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←Replaced content with ''''Simon Phillip Cowell''' (born October 7, 1959) is a British record producer, but is probably best known as a judge on Pop Idol and [[American Ido...'
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'''Simon Phillip Cowell''' (born [[October 7]], [[1959]]) is a British record producer, but is probably best known as a judge on [[Pop Idol]] and [[American Idol]] television programs.
{{Infobox person
| name = Simon Cowell
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|10|7|48}}
| birth_place = [[Brighton]], [[East Sussex]], [[England]]
| occupation = A&R executive and TV producer
| salary =
| networth = {{profit}}[[US$]]200 [[million]] ([[Pound sterling|£]]100 [[million]])
| spouse =
| website =
| credits = [[Pop Idol]], [[The X Factor (UK)|The X Factor]], [[American Idol]] and [[Britain's Got Talent]]
}}


He started out as a mail boy for EMI Music Publishing, but gradually worked his way up through the music industry until he became a record producer.
'''Simon Cowell''' (born [[October 7]], [[1959]]) is an [[England|English]] [[A&R|artist-and-repertoire]] ("A&R") executive and television personality/producer, best known as a judge on such TV shows as ''[[Pop Idol]]'', ''[[The X Factor (UK)|The X Factor]]'', ''[[American Idol]]'' and ''[[Britain's Got Talent]]''. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house [[Syco]].


In June 2003, Cowell has sold his half share in S Records for $42 million to BMG.
Cowell is notorious for his unsparingly blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults, and wisecracks about contestants and their [[singing]] abilities, or lack thereof. He is often parodied in pop culture. He is known for combining activities in the television and music industries, having promoted singles and records for various artists, including television personalities.


==External link==
Cowell has been the producer and the creative force of many media, most notably ''[[Pop Idol]]'' and its international offspring. His success since the millennium has brought him worldwide fame and a greatly increased monetary fortune.
*http://www.angrysimon.com/simon_bio.html

==Early life==
Cowell was born in [[Brighton]], [[East Sussex]], [[England]] and brought up in [[Elstree]], [[Hertfordshire]].<ref name="Amazon"> Cowell, S. (2003) ''[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0767917413 "I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But..."]'', Broadway Books, ISBN 0-7679-1741-3</ref> His father, Eric Philip Cowell, was an estate agent developer and music industry executive, and his mother, Julie Brett ([[Married and maiden names|née]] Josie Dalglish), is a former [[ballet]] dancer and socialite.<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/44/Simon-Cowell.html Simon Cowell Biography (1959-)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Cowell's paternal grandparents, Joseph Cowell and Esther Malinsky, were [[History of the Jews in England|English Jews]],<ref name="cowell1">{{cite news|last=Barratt|first=Nick|coauthors=|title=Family Detective: An Investigation Into Our Hidden Histories|pages=|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=[[2006-08-12]]|url=http://thesimontimes.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html|accessdate=2007-06-11}}</ref> and his maternal grandfather was [[Scotland|Scottish]].<ref name="Cowell2">{{cite news|last=Mcgivern|first=Mark|coauthors=|title=Mr. Nasty's Mum Defends 'Those Nice McDonald Bros.'|pages=|publisher=The Daily Record|date=[[2006-11-22]]|url=http://thesimontimes.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html|accessdate=2007-06-11}}</ref> He has three brothers; Michael, John (millionaire business development and marketing consultant), and Tony (co-author of Cowell's autobiography), and a half-sister, June (who lives with her Spanish daughters in [[Majorca]], [[Spain]]), and younger brother Nicholas Cowell who is now a millionaire property magnate.

Cowell attended [[Dover College]] as did his brother, but left early before sixth form. He took a few menial jobs, but did not get along well with co-workers and bosses, until his father who was executive at the recording giant at [[EMI|EMI Music Publishing]], managed to get him a job in the mail room.<!-- source: 2004 NYT article: http://www.fansofrealitytv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29947&page=1Forum has link to NYT article (and quotes article verbatim), but NYT site requires subscription to view article, so I didn't include the link. FWIW, BBC documentary on Cowell also asserted that his mother was an EMI executive.-->

Cowell also attended St. Columba's College, [[St. Albans]] for a year.{{Facts|date=November 2007}}

==Professional career==
His father's connections originally got him rehired as the assistant to an [[A&R]] man. From there onwards, Simon worked his way up and eventually got promoted to a [[music publisher|music publishing]]<ref>[http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrepreneurs/p/simoncowell.htm Simon Cowell – Music Mogul Millionaire<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> position but left during the early [[1980s]] to form E&S Music, an independent music publishing company. The business folded within a year of its launch.

