Cowell, Simon

▪ 2007

      The star of British television producer, record company executive, and notoriously nasty TV talent show judge Simon Cowell shone ever more brightly in 2006 after The X Factor, a talent competition cojudged by Cowell and co-produced by his company, SYCO, won the 2006 award for best entertainment program from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the similarly formatted American Idol, his vehicle to international celebrity, repeated as the highest-rated American television show. The success of both programs was due in no small measure to the spectacle generated by Cowell's acerbic put-downs of contestants and, on occasion, his fellow judges. In 2006 he became executive producer of three new American shows—American Inventor, a competition that promised a million-dollar manufacturing contract for the winner; America's Got Talent, a show open to entertainers of all stripes; and Celebrity Duets, a short-run singing competition between pairings of professional singers and celebrities. He also sold the format of Duets to Great Britain's ITV.

      Simon Phillip Cowell was born on Oct. 7, 1959, in Brighton, East Sussex, Eng. After leaving school at age 16, he was hired to work in the mailroom at EMI Music Publishing, but in 1979 he was given a chance to move up and was asked to find performers to sing newly published songs. In 1985 he and a partner formed Fanfare Records, which enjoyed some success before folding in 1989. Later that year BMG hired Cowell as an artist and repertoire consultant. In the process of signing a string of successful acts for BMG—including the Irish boy band Westlife, which sold more than 40 million albums, and the pop-singing operatic quartet Il Divo—Cowell became a shaping influence in popular music. He bridged the boundary between the television and music industries, scoring big hits in Britain with such acts as the World Wrestling Federation Superstars and the Teletubbies. Having witnessed the success of the British television series Popstars (2000), a reality show built around competing musical acts, Cowell and British music and television producer Simon Fuller developed the show's format a step farther by allowing viewers to choose the winners in the final rounds of a new show, Pop Idol (2001). The Fox Broadcasting Co. imported the show, along with the snarky Cowell as judge, to the United States, where it premiered in 2002 as American Idol. The following year Cowell published his autobiography, I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But … In 2005 he signed a contract with Fox that extended his judgeship on Idol for five years.

Janet Moredock

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▪ British television producer

in full  Simon Phillip Cowell 

born Oct. 7, 1959, Brighton, East Sussex, Eng.

      English entrepreneur, recording executive, and television producer and personality, known for his harsh criticism of contestants on the show Pop Idol and its American spin-off, American Idol.

      After leaving school at age 16, Cowell was hired to work in the mail room at EMI Music Publishing and was eventually given the chance, in 1979, to discover performers to sing newly published songs. In 1985 he and a partner formed Fanfare Records, which enjoyed some success before folding in 1989. Later that year BMG Records hired Cowell as an artist and repertoire consultant. In the process of signing a string of successful acts for BMG, Cowell became a shaping influence in popular music.

      Having witnessed the success of the British television series Popstars (2000), a reality show built around competing musical acts, Cowell and British music and television producer Simon Fuller developed the show's format a step farther by allowing viewers to choose the winners in the final rounds of a new show, Pop Idol (2001). The Fox Broadcasting Company imported the show, along with Cowell as judge, to the United States, where it premiered in 2002 as American Idol. An immediate hit, it became the highest-rated American television show. Its popularity was partly due to Cowell's acerbic put-downs of contestants and, on occasion, of his fellow judges. In 2005 he signed a contract with Fox that extended his judgeship on Idol for five years.

      In 2006 The X Factor, a talent competition cojudged by Cowell and coproduced by his company, Syco Productions, won the award for best entertainment program from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. That same year he became executive producer of three new American shows—American Inventor, a competition that promised a million-dollar manufacturing contract for the winner; America's Got Talent, a show open to all types of entertainers; and Celebrity Duets, a short-run singing competition between pairings of professional singers and celebrities. He also sold the format of Duets to Great Britain's ITV. In 2007 Cowell became executive producer of Grease Is the Word, a reality show to find the next stars for the British revival of the musical Grease. His autobiography, I Don't Mean to Be Rude, but…, was published in 2003.

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