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Simon Cowell
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Simon Cowell is a music producer and executive of the BMG UK record company whose blunt assessments of the contestants on TV's American Idol made him the most talked about personality on the show's panel of judges. Cowell has been in the pop music business in the United Kingdom since the 1970s, and is credited with "discovering" such pop stars as the boy band Westlife and the pop duo Robson and Jerome. Cowell's specialty is marketing TV and pop music together, and in 2001 he hosted the forerunner to American Idol, England's U.K. Pop Idol. When the U.S. version hit it big, it not only made stars out of performers Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard, it ... made stars out of host Ryan Seacrest and talent judges Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson. His direct criticisms of the contestants and general cattiness made him the guy audiences loved to hate, and he was rewarded after the first season of the show with a contract that made him the highest paid judge on the panel.
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Born October 7, 1959 in Brighton, England, Simon Cowell is the son of a music industry property executive. He has 3 half-brothers, a half-sister, and a multi-millionaire property executive younger brother. Simon Cowell dropped out of high school at the age of 17 and performed a number of menial jobs until he found his way to a job in the mail room of EMI Music Publishing, his father's employer.
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Simon Cowell's honesty on American Idol has made him a household name in America. Cowell's UK-based production company, SYCO, produced the U.S. series Cupid and is currently at work on "The X Factor," which will begin airing in the UK in September 2004, with Cowell executive-producing. In December 2003, Cowell's book "I Don't Mean To Be Rude, But...." hit the stands detailing behind-the-scenes information about American Idol. Cowell was named one of People Magazineis 25 Most Eligible Bachelors in 2004, while Entertainment Weekly named him one of the Top Entertainers of the year.
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On an interview with "Good Morning America", Simon Cowell was asked of the six "American Idol" winners, who he thought had the best voice. Cowell immediately answered that Clarkson did 'by a mile', noting that she was 'up there' with other great singers such as Celine Dion.http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3207996
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Simon Cowell has hired Regis Philbin to be his Ryan Seacrest for his upcoming summer reality series, "America's Got Talent." The new show, "America's Got Talent," is very similar to "American Idol" - an amateur, nationwide talent competition with the winner walking away with a $1 million cash prize. It will be open to comics, magicians, dancers and singers. The show will air weekly on Wednesdays beginning June 21. A half-hour results show will air the following night beginning July 13. "Talent" marks Philbin's first prime-time hosting gig since his "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" days.
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On 25 April 2007, a press release was sent out revealing that Simon Cowell and Clive Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit. On 24 September 2007, Lewis performed a special album launch party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, where she performed four tracks from the album. The album was released in the Republic of Ireland on 9 November 2007, where it entered the Irish Albums Chart at number one, being Ireland's fastest selling debut album of all time. It was released on 12 November 2007 in the United Kingdom, where it entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, and was ... the UK's fastest selling debut album, and the fourth fastest selling album of all time. Spirit will be released on 18 March 2008 in the United States.
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Simon Cowell