Alex Kinsey and Sierra Deaton with their mentor and judge Simon Cowell as he speaks during an interview, after the folk duo won The X Factor last year. PHOTO: FILE
Cowell, 54, whose acerbic on-screen personality helped transform American Idol into one of the top shows on U.S. television, will return to the UK version of the show in an effort to help declining ratings there.
“I’ve had a fantastic time over the last 12 years, both on The X Factor and American Idol, Cowell said in a statement. “Apart from being lucky enough to find some amazing talent on the shows, I have always had an incredible welcome from the American public (most of the time!)”
The X Factor was seen as a way for Cowell to put his own stamp on US reality television, as it was a show he created, produced and helped lead to popularity in Britain.
The US version of the show struggled to find the right mix on the judging panel, running through nine different personalities in its three seasons on the air.
In 2012, Fox spent a reported $15 million to hire pop singer Britney Spears as a judge on the show in a bid to boost ratings, but she was unable to turn her star power into larger audiences for Fox.
Last year, viewership fell to about 6 million per episode from 9 million in 2012. Its main rival, Comcast Corp-owned NBC’s The Voice, drew about 12 million viewers per episode.
Cowell, a British media and music mogul best known for the biting criticism of contestants that helped draw viewers to American Idol, will be without a show on US television for the first time since American Idol began in 2002.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2014.
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Keep him we don't want him back!