One year later, Cowell went to work for Iain Burton, manager of [[choreographer]] [[Arlene Phillips]], co-founder of dance group [[Hot Gossip]] and of nascent independent record label [[Fanfare Records Limited]]. Cowell worked with Burton for eight years at Fanfare where he achieved his first real success in the music industry, becoming a partner and building Fanfare into a highly successful 'indie' pop label. Fanfare had numerous top ten hits with various Pop artists and particularly 'Sinitta', selling more than half a million of her classic hit debut single 'So Macho' and more than half a million albums of 'Rondo Veneziano'. In 1984, Cowell and Burton met up with [[Pete Waterman]] for the first time. Waterman was a founding member of the [[Stock Aitken Waterman]] songwriting and record producing trio. Waterman helped Fanfare during the second half of the 1980s producing several smash hit singles for 'Sinitta' and licensing 'The Hit Factory' SAW Compilation Albums to Fanfare. Cowell is a renouned talentless prick but in 1989, Fanfare's parent-company, cockPublic Company, got into difficulties, forcing Fanfare into the hands of BMG, and Cowell, in debt, to move back in with his parents. Later that year, he became an [[A&R]] consultant for [[BMG]]. Subsequently, Cowell signed up a number of acts to ''S-Records'' that made a mark in the [[pop music]] world, including [[Curiosity Killed the Cat]], [[Sonia Evans]], [[5ive|Five]], [[Westlife]], [[Robson & Jerome]], and [[Ultimate Kaos]]. He also released several [[Novelty song|novelty recordings]] featuring the likes of wrestlers of the [[World Wrestling Entertainment|World Wrestling Federation]], [[Teletubbies]],<ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/879/000027798/ Simon Cowell], ''[[NNDB]].com'', Retrieved on [[2007-03-10]].</ref> [[Zig and Zag (puppets)|Zig and Zag]] and the [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]], that were huge successes.<ref name="Amazon" /> Cowell set up another label, [[Syco Records]], in 2002 which later became part of [[Columbia Records]] and [[Sony BMG Music Entertainment]]. Artists such as [[Il Divo]] and contestants from ''The X Factor'' and ''[[America's Got Talent]]'' are released on Syco.

In 2006, Cowell signed to two more record-breaking deals. In the USA, he agreed to remain as a judge on American Idol, earning £20 million ($40 million) per season for another 5 years. He also has a deal with FOX which allows his production company to broadcast ''Got Talent'' and ''American Inventor '' on other networks, but he may not appear on them. In the UK, he signed a "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV, worth approximately £6.5 million a year for 3 years, which gave ITV rights to his hit talent show ''[[The X Factor (UK)|The X Factor]]'', a British singing talent show, and ''[[Grease Is The Word]]'', a musical talent show to find the stars of a ''[[Grease (musical)|Grease]]'' production in London's [[West End of London|West End]]. In late 2005, he signed a new contract to remain working for Sony BMG.

