From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell television personality. He is known in the United King-
dom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV
shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and
American Idol. He is also the owner of the television pro-
duction and music publishing house Syco.
As a judge, Cowell is known for his blunt and often
controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about
contestants and their abilities. He is also known for com-
bining activities in both the television and music indus-
tries, having promoted singles and records for various
artists, including television personalities. He was most
recently featured on the seventh series of The X Factor
and the fifth series of Britain’s Got Talent. In September
2011, he began featuring as a judge on the first season of
The X Factor USA.
In 2010, the British magazine New Statesman listed
Cowell at number 41 in a list of "The World’s 50 Most In-
fluential Figures 2010".[1]
Early life
Cowell at the National Television Awards at the Royal
Albert Hall, London, October 2006.
Cowell was born in Lambeth, London[2] and brought up
in Elstree, Hertfordshire.[3] His father, Eric Phillip Cowell
Background information (1918–1999),[2] was an estate agent developer and music
Birth name Simon Phillip Cowell industry executive; his mother, Julie Brett (née Josie
Dalglish), is a former ballet dancer and socialite.[4] Cow-
Born 7 October 1959 (1959-10-07) ell’s paternal grandparents, Joseph Cowell and Esther
Lambeth, London, England
Malinsky, were English Jews,[5] and his maternal grand-
Origin Elstree, Hertfordshire, England father was Scottish.[6] He has one brother and three half-
brothers; younger brother Nicholas Cowell, half-brother
Occupations A&R executive, television producer,
entrepreneur, television personality John Cowell, half-brother Tony Cowell and half-brother
Michael Cowell. Michael is the oldest, followed by John,
Years active 1979–present Tony, Simon and Nicholas respectively.[citation needed]
Labels EMI Cowell attended Radlett Preparatory School and the
E&S Music independent Dover College as did his brother, but left af-
Fanfare Records ter taking GCE O levels. He passed in English Language
BMG
and Literature and then attended Windsor Technical Col-
S Records
Sony Music Entertainment lege where he gained another GCE in Sociology.[7] At the
Syco age of 17, he dated model Paula Hamilton.[8] Cowell took
a few menial jobs—including, according to Tony, working
Associated Westlife, Sinitta, Leon Jackson, Jai McDowall,
as a runner on Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining[9]—but did
acts Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Curiosity
Killed the Cat, Sonia, Five, Robson & Jerome, not get along well with colleagues and bosses, until his
Ultimate Kaos, WWF Wrestlers, Zig and Zag, father who was executive at the recording giant EMI Mu-
Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Joe sic Publishing, managed to get him a job in the mail
McElderry, Shayne Ward, Il Divo, Susan room.[10]
Boyle, Paul Potts, JLS, One Direction,
Melanie Amaro
Career
Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an English
Cowell’s father’s connections originally got him rehired
A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and
as the assistant to an A&R man. From there onwards, Si-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Simon Cowell
mon worked his way up and eventually got promoted to year for three years, which gave ITV rights to his talent
a music publishing[11] position but left during the early show The X Factor, a British singing talent show, and
1980s to form E&S Music with his boss at EMI, Ellis Rich Grease Is the Word, a musical talent show to find the stars
(later Chairman of the Performing Right Society). The of a Grease production in London’s West End. In late 2005,
company had several hit records at one point with five he signed a new contract to remain working for Sony
singles in the UK top 40. The offices were in a convert- BMG.
