This article was in today's New York Post:
"The Simon Factor
Can Mr. Nasty do it again?"
By DEBORAH STARR SEIBEL
Last Updated: 2:12 AM, September 11, 2011
"My real fear,” he says, “was that we would get one or two thousand people to turn up in every city, and it’s simply not enough. You don’t want to give $5 million dollars to somebody who’s just gonna win a show and not sell any records.”
The auditions attracted tens of thousands. Still, there were enough marginal songbirds to make even Cowell’s palms sweat. “You’ve gotta hope that somebody’s gonna come through who’s gonna be able to compete with Beyonce, Rihanna, Katy Perry,” he says. “The business has really changed since Lady Gaga emerged. So I still feel that pressure, but this time it’s just a bit more visible.”
In person, Cowell looks rested and re-energized. To counter jet lag from flying back and forth across the Atlantic, he’s geared his working day around “London time” and shifted his work hours to suit his hometown body clock. That means he starts his Los Angeles days at two in the afternoon. “And then I finish at five or six in the morning,” he says. Gone is the bored expression, replaced with unbridled enthusiasm. “The truth is that when I left [‘American Idol’], I’d kind of switched off,” he says. “I didn’t believe we were making good TV in the final year, compared to what we did years ago.”
Harsh comments from “Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe didn’t help. Lythgoe said the new “Idol” was a “lighter” place, with a happier atmosphere in Cowell’s absence, more singer-friendly. “And I called him out on it,” says Cowell. “I said, ‘Nigel, even if you feel that way, you’ve got to remember that I put nine years of my life into that show and was part of the reason it became such a hit. This is unprofessional, it’s disrespectful, and it’s not what you should be doing as a human being and as a producer. So just stop it.’ And it stopped. It was stupid. All of us, Nigel, myself included, we’re Brits who’ve been allowed to make shows in America which are hopefully going to do well. So enjoy it. Why do you want to be negative? That’s why I left the show, because I just didn’t like that attitude.”
But there is no time for looking back. Cowell says he believes he’s got “five or six” people who’ve got “The X Factor,” that certain something that signifies an undeniable star, and he can’t wait to go on the air. What will success be in his eyes? “We’ve gotta beat everyone else,” he says flatly. “Make no mistake. I will put every single second of my energy into this to make it the No. 1 show, and if it’s not, I will be disappointed. But even if it’s No. 2, I’ll work harder next year to make it No. 1.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/the_simon_factor_oIiPpSMX49BbLaXfGi1thP#ixzz1XgnegNie