According to AOL News as posted on [[August 21]], [[2007]], a reporter for the British newspaper ''The Mirror'' conducted an interview with Cowell in mid-August where he claimed that he would complete the three seasons remaining on his contract with ''American Idol'' and then ''"that was it"''. Cowell explained, ''"There has to come a point when I will step down from being on camera and remain behind the scenes because you can't keep doing this forever...I think by [the end of my contract] that the public will be sick to death of me anyway and it will be time to go."''<ref>[http://news.aol.com/entertainment/television/story/_a/cowell-quitting-idol-in-three-years/20070820174509990001 Cowell Quitting 'Idol' in Three Years - AOL News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===''Idol'' franchise and ''Il Divo''===
Cowell became a judge on the first season of ''Pop Idol'' in 2001, and on the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002. Many viewers of ''American Idol'' know Cowell best for his bitingly critical comments and attitude. He is so prominently identified with being blunt and harsh in commentary that audiences on [[American Idol]] can make it difficult for him to speak, sometimes booing him even before he makes his opinions known. [[Ryan Seacrest]], [[Paula Abdul]], and [[Randy Jackson]] tend to cut him off very quickly as well. With his notoriously critical reputation, Cowell is likened to [[TV personality|TV personalities]], such as ''[[Judge Judy]]'' (aka Justice with an Attitude), and [[Weakest Link]]'s ''[[Anne Robinson]]'' (aka Queen of Mean). Though comparable to Anne Robinson, Cowell has expressed his dislike for her and has commented in an interview, "I hate her and I hate her show because it's just an act".<ref>[http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/20020626idol3.asp TV Preview: 'American Idol' thrives on harsh sniping<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Cowell's fame grew, fed by his [[Catch phrase|signature phrase]], "I don't mean to be rude, but …", inevitably followed by an unsparingly blunt appraisal of the contestant's talents, personality, or even physical appearance. A lot of these one-liners were the product of coaching that Cowell received from noted publicist [[Max Clifford]]{{Facts|date=December 2007}}. Cowell also appeared on the one-off ''[[World Idol]]'' programme in 2003, where it became clear that each country's version of the ''Idol'' had attempted to come up with its own "Simon Cowell" type personality. In 2003, Cowell placed No 33 on [[Channel 4]]'s list of the all-time [[100 Worst Britons]]. Cowell's [[S Records]] signed the top two finishers of the first season of ''Pop Idol'', [[Will Young]] and [[Gareth Gates]], both of whom went on to have No 1 UK hits. Efforts begun in 2001 materialised in 2004, when Cowell returned to his group manufacturing roots with his latest brainchild, the internationally successful [[operatic pop]] group [[Il Divo]], consisting of three opera singers and one pop singer of four different [[Nationality|nationalities]]. Inspired by the success of Il Divo, Simon created a child version, [[Angelis]], beating competition from many similar groups emerging at Christmas 2006.

===''The X Factor''===
In 2004, with [[Sharon Osbourne]] and [[Louis Walsh]], Cowell was a judge on the first series of the British talent show ''[[The X Factor (television series)|The X Factor]]'', which he created using his production company, ''Syco''. ''The X Factor'' was an instant success with the viewers and returned three more times to its fourth series in 2007. In 2006, he was voted the tenth most terrifying celebrity on television in a ''[[Radio Times]]'' poll consisting of 3,000 people.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=410712&in_page_id=1766&in_page_id=1766&expand=true Ramsay is scariest TV celebrity], [[Daily Mail]]. Retrieved [[2007-08-27]].</ref>

He returned for a fourth series on [[August 18]], [[2007]], alongside Osbourne, Walsh and new judge, [[Dannii Minogue]]. Walsh had previously been sacked from the judging panel by Cowell for the fourth series, and was subsequently replaced by [[Brian Friedman]] who was a judge on ''[[Grease Is The Word]]''. Walsh was later brought back a week into the auditions by Cowell when he and Sharon Osbourne realised they missed Walsh and that without him, there was no chemistry between the judges. Cowell was mentoring the groups in the [[The X Factor (UK series 4)|fourth series]] and chose the groups Futureproof, Hope and Same Difference to represent him in the live rounds of the show. As the weeks went on, Same Difference made it to the final, where they came third. Futureproof were knocked out in the third week, and Hope in the seventh week. Same Difference were beaten in the final by Rhydian Roberts and Leon Jackson. Leon Jackson became the ultimate winner, due to alleged phone-in irregularities which Ofcom, the media watchdog is investigating. Viewers have complained they were unable to vote for the runner-up Rhydian Roberts. <ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/16/nxfactor216.xml X Factor fans complain over phone-in votes - Telegraph<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7140000/newsid_7146300/7146375.stm CBBC Newsround | TV/Film | Leon crowned X Factor winner<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>.