ed gentleman’s washroom in the NCP car park on Brew- In 2010, Cowell finalised a deal which secures the
er Street in London’s Soho district. Cowell left by mutual long-term business future of Syco with Sony Music En-
agreement a few years later. He worked for Iain Burton, tertainment.[16] The deal will also see him launching a US
manager of choreographer Arlene Phillips, co-founder version of X Factor on 21 September 2011.[17]
of dance group Hot Gossip and of nascent independent
record label Fanfare Records. Cowell worked with Burton Idol franchise and Il Divo
for eight years at Fanfare where he achieved his first real Main article: Idol series
success in the music industry, becoming a partner and Cowell was given the role of judge on the first series of
building Fanfare into a highly successful ’indie’ pop la- Pop Idol by then ITV Controller of Entertainment Claudia
bel. Fanfare had numerous top ten hits with various pop Rosencrantz[18] in 2001, he was then judge on the first
artists and particularly Sinitta, selling more than 500,000 season of American Idol in 2002. With his notoriously criti-
copies of her debut single "So Macho", and more than cal reputation, Cowell is likened to TV personalities such
500,000 copies of her album Rondo Veneziano.[12] Next in as Judith Sheindlin and Anne Robinson. Though compa-
1984, Cowell and Burton met up with Pete Waterman for rable to Robinson, Cowell has expressed his dislike for
the first time. her and has commented in an interview, "I hate her and
Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman formed I hate her show because it’s just an act".[19] Cowell’s
the songwriting and record producing trio known as prominence grew, fed by his signature phrase, "I don’t
Stock Aitken Waterman.[13] Stock Aitken Waterman mean to be rude, but ...", inevitably followed by an un-
helped Fanfare during the second half of the 1980s pro- sparingly blunt appraisal of the contestant’s talents, per-
ducing several hit singles for Sinitta and licensing The sonality, or even physical appearance. A lot of these one-
Hit Factory SAW Compilation Albums to Fanfare. Next in liners were the product of coaching that Cowell received
1989, Fanfare’s parent, Public Company, found itself in from noted publicist Max Clifford.[20] Cowell also ap-
difficulties, forcing Fanfare into the hands of BMG, and peared on the one-off World Idol programme in 2003,
an in-debt Cowell was forced to move back in with his where it became clear that each country’s version of the
parents. Later that year, he became an A&R consultant Idol had attempted to come up with its own "Simon Cow-
for BMG. ell" type personality. In 2003, Cowell placed No 33 on
Subsequently, Cowell signed up a number of acts to S- Channel 4’s list of the all-time 100 Worst Britons. Cowell’s
Records that became successful, including Curiosity Killed S Records signed the top two finishers of the first season
the Cat, Sonia, Five, Westlife, Robson & Jerome, and Ul- of Pop Idol, Will Young and Gareth Gates, both of whom
timate Kaos. He also released several novelty recordings went on to have No 1 UK hits. Efforts begun in 2001 mate-
featuring the likes of Teletubbies, wrestlers of WWE[14] rialised in 2004, when Cowell returned to his group man-
Zig and Zag and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, ufacturing roots with his latest brainchild, the interna-
that were huge successes.[3] In 2002, Cowell set up anoth- tionally successful operatic pop group Il Divo,[21][22] con-
er label, Syco Music, which later became part of Colum- sisting of three opera singers and one pop singer of four
bia Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Artists different nationalities. Inspired by the success of Il Divo,
such as Leona Lewis, Il Divo and contestants from The X Simon created a child version, Angelis, beating compe-
Factor and America’s Got Talent are released on Syco. Cow- tition from many similar groups emerging at Christmas
ell explained, "There has to come a point when I will 2006.
step down from being on camera and remain behind the On 11 January 2010, Cowell’s exit from American Idol
scenes because you can’t keep doing this forever...I think was made official. The 2010 season was Cowell’s last on
by [the end of my contract] that the public will be sick to the show. It was also announced that FOX had acquired
death of me anyway and it will be time to go."[15] the rights to The X Factor USA, an American version of
In 2006, Cowell signed to two more record-breaking Cowell’s popular British show, The X Factor, which began
deals. In the USA, he agreed to remain as a judge on Amer- in September 2011.[23][24]
ican Idol, earning £20 million (US$33 million) per season
for another five years. He also has a deal with FOX which The X Factor
allows his production company to broadcast Got Talent
See also: The X Factor
and American Inventor on other networks, but he may not
In 2004, with Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, Cowell
appear on them. In the UK, he signed a "golden hand-
was a judge on the first series of the British television
cuffs" deal with ITV, worth approximately £6.5 million a
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Simon Cowell
music competition The X Factor, which he created using where it was an ITV staple for several decades. Looking
his production company, Syco. The X Factor was an in- further back, Opportunity Knocks had its roots in the va-
stant success with the viewers and began its eighth series riety show traditions of British music hall and American
in 2011. vaudeville.
