Simon Cowell's Golden Touch
This segment was originally broadcast on March 18, 2007. It was updated on Aug. 14, 2007.
This year an average of 30 million Americans tuned in to every episode of "American Idol," on FOX. By any measure the numbers are impressive, but it's not just pop star wannabes that keep people watching — it's also the judges, in particular 47-year-old Simon Cowell.
His verbal assaults on the contestants are often downright cruel, but the TV audience seems to love them. FOX reportedly pays him more than $30 million a year and he gets another $38 million annually to be a judge on a similar show in England. What most viewers probably don't realize however is that Simon Cowell isn't just a high-paid judge.
As CNN anchor and 60 Minutes contributor Anderson Cooper reports, he's now one of the most successful music figures in the world — though he admits he has no musical ability at all.
He doesn't sing, read music or produce albums, and he says he plays the guitar "very badly." So what does Cowell do? With a laugh, he tells Cooper, "[I] guess what's gonna be popular. Literally that."
So does he ever feel like a fraud at times?Photos: Simon Says
"Well, no, because I think 99 percent of the people who watch the show are in the same position as me. They know when somebody's good or not," Cowell says. "And for me, it's been a help not knowing too much. So I can rely on my instincts."
Instincts are what Cowell credits for his success, but it's how he displays those instincts that have made him a household name. And there's no shortage of people who want to take him on.
"American Idol," which wrapped up its sixth season in May, is more popular than ever. Tens of thousands show up to audition. There are a talented few, but an untalented many — and that's where Cowell comes in.
"Thank you, Nicholas. What the bloody hell was that?" Cowell said to one "Idol" hopeful.
So aren't some of those hopefuls there just to get on TV?
"We've got a lot of people in the auditions who had — who were going to sing badly on purpose and we never show them. The people we show are the people who genuinely believe they're gonna win. And that's what's fascinating," he says.
"Every one of those people, no matter how bad they are, they really think they have talent?" asks Cooper.
"Every single one," answers Cowell. "Every single one."
Cowell is ruthless to them, critiquing not just their performance but, in some cases, their physical appearance.
"You look like one of those creatures who live in the jungle with those massive eyes. What are they called? Bush Babies?" he told another during "Idol" auditions.
Cowell says the conflict makes for good TV and he's not about to apologize for it — quite the contrary.
"Some people have equated it to a medieval stoning — that it's the same kind of motivation which people watch it," Cooper says.
"It's an interesting thought for a show where we actually could do that," he says.
But would Cowell really consider it?
"Why not?" he laughs. "I can see a similarity to a point. But it's human nature. You know, we are fascinated with that."
Does he think everything should be shown on TV? Yes. Even public executions?
"I think people should be given the choice to watch them, I guess. Yeah, why not?" he says.
"With commercials?" asks Cooper.
"Sponsorship," Cowell responds with more laughter. "Yeah, sponsorship."
Cowell may be only partially kidding. His critics say if there's money in it, he'll try it.
He splits his time between tony homes in London and Beverly Hills, running businesses simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic.
In America, in addition to "Idol," he currently has at least four other TV shows in development. In England, he created another hit music competition show called "The X-Factor," with Cowell as the caustic judge, alongside Sharon Osbourne and record executive Louie Walsh.
But TV star is just his night job. In his day job, he's a record executive for Sony BMG. He's the guy who created and cast Il Divo, a good looking group of male opera singers who in just three years have sold 18 million records around the world.
Il Divo is classic Cowell — a group with a gimmick designed to gain attention and make money. It's a formula he figured out 15 years ago as young music executive in London. Cowell bet there was music money to be made in a most unlikely place, the world of professional wrestling
"So you saw these American wrestlers come to London, sell out a stadium. You said why not give them a record contract?" asks Cooper.
"Completely," he says. "Yeah, and we sold a million, million and a half records."
Cowell says it did not matter that they couldn't sing. At the time, Radio One called him the anti-Christ of the music industry.
"Yeah. I couldn't care less. I couldn't care less. It's a business," he says.
"Some people might want their tombstone to say more than 'Simon Cowell. Gave the people what they want, made a lot of money,'" Cooper says.
"I'm sure in the same way a three-star Michelin chef was looking at the people who make McDonald's hamburgers and saying, you know, 'These people are terrible.' But I'd rather be McDonald's than the three-star Michelin chef," Cowell says. "Genuinely. I would."
And if Cowell wants to be McDonald's, "Idol" is his Big Mac.
In 2001, Cowell was part of team that created "Pop Idol" in England. It was an instant hit. But when they brought it to America, it wasn't an easy sell.
Even FOX didn't jump on it. But the daughter of Rupert Murdoch, CEO and chairman of News Corporation, FOX's parent company, loved the English version of "Idol," and convinced her dad to buy the show.
What most viewers probably don't realize is that Cowell isn't just a high-paid judge, he gets a piece of the action. Local versions are now seen in more than 30 countries.