===''American Inventor''===
On [[March 16]], [[2006]], Simon Cowell's next competition show, ''[[American Inventor]]'', debuted on [[American Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]. Fledgling entrepreneurs from across the [[United States]] compete to see who can come up with the best new product concept. The 2006 winner, [[Janusz Liberkowski]], received $1 million and the opportunity to develop his idea into a business. The show returned in 2007.

===''Got Talent'' franchise===
Cowell is the executive producer of ''[[America's Got Talent]]'', along with Fremantle producers of the [[Idol series|''Idol'' series]]. The show was a huge success for [[NBC]], drawing around 12 million viewers a week, and beating ''[[So You Think You Can Dance (US)|So You Think You Can Dance]]'' on FOX (produced by rival and ''Idol'' creator [[Simon Fuller]]).

A British version aired in 2007, and was screened from [[9 June]] [[2007]] until [[17 June]] [[2007]], with ITV screening nine episodes. Fellow [[judges]] are [[Piers Morgan]] and [[Amanda Holden]].

The [[Australian]] version aired in 2007 and was screened on [[18 February]] [[2007]]. Judged by [[Tom Burlinson]], [[Dannii Minogue]] and [[Red Symons]] and hosted by [[Grant Denyer]] on [[Channel Seven]].

===''Celebrity Duets''===
Cowell also executive-produces ''[[Celebrity Duets]]'', which can be described as "an Idol show for Hollywood superstars." The show is hosted by [[Wayne Brady]], and its judges are [[Marie Osmond]], [[Little Richard]] and [[David Foster]].

The [[Celebrity Duets: Philippine Edition]] was aired in 2007. Judged by Buboy Garovillo, Mitch Valdez and Louie Ocampo.

===''Grease is the Word''===
Cowell is also the executive producer of ''[[Grease Is the Word]]'' for [[ITV]]. Grease is the Word is the show to find the next big stars to play Danny and Sandy on the 2007 UK west end revival of [[Grease (musical)|Grease]]. Grease Is the Word was hosted by [[Zoe Ball]] and judged by Britons [[David Ian]] and [[Sinitta]] and Americans [[David Gest]] and [[Brian Friedman]]. This hasn't turned out to be the success he imagined. Simon himself said, "It has been slaughtered by the critics - and rightly so. It is far too similar to our other formats.”<ref>[http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-23396758-details/I+slipped+up+on+Grease,+admits+Cowell/article.do] - I slipped up on Grease, admits Cowell</ref>

===''Rock Rivals''===
Cowell is collaborating with UK production company [[Shed Media]] to produce a new show called ''[[Rock Rivals]]'' which will be a new [[ITV]] drama series based on an ''X Factor'' type show.

===Other activities===
Cowell has been involved in charity work for many years without getting much attention from the media. He supports children from The Association Of Children’s Hospices and invites them backstage to the screenings of [[The X Factor (UK)|The X Factor]]. When he can, he stops by some of the hospices to visit the children. He also supports animal rights and has appeared in a video for [[PETA]] in which he reminds drivers of the cruelty to animals that can occur when their pets are locked in cars in the summer.<ref>http://www.peta.org.uk/feat/feat-simoncowell.asp Cowell and the PETA Campaign</ref>

In December 2003, Cowell published a book, ''I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But …''. In it, he told the whole story of his childhood, his years working in music and experiences on ''Pop Idol'', ''Pop Stars Rivals'', and ''American Idol'', and finally, his tips for being successful as a pop star.

Cowell has appeared as a guest voice in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' ("[[Smart and Smarter]]"), in which he gets beaten up by [[Homer Simpson]] (while criticising Homer's punches). His voice was also heard on an episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' ("[[Lois Kills Stewie]]"), in which he told [[Stewie Griffin| Stewie]] that his singing was so awful that he should be dead. He made an [[MTV Movie Award]]-winning cameo appearance as himself in ''[[Scary Movie 3]]'', where he sits in judgment during a battle rap (and subsequently gets killed by gunfire for criticising the rappers). He also appears in ''[[Shrek 2]]'' as a judge in ''Far Far Away Idol'', and also provided the voice.

