Simon cowell american idol series#

Simon, to his credit, was willing to do anything.Ģ0 years ago, American Idol shot into the stratosphere of TV’s pop culture, acting as one of the earliest successes of reality television. In all the other shows before him, everyone was polite and nice, and I knew that was going to be thing. I knew we had to get Simon Cowell as he was the star of the show but we needed something different in the U.S. Darnell’s reasons for why this persona was necessary were as follows: It wasn’t a total fake, so much as Simon Cowell was instructed to play towards his natural “frankness” that was already on display. “I said, ‘I don’t think so.According to Fox executive Mike Darnell a “career retrospective” reported by Deadline, it turns out that Cowell’s trademark bluntness was a bit manufactured. “We had one guy who was 53 telling me he was 23,” Lythgoe says. There have also been numerous humorous incidents, especially revolving around contestants lying about their age during the audition process.

Lythgoe maintains that “American Idol” is less a talent show and more a slice of human drama, “like the kid who turned up and said to the judges, ‘Both my parents are deaf and they’ll never hear me sing.’ And he sang ‘When I Fall in Love’ and signed it at the same time. Then each week, the public knocks one of them out.” The second thing is that at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the judges think because once the top 30 contestants are there, the public takes over and the public decides on the top 10. “Here you are looking for an outstanding individual. “With ‘Popstars’ and ‘Making the Band,’ you have to constantly think, ‘Will this person fit into a band?’ ” Lythgoe says.

Simon cowell american idol series#

Both Brian and I have had the opportunity to have some wonderfully energetic and exciting moments and, at the same time, some very difficult moments when the kids didn’t have what it takes and they were destroyed, their hearts were broken.”Ĭo-executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who also did the British version, says “American Idol” is not a retread of two other recent series about music hopefuls, WB’s “Popstars” and ABC’s “Making the Band.”

“We are there to hang out, ask them how they are feeling, talk about their nerves and really be their friends. “We are not, obviously, here to judge the talent or give them the nod to go on the next level,” says Seacrest. Seacrest and Dunkleman provide moral support for the hopefuls. I think Paula’s problem is that there is a lot of sexual tension between the two of us. “Paula has threatened to walk off because of my attitude. “Randy has already offered to beat me up,” Cowell says gleefully. His outspoken opinions have also irked the other judges. “I have spent a fortune on my teeth, and I intend to keep them.” “I wouldn’t do the show without security,” he says. Barrino starred in the musical revue “After Midnight” in 2013, and recorded and co-wrote the song “In the Middle of the Night” for the film “The Butler.” She is reportedly at work on a fifth studio album. Despite the drama, she appeared on Season 10 of “Idol” and won a female R&B vocal performance Grammy for her song “Bittersweet.” She performed at the 2012 Essence Festival and was named 32nd out of the 100 Greatest Women in Music by VH1.

Financial woes, health issues and a reported suicide attempt have followed. It hasn’t been easy for Barrino since her “Idol” win back in 2004.