Simon Cowell Quotes

"That was terrible, I mean just awful" .. said to one contestant in the first American Idols episode. Randy Jackson then suggests that she take singing lessons. Simon dismisses the advice and says: "You have to have a talent to progress it. I don't believe Cassandra has a singing talent. She's completely wasting her money. Sorry."

To another singer: "My advice would be if you want to pursue a career in the music business, don't."

And another: "Did you really believe you could become the American Idol? Well, then, you're deaf."

Simon Cowell about his fellow judges: "What you're seeing on TV is faked because I'm trying to make it look like I like her. One of these days I might say what I really feel," he said. "Randy's OK, Paula's a pain in the ass. She's just one of those irritating people. I agree with some of what she says, I disagree with a hell of a lot of what she says. I keep my time with her to a minimum."

Simon Cowell on Paula: "My attitude is, if someone's going to criticize me, tell me to my face. I find Paula patronizing. It's as simple as that. Paula is more damaging than I am to these contestants because a lot of people just shouldn't be singing for a living."

"I met someone the other night who's 28 years old, and he hasn't worked a day since he left college because he's pursuing a dream he'll never, ever realize: He thinks he's a great singer. Actually, he's crap. But nobody has said to him, 'Why have you been wasting your time for eight years?'"

"If I said to most of the people who auditioned, 'Good job, awesome, well done,' it would have made me actually look and feel ridiculous. It's quite obvious most of the people who turned up for this audition were hopeless."

"The object of this competition is not to be mean to the losers but to find a winner. The process makes you mean because you get frustrated. Kids turn up unrehearsed, wearing the wrong clothes, singing out of tune and you can either say, 'Good job,' and patronize them or tell them the truth, and sometimes the truth is perceived as mean."