Simon Cowell
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.
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.
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 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". Cowell's fame grew, fed by his signature phrase, "I don't mean to be rude, but ’Ķ", 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. 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 nationalities. Inspired by the success of Il Divo, Simon created a child version, Angelis, beating competition from many similar groups emerging at Christmas 2006.
-Wikipedia