April
21Master of the Talent Universe
Say it ain’t so Simon.Buried in a story in the Daily Mirror of London last week was a hint from Simon Cowell that he’s thinking of leaving his gig on “American Idol.” When he signed his last extension, running through next season, he felt his "Idol" idyll may have run its course, said the irascible Brit.
Is this a negotiating ploy? Or has Simon actually decided he wants to get a life?
In any case, Simon’s pondering sent a chill through the corridors of Fox. “American Idol,” of course, is the network’s tentpole – if not the entire tent. And Cowell’s caustic critiques arguably are the lynch pin of the show. Only last week, however, even Cowell was ecstatic in his praise of Susan Boyle, the staid matron from Scotland who lit up Cowell’s other show, “Britain’s Got Talent.”
It’s clearly Cowell who’s got the talent and whose label controls the artists on both of his shows as well as their tours. I’ve wondered how Cowell can ricochet between Los Angeles and London, moving from one zone of unreality to the next. Fox alone pays him a mere $36 million per annum and his other earnings are unimaginable. Got Talent alone is on in over 40 countries. Cowell also owns another Brit talent show, “X Factor” which is bouncing around another 20 countries.
So the question remains: Since Simon Cowell owns the world, why does he need to spend his life rattling around it in an airplane?
Maybe he’s decided to ask himself that very question.
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Posted by: sam | 4/23/2009 10:50:16 AM