Simon was born in Brighton, England, and he is Scottish and English Jew descent. His father was a music industry executive, and his mother is a former ballet dancer. Simon was lucky enough to have a father who was an executive at EMI Music Publishing, and it was his dad's influence that got him an entry level job there. Simon worked his way up, and finally left to form E &S Music (with his boss from EMI). Though very successful, Simon left a few years later.
In the next 8 years, Simon worked for Fanfare Records which finally was taken over by BMG. It was during this time that Simon was able to help many musicians make their mark in the world of pop records. He also worked with novelty recordings such as Teletubbies and others.
In 2001, he became a judge on the UK show Pop Idol. And then his lucky break came the following year--becoming a judge on the American show American Idol and launched Syco records. He helped to launch the careers of Leona Lewis, Il Divo, contestants from America's Got Talent and X Factor. It truly gets confusing after this! He has done so much, and he is currently one of the four judges of the U.S. version of the show X Factor.
I will tell you right now that I didn't watch the first four seasons of American Idol. Shocking, I know. I remembered hearing about the show, and the title did not set well with me. I knew virtually nothing about the show. I remember being shocked when I learned that Paula Abdul was one of the judges--I remember her from the 80's even though I was never a fan.
My mother is the one who got me to watch American Idol season 5. And I was instantly taken with Simon Cowell. I had heard of him, but to see him in action was really something. Of the three judges, he was always my favorite. I generally agreed with him, and I normally loved the bluntness of his comments. I have wanted to sing for him for years--I would love to hear his thoughts on my voice. But that's another story.
One thing I always find interesting is that so often Simon is painted as the enemy. The contestants hate him, fear him, and they will even go so far as to say that his opinion doesn't matter. I always marvel at the fact that those same people are absolutely floored when Simon tells them how well they did. These are the contestants who live for the day when Simon gives them a genuine compliment. And when all the judges say they don't like something, all the anger gets shot at Simon.
For those of you who would like to read more, check out his official site.
Okay, I am posting this video--his farewell to American Idol. I think it says all that is needed.
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