He appeared on an episode of ''[[Who Wants to be a Millionaire?]]'' (the original British version) and ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' in 2004. Cowell has also guest-starred (filling in for [[Regis Philbin]]) in the popular talk show ''[[Live with Regis and Kelly]]'' during ''American Idol'''s finalist week in early 2006. Cowell was once the fastest "[[Star in a Reasonably Priced Car]]" on [[BBC|BBC's]] motoring show ''[[Top Gear (current format)|Top Gear]]'', driving a [[Suzuki Liana]] around the show's test track in a time of 1:47.1. When Top Gear retired the Liana along with its rankings after the eighth series, Cowell was the eighth fastest overall and the third fastest non-professional driver. On November 11th 2007 Cowell yet again appeared on Top Gear, achieving a time of 1:45.9 thus putting him ahead of [[Gordon Ramsay]] and back at the top of the table.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/celebritylaps.shtml BBC Top Gear - Celebrity Laps]</ref> Cowell introduced entertainer [[Dick Clark]] at the [[58th Primetime Emmy Awards|2006 Primetime Emmy Awards]] and also contributed in the 2006 Queen's speech to the nation (UK) for which he chose the title music. He was seen on ''[[Comic Relief Does The Apprentice]]'' where he donated £25,000 for a fun fair ticket. Cowell has also appeared on the MTV shows [[Cribs]] and [[Punk'd]]. On Punk'd, Ryan Seacrest and Randy Jackson set him up to believe his $400,000 [[Rolls-Royce (car)|Rolls Royce]] was stolen and had caused an accident by using a nearly-identical car.<ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/cowell%20punkd%20by%20ashton Simon Cowell - Cowell Punk'D By Ashton<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Cowell was chosen as the first 'victim' of the re-launched ''[[This Is Your Life#The UK version|This Is Your Life]]'' in an episode broadcast on [[2 June]], [[2007]]. He was presented with the Red Book by [[Sir Trevor McDonald]] while presenting ''American Idol''.<ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=457380&in_page_id=1773 Simon Cowell is first celebrity 'victim' for revived This Is Your Life], ''[[Daily Mail]]''. Retrieved [[2007]]-[[June 2|06-02]]</ref>

Besides judging unknowns of the music industry, occasionally Cowell comments on already-established pop icons. For example, he opined in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' magazine that [[Beyoncé Knowles]] was overrated, and that [[Christina Aguilera]]'s "[[Beautiful (Christina Aguilera song)|Beautiful]]" was one of the best pop records ever made. Talking about Christina herself Cowell stated "She is an unbelievable talent."<ref>[http://www.usaweekend.com/05_issues/050206/050206simon_cowell.html USA Weekend] - "Simon sez (... everything, with brutal honesty)"</ref>

On July 1, 2007 Cowell appeared alongside [[Randy Jackson]] and [[Ryan Seacrest]] as a speaker at the [[Concert For Diana]], held at [[Wembley Stadium]].
<!--HIDDEN SECTION, PENDING A DECISION ON ITS FUTURE==Popular culture==
* The UK comedy group [[Dogs Must Be Carried]] released a song called ''Simon Cowell is Killing Music''. The song parodies his real life endeavours, such as signing up [[Gareth Gates]] and having a wardrobe full of identical clothing.
* He is often the subject of ridicule for his choice of wearing trousers with the waistline very high up on his hips.
* Cowell is one of the many celebrities spoofed on the series ''[[2DTV]]''.
* His character is also spoofed by [[Jon Culshaw]] on the comedy sketch show ''[[Dead Ringers (TV show)|Dead Ringers]]''.
* Simon Cowell is directly spoofed on an episode of [[Disney]]'s [[Kim Possible]], as a host-judge on "American Starmaker"
*Simon Cowell was mentioned in the [[Weird Al Yankovic]] song [[Couch Potato (song)|Couch Potato]], a parody of [[Lose Yourself]].
*In an episode of Ying, Yang, Yo!, Yin and Yang had to go undercover in a battle of the bands, so they had to make an American Idol-like audition and Yang wanted to act like Simon Cowell describing him as: the British guy who makes bad remarks about the contestants' singing. Before his rise to fame, Cowell was a contestant on the British TV gameshow [[Sale of the Century]], where he won the night's game but lost thereafter.
*There is a parody of Cowell in the children's television programme [[The Fairly Oddparents]].
END-->