"What we need to do is credit them with the reason it's going to go to No. 1, that's all there is to it," Cowell says.
Cowell and Sony BMG control the recording rights to every "Idol" artist worldwide. That means every time an "Idol" artist sells a song, Simon Cowell makes more money.
"A lot of people who know of you probably think you wanted to be on 'American Idol,' and you started 'American Idol' because you wanted to be on TV. But, in fact, that had nothing to do with it," notes Cooper.
"My only interest was 'Idol' was a vehicle to launch records," he says. "That was the only thing I was thinking about. But, what we actually did, interestingly by doing 'Idol,' was I signed the biggest artist on the planet, and it's called 'Idol,' because every single 'Idol' winner is now signed through Sony BMG. And, this applies to all the countries we sell 'Idol' to, which is over 30 countries. So, there's probably now 75 to 100 artists all signed through this one center thing."
Among those artists are some major stars. Both Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood are multiple Grammy winners and together have sold almost 20 million CDs. Put in perspective, Cowell makes more money for Sony BMG than most of their biggest artists.
Take Bruce Springsteen, for example. Sony BMG has a deal with Springsteen reported to be about $100 million.
Is Simon Cowell as important to Sony BMG as Springsteen?
"In terms of selling records, yes," Cowell says. "I sell more records than Bruce Springsteen, sure. Yeah. I mean, in the last five years I've probably sold over 100 million records. If he got 100, I should have got 500. But, I mean, you know, a $100 million deal is — that's a great deal, for him. For him, it's a good deal."
Cowell's bravado is part of his act. So too is the verbal sparring with his "American Idol" colleagues, host Ryan Seacrest and fellow judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul.
In truth, Cowell and the rest seem to be good friends. Though he's fiercely competitive, he knows that their enormous success is due to the sum of their parts.
60 Minutes joined them one weekend on a private jet to Las Vegas.
"We do get along. I mean all of us get along very well," Seacrest says. "I think the great thing about our dynamic, our relationship, is that we feel very comfortable with each other so we can say or do anything without having to worry about hurting each other's feelings."
"Yeah, we like ripping each other," says Jackson. "The ripping each other is fun."
Cowell's gotten used to private planes and constant attention. Wherever he goes, he attracts a crowd, and apparently it's not just singers who want Cowell's critique.
"I was once offered money to judge somebody in bed, a couple," he says.
Cowell says the couple approached him, wanting the "Idol" judge to watch them in bed and critique them while they were making love.
"And I stupidly turned it down," he laughs, despite the offer of "about a hundred grand. And I should have … I should have taken the money. Yeah, because it would be a much more interesting story now. Other than I didn't."
We were interested to learn that he loves to race high-speed go karts, and when we suggested a spin around the track at the Mario Andretti Racing School at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Cowell jumped at the chance.
His longtime girlfriend, Terri Seymour, was there to watch when he got into an Indy car for the first time.
In a matter of minutes, Cowell topped out at 175 mph. He was, as usual, quite pleased with himself. "Yeah, yeah, I thought I got the hang of it," he says.
He didn't know it, but we'd set up an "Idol"-like panel to judge his driving, with NASCAR champion Kurt Busch, Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip and racing legend Mario Andretti.
Andretti's assessment: "Probably the language that you understand the best is, it was just bloody awful. To me it looked like you were looking for a map in your lap and then a dome light that just didn't exist."
"It's just so sad that a man who wants something as bad as you do looked like a drunk going to get more liquor," adds Waltrip.
"You really just see the lack of talent," Busch adds. "Where is that drive and determination, and that will and desire …"
Says Waltrip, "There's no 'it' factor. I don't feel any. Do you?"
"Are you saying I'll never be a race car driver?" asks Cowell.
"You were terrible," says Waltrip.
"Is that it? Well, I disagree," says Cowell.
"Look at your shoes," Waltrip points out with a laugh at Cowell's dress boots.
But a bit of his own medicine won't cure Cowell's mean streak anytime soon. There are just too many people who want to hear what he has to say. And, besides, there's far too much money in it to quit.
Does Cowell think he's humiliating people?
"I don't think I'm humiliating everybody. I think," he says with a laugh," possibly, they're humiliating themselves. But no one is dragged kicking and screaming, Anderson, into that audition room."
Does Cowell think he's tough on people?
"From the contestants perspective, absolutely. But what's more cruel? You know, I want to meet the parents sometimes and say to them, 'Are you aware that your son/daughter has zero talent? And that you're wasting their time when they could be doing something they're good at?' "
Does that mean he thinks he's helping people?
"Completely," he laughs. "Like a doctor. I don't have a conscience about this at all. Because at the end of the day, if you decided that you want to enter 'American Idol,' you want a short circuit to be rich and famous. If that means you've got to take a couple of hits of criticism along the way, tough."
Produced By John Hamlin