Leona Lewis, the winner of the third series of The X Cowell is the executive producer of America’s Got Ta-
Factor, was signed to Cowell’s label Syco and has gone on lent,[32] which debuted in June 2006, along with Freman-
to become an international star,[citation needed] with num- tle producers of the Idol series, but he does not appear
ber one singles and album sales around the world. Cowell on the show due to the terms of his contract with FOX.
returned for a fourth series on 18 August 2007 alongside The show was a huge success for NBC, drawing around
Osbourne, Walsh and new judge, Dannii Minogue. Walsh 12 million viewers a week, and beating So You Think You
had previously been sacked from the judging panel by Can Dance on FOX (produced by rival and Idol creator Si-
Cowell for the fourth series, and was subsequently re- mon Fuller).
placed by Brian Friedman, who was a judge on Grease Is Britain’s Got Talent[33] debuted on ITV in June 2007.
the Word. Walsh was later brought back a week into the Cowell appears as a judge alongside Amanda Holden and
auditions by Cowell when he and Osbourne realised that Piers Morgan. The show was a ratings success and second
they missed Walsh and that without him, there was no and third seasons followed in 2008 and 2009. The third se-
chemistry between the judges. Cowell returned for the ries featured a publicity coup when Susan Boyle[33][34][35]
fifth series in 2008, with Walsh, Minogue and new judge made a global media impact with her regional audition
Cheryl Cole, as Osbourne decided to quit before the show performance comparable to that of any previous talent
began.[25][26] Cowell returned for series 6 and 7 as well, show series winner.
although series 7 was his to be his last, as he left in 2011
in order to launch The X Factor in America. American Inventor
The X Factor Australia launched in 2005, but was can- On 16 March 2006, Simon Cowell’s next competition
celled due to poor ratings. It returned to Australian tele- show, American Inventor,[36][37] debuted on ABC. Fledgling
vision for its second season on 30 August 2010, with Kyle entrepreneurs from across the United States competed
Sandilands, Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian and Natalie to see who could come up with the best new product
Imbruglia as judges.[27] Matthew Newton will host the concept. The 2006 winner, Janusz Liberkowski,[38][39] re-
show.[28] Season 3 began on 29 August 2010 and ended on ceived $1 million and the opportunity to develop his idea
22 November. It featured Ronan Keating, Mel B, Guy Se- into a business. The show returned one more time in 2007
bastian and Natalie Bassingthwaighte as judges. for a second season.
Cowell also launched The X Factor USA in September
2011 on American broadcaster Fox. It was originally an- Celebrity Duets
nounced that he would be a judge both on the UK and
In 2006, Cowell executive-produced Celebrity Duets,[40]
U.S. editions of the show, which air at similar times of the
which was described as "an Idol show for Hollywood su-
year,[16][17] but MTV officially reported on 17 April 2011
perstars." The show was hosted by Wayne Brady, and its
that this was not true; Cowell is no longer a judge in the
judges were Marie Osmond, Little Richard[41] and David
UK version,[29] but instead will be an enormous presence
Foster.
backstage.[30] He currently is a judge on the first season
of The X Factor USA alongside Paula Abdul, L.A. Reid, Ni-
cole Scherzinger and formerly Cheryl Cole.
