomes some kind of major star, he gets credit for it and is seen as the svengali behind it all. Indeed, DS often seems to exaggerate his involvement in her career. Of course it works both ways and if XF US isn't successful then it will reflect poorly on him.


He'll be happy if it's a success whatever the reason. So long as he can produce a show of the same standard in the US.

The media widely regard him as being at the top of his game in music & television. And chat shows would love to have him on so long as he does what he did for Piers Morgan when it comes to ratings (considerably higher than the much revered Ms Minogue). I reckon he'll live without approval from Digital Spy!

I do often agree with her (as I said, it's the way she says it).

But I do disagree with this. Kara is just as focussed on the commercial aspect as Simon with references to people being "commercial" or having radio voices. This is a woman who has contributed significantly for artistes such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan's albums. She has her eye on the almighty $ rather than musical credibility and I think she's pretty savvy (she has already scored 2 big hits with Iyaz & Jason Derulo since joining Warner Bros as EVP, Talent Development in 2008).

Not that I think that's a bad thing. The show is American Idol ("Search for a Superstar" as it was in season 1). They're looking for someone that can sell records.

Taylor and Kris's wins were down to small, dedicated and well-organised fanbases that risked RSI for their rabid voting. Ultimately, Simon was proved right on both occasions and others like it.

As for making a contestant cry ................... cry at the right time in the competition and you're virtually guaranteed a top 5 finish at least.

I found her nauseating fawning adoloscent girl behaviour with Casey quite revolting.

Simon is pretty rubbish now. He's not just recycling every hoary cliche of his own from the last 10 years ("desparate", "karaoke") he's now taken to copying other judges (the incessant references to "having a moment", which bloody Kara started).

Kara may have grown more annoying by the episode but for me, she's outranking him in terms of meaningul analysis.

This genuinely is my first full American Idol. I'm enjoying it.

As as UK "X Factor" viewer I think Simon looks bored. I love and respect Kara's views. Intelligent, constructive, and harsh when they need to be. The others, Ellen - copying the others, Randy - "Yo, yo, dog" is irritating. The end.

Hehehe.. I agree on the yo-yo dog Randy comment.. it's does feel irritating at times..

I agree with the part I've quoted, but the first two paragraphs are wildly off target. I think it may be a while before reality sets in on USXF, too.


I think he's quite blatantly been "busted". But it's ludicrous to suggest that just because people haven't switched off in their droves his halo hasn't slipped. People no more switch on because they perceive him as credible than switch off when they realise he has none, just as millions don't stop watching their favourite soap when a main character has an abrupt character transplant. Most will have forgotten all about the Danyl, Jamie, Lucie & Jedward issues by the time the next series rolls around. But plenty will remember once again the next time he repeats those mistakes, too.

There won't be any "switch", because both shows will run on the same channel at different times of the year.


Kara rambles so much she's virtually incoherent at times. She must be hugely grateful for the addition of Ellen, as now there's someone whose opinion is even less relevant than her own. I'd expect them to start mixing up the order they're called on soon, too.


Dannii's acts delivered some superb performances last year. It's really time to put this issue to bed.

Now that's more like it.


So in a never sold any records because she/they sucked kind of way, then?

Cut past the flailing and waffling, and she's more repetitive than Randy will ever be.


5.61 million / 5.29 million. Is that "considerably higher"? Dannii got a 24% audience share, Simon managed 23.4%. Given his supposed status and the amount of publicity his interview had, it performed relatively poorly. The only other interviews that got higher ratings than Dannii's - Cliff Richard's and Jordan's (first time around) - were more popular than Simon's, too.


Yet Taylor's debut sold almost twice as many copies as Katharine McPhee's. It was obvious when they went back to their home towns that Taylor had it in the bag. His turnout dwarfed hers, which Cowell himself picked up on. No arguments with regards to the world's luckiest busker, though.

Superb performances such as... There were hardly any great performances in the whole series let alone superb. Hopefully Cowell and Dannii get back in their seats this year.


You're comparing officials to overnights. Dannii was about 4.7/4.8m in the overnight ratings. The Jordan episode was the previous high on 5.2m.

It was just in response to question about chatshows. All they care for is ratings and Cowell is apparently rather good for that. Not that I think people are particularly interested in his private life, rather that in his professional life he is behind many of the people and brands that people are interested in.

(The Cliff Richard one wasn't "Life Stories" it was a special).

Different (UK) forums offer different panel queens. It seems DS is a 'Team Minogue' enclave, but that isn't the case elsewhere (and wouldn't be relevant to the US at all), but what is a generality across UK forums is the increasing realisation that Simon Cowell isn't as sincere as he was taken for when judging on talent shows, and that is why so many away from forums bought into Geraldine and also Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah as a form of protest against him and his domination of the music chart. They may even continue to like the big top show, it's just a shame about the ringmaster.


I agree, but the issue in America is they took to him because they saw him as an honest Brit who "kept it real", when he is nothing of the sort, as has been shown in the UK X Factor where he jumps ship after being privy to how the voting trends are going. It's all become a little too transparent, he's overplayed things and his credibility has taken a severe hammering, and I would suggest this is the reason for his recent retirement plans - because he knows the audience will turn against him and his 'shelf-life' is nearly over. If he makes the same mistake (and that's what it's been) in the US with X Factor I think the US audience will rapidly turn against him, even if the show, due to other components, may be a success, because everything there, his 'pulling power', is built upon him being brutally honest.



I agree - no doubt it's win-win where money is concerned, but what of his credibility and how reliable his judging comments will be taken in future if he ruins that Stateside like he has so spectacularly in the UK.


The media seem to respect him more as a canny businessman who is on his way to becoming a billionaire, rather than as a sincere manager who believes in his acts and speaks the truth when judging. The game he plays is that of Monopoly, in every sense of the word, and from stories his past acts reveal there is only ever one winner.

It's not just DS. Everyone from royalty to Sting to those who put Geraldine at number 1, to those who tried to get Jeff Buckey to sell more than Alexandra all think along similar lines too. He's a classic example of someone who suffers from overexposure, and the cracks are starting to show.

Im Not sure if he is losing his authority as the most influential judge. But he is now starting to boar me big time over the last year or so maybe the acts are also getting board of the same old same old.

Lucie's My Funny Valentine and Rachel's Proud Mary. It was blatantly obvious that she was taking the p out of Cowell, and of course ensuring her own acts received the praise they deserved.

At least I'm basing a point on documented figures, rather than making things up. The Jordan interview was watched by 5.74 million.

Conceded.

Considering Cowell had seen Melinda Doolittle perform MFV and didn't stand for that, he was unlikely to stand for Lucie (he should actually have picked up on the problems with the note at the end). Proud Mary was good, but it wasn't exactly "Listen"/"Summertime" - the kind of performance that was once required for standing ovations.


I'm not making anything up.

That 5.74m number (used on Wikipedia) includes recordings viewed within 7 days of first transmission. The overnight rating was 5.2m.

The 5.61m figure only includes "live" viewing and recordings viewed on the same night. An official rating will be published on Monday and is likely to be around 6m.

Some really good analysis here but the crux of it is that Simon is going through motions this year & fulfilling his contract - his mind is already on X factor US next year. In addition none of us have seen Simon really in love ... which he professes he is now!