On August 13, 2006, Cowell featured on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' in which he had to pick eight records he would take with him if he were to be stranded on a desert island. His choices can be seen [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20060813.shtml here]. He was also allowed to take a book and a luxury item. For his book, he elected ''[[Hollywood Wives]]'', by [[Jackie Collins]], and for his luxury, a mirror.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs_20060813.shtml BBC Radio 4 Interview, Desert Island Discs]</ref>

==Personal life==
In late 2002, Cowell started dating longtime friend [[Terri Seymour]]. In 2006, British newspaper ''[[News of the World]]'' reported that he had cheated on Seymour with model and socialite [[Jasmine Lennard]], and printed photos of her leaving his home. Photos of an irate Seymour (who was in the US when the story broke) being met at the airport by Cowell were later published in ''[[Heat Magazine]]''. However, both Cowell and Lennard, who was also in a relationship, denied that anything untoward had occurred, and attributed the meeting to business.<ref>[http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=20343/ Simon Cowell and Jasmine Lennard deny affair]</ref>

Upon his appearance on ''[[Top Gear (current format)|Top Gear]]'', it was revealed that Cowell pays more than £21.7m per year in income tax, suggesting that his taxable income is over £54.25m per year with income tax at the time approximately 40%.<ref>[http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27909-2095894,00.html Times Online]</ref><ref>[http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/it.htm UK Income Tax Rates]</ref> (NB: UK Income Tax 40% for earnings over £34,600).

He appeared on the gameshow [[Sale of the Century]] in 1990, as reported in [[The Sun (newspaper)|The Sun]] Newspaper.<ref>[http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2001320029-2007160684,00.html?CMP=KNC-powersearchSEM1&HBX_PK=simon+cowell&HBX_OU=50 Cowell's cheesy screen debut]</ref>

He is the godfather of pop singer [[Sinitta]]'s baby. {{Fact|date=March 2008}}

==Controversy==
Cowell's controversial insults and wisecracks are rarely limited to just the contestant's singing performance, but frequently also refer to their appearance, background and character. Contestants are frequently offended by his comments. In the 2006-07 season of ''American Idol'', Cowell commented that one of the contestants "looked like a [[bush baby]]”. In the same season he was also heavily criticized for apparently rolling his eyes at a reference to the [[Virginia Tech]] shootings, although, with the help of video evidence, it was proved that he was rolling his eyes at the comments of one of his fellow judges, Paula Abdul, not the [[Virginia Tech massacre]].

==References==
{{wikiquote}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.xfactor.tv/judges/profile/?scid=6 Simon Cowell] at [[itv.com]]/xfactor
* {{imdb name|id=1101562|name=Simon Cowell}}
* {{people.com}}
* [http://one.revver.com/watch/235050/flv/affiliate/77617 Video of Simon Cowell in his Ferrari]
* [http://www.furisdead.com/feat-simoncowell.asp Simon Cowell for PETA]
* [http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=hitqnews/archive/2005/December19_3_57_13.html Simon Cowell on World Top 100 A&R Chart]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/business/yourmoney/30idol.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5088&en=669f98ef7731ce30&ex=1304049600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss New York Times: How a Hit Almost Failed Its Own Audition]
* [http://www.digitalreview.net/simon_cowell.html Reviews and short bio of Simon Cowell]
* [http://www.playboy.com/arts-entertainment/features/simon-cowell/simon-cowell-01.html Playboy Interview: Simon Cowell, February 2007]


{{The X Factor}}
{{American Idol}}
{{Pop Idol}}

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Revision as of 08:59, 7 April 2008

Simon Phillip Cowell (born October 7, 1959) is a British record producer, but is probably best known as a judge on Pop Idol and American Idol television programs.

He started out as a mail boy for EMI Music Publishing, but gradually worked his way up through the music industry until he became a record producer.

In June 2003, Cowell has sold his half share in S Records for $42 million to BMG.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Simon_Cowell&oldid=203945216"