Grease Is the Word
In October 2010, Cowell signed new three-year deals Cowell was also the executive producer of Grease Is the
with ITV for both Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, re- Word for ITV. This show set out to find performers to
newing both shows until 2013.[31] play Danny and Sandy in the 2007 West End revival of
Grease. It was hosted by Zoe Ball and judged by Britons
Got Talent franchise David Ian and Sinitta and Americans David Gest and Brian
Friedman. The musical theatre casting concept had al-
Main articles: America’s Got Talent, Britain’s Got Talent,
ready been introduced by the BBC with the ratings hit
and Got Talent
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, but Cowell’s show
Following the success of the Idol and X Factor franchises,
was not the hoped for success. He himself said, "It has
Cowell, his company Syco, and its business partners de-
been slaughtered by the critics – and rightly so. It is far
veloped a talent show format open to performers of any
too similar to our other formats."[42]
kind, not only singers, but also dancers, instrumentalists,
magicians, comedians, novelty acts, and so on. The ori-
gins of the Got Talent format can be traced to the British
show Opportunity Knocks, which began as a radio pro-
gramme in the 1940s and later transferred to television,
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Simon Cowell
Rock Rivals Car" on BBC’s motoring show Top Gear, driving a Suzuki
Liana around the show’s test track in a time of 1:47.1.
Cowell collaborated with UK production company Shed
When Top Gear retired the Liana along with its rankings
Media to produce 2008 ITV drama series Rock Rivals,
after the eighth series, Cowell was the eighth fastest
which is based on an X Factor type show.
overall and the third fastest non-professional driver. On
11 November 2007 Cowell yet again appeared on Top
Red or Black? Gear, achieving a time of 1:45.9 thus putting him ahead of
In 2011, Cowell also created his first game show, titled Gordon Ramsay and back at the top of the table.[55] Cow-
Red or Black? and hosted by Ant & Dec, for ITV. Series 1 ell introduced entertainer Dick Clark at the 2006 Prime-
was broadcast over seven nights in one week (excluding time Emmy Awards. He was seen on Comic Relief Does The
Tuesday), from 3 September to 10 September.[citation need- Apprentice where he donated £25,000 for a fun fair ticket.
ed]
Cowell has also appeared on the MTV shows Cribs and
Punk’d. On Punk’d, Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson set
Other activities him up to believe his $400,000 Rolls Royce was stolen and
Cowell has been involved in charity work for many had caused an accident by using a nearly identical car.[56]
years.[43] He supports children from The Association Of Cowell was chosen as the first subject of the re-
Children’s Hospices and invites them backstage to the launched This Is Your Life in an episode broadcast on 2
screenings of The X Factor.[44] When he can, he stops by June 2007. He was presented with the Red Book by Sir
some of the hospices to visit the children.[44] He also sup- Trevor McDonald while presenting American Idol.[57]
ports animal rights and has appeared in a video for PETA On 1 July 2007 Cowell appeared alongside Randy Jack-
in which he reminds drivers of the cruelty to animals son and Ryan Seacrest as a speaker at the Concert For
that can occur when their pets are locked in cars in the Diana, held at Wembley Stadium.
summer.[45][46] In view of his charitable works, particu- Simon Cowell was a partner in the Royal Ascot Racing
larly the production of the charity single Everybody Hurts Club, a thoroughbred horse racing syndicate which
in aid of victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, as well as owned the 2005 Epsom Derby winner, Motivator.[58]
his services to the music industry, there was considerable In May 2010, he portrayed himself again, in another
media speculation as to whether Cowell would receive episode of The Simpsons, "Judge Me Tender".
a knighthood in the Queen’s 2010 Birthday Honours, a In December 2010, he was added as a new entry to the
proposal allegedly put forward by former Prime Minis- latest edition of Who’s Who.[59]
ter, Gordon Brown.[47] Cowell stated that he believed his
chances of receiving the honour were "zero" following
what he described as being a "royal row";[48] ultimately
Personal life
Cowell did not receive an honour in the list. Cowell became engaged to make up artist Mezhgan Hus-
In December 2003, Cowell published his autobiogra- sainy in February 2010. They met on the set of American
phy titled I Don’t Mean to be Rude, but.... In it, he told the Idol.[60] Cowell is the godfather of pop singer Sinitta’s
whole story of his childhood, his years working in music adopted children.[61]
and experiences on Pop Idol, Pop Stars Rivals, and American Upon his appearance on Top Gear, it was revealed that
Idol, and finally, his tips for being successful as a pop star. Cowell pays more than £21.7m per year in income tax,
Cowell has appeared as a guest voice in an episode suggesting that his taxable income is over £54.25m per
of The Simpsons ("Smart and Smarter"), in which he gets year with income tax at the time approximately
beaten up by Homer Simpson (while criticising Homer’s 40%.[62][63] (NB: UK Income Tax 40% for earnings over
punches).[49][50] His voice was also heard on an episode £34,600). Cowell was estimated to have a fortune of
of Family Guy ("Lois Kills Stewie"), in which he told Stewie £200 million in the Sunday Times Rich List of 2011, making
that his singing was so awful that he should be him the sixth richest person in the British music indus-
dead.[51][52][53] He made an MTV Movie Award-winning try.[64] Cowell has a $22 million, 11,550 sq ft (1,073 m2)
cameo appearance as himself in Scary Movie 3, where he home in Beverly Hills.[65]
sits in judgment during a battle rap (and subsequently Cowell has admitted to using Botox.[66]
gets killed by gunfire for criticising the rappers). He also In May 2009, in the Daily Mail tabloid newspaper, Cow-
appears in the DVD version of Shrek 2 as a judge in Far Far ell revealed that he is often plagued by "dark moods and
Away Idol, and also provided the voice.[54] miserable thoughts". He claims that he has considered
He appeared on an episode of Who Wants to be a Mil- seeking therapy for this, stating that it would be a ’long
lionaire? (the original British version) and Saturday Night session’.[67]
Live in 2004. Cowell has also guest-starred (filling in for
Regis Philbin) in the popular talk show Live with Regis and
Kelly during American Idol’s finalist week in early 2006.
Cowell was once the fastest "Star in a Reasonably Priced
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Simon Cowell
Political views Simon-breaks-tells-fathers-death.html. Retrieved 1
March 2010.
Cowell is a supporter of the Conservative Party. In 2010,
[11] "Simon Cowell – Music Mogul Millionaire".
Cowell endorsed David Cameron to be Prime Minister
Entrepreneurs.about.com. 7 October 1959.
and claimed that he has the ’substance and the stomach
http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/
to navigate us through difficult times’.[68] In the after-
famousentrepreneurs/p/simoncowell.htm.
math of the election, it was reported that he had fallen
Retrieved 14 December 2009.
out with fellow X Factor judge Cheryl Cole (who had de-
[12] "Interview With Steve Mac". HitQuarters. 12 April
clared her support for Labour and Gordon Brown) in a
2010. http://www.hitquarters.com/
telephone conversation about politics.[69]
index.php3?page=intrview/opar/
intrview_Steve_Mac_Interview.html. Retrieved 12
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External links
December 2009. • Simon Cowell at itv.com/xfactor
7
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Simon Cowell
• Simon Cowell at the Internet Movie Database Persondata
• Simon Cowell at People.com
Name Cowell, Simon Philip
• Simon Cowell for PETA
• Simon Cowell on World Top 100 A&R Chart Alternative names
• New York Times: How a Hit Almost Failed Its Own Short description British artist executive
Audition Date of birth 7 October 1959
• Reviews and short bio of Simon Cowell
Place of birth Lambeth, London, England
• Playboy Interview: Simon Cowell, February 2007
• Interview, HitQuarters Oct 2001 Date of death
• 2011 radio interview with Simon Cowell Place of death
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Simon_Cowell&oldid=467287385"
Categories:
• 1959 births
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• English memoirists
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• English record producers
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• Got Talent series
• Idol series judges
• Old Dovorians
• People educated at Licensed Victuallers' School
• Pop Idol
• The X Factor judges
• The X Factor (UK)
• The X Factor (U.S.)
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