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Simon Philip Cowell (October 7, 1959) is a British artist and repertoire ("A&R") executive for Sony BMG in the UK, but is best known as a judge on the television programs Pop Idol, The X Factor and American Idol. He is notorious for his unsparingly blunt and often controversial criticism of the contestants. He is known for combining activities in the television and music industries, having produced singles and records for various television characters.
Early lifeBorn in Brighton, England, Simon Cowell was brought up in Elstree, Hertfordshire.[2] His parents are Eric (property developer and music industry property executive, deceased) and Julie Cowell (socialite, maiden name Dalgleish). He has three half-brothers; Michael, John (millionaire business developer), and Tony (co-author of Cowell's autobiography), and a half-sister, June (who lives with her Spanish daughters in Majorca, Spain), and younger brother Nicholas Cowell who is now a millionaire property magnate.
CareerHis father's connections got him rehired as the assistant to an A&R man. From there, he worked his way up to record producer, but left during the early 1980s to form E&S Music, an independent music company. The label folded within a year of its launch, forcing him to return to EMI. In 1984 he met Pete Waterman, a DJ-turned-producer and founder of the then-aspiring Stock Aitken Waterman songwriting and record producing trio. In 1985, Cowell, along with fellow EMI clerk Iain Burton, again, left EMI and formed an independent record label called Fanfare Records. It was Waterman who helped him regain success during the second half of the 1980s. Cowell would later describe in interviews (and in his autobiography I Don't Mean to be Rude, but...) that he learned more from Waterman in a short time than he could have in an entire career with any major label. Fanfare enjoyed success with its artist, (and Cowell's girlfriend at the time) Sinitta Malone. In 1989, Fanfare's mother company folded, driving Cowell's business into bankruptcy, forcing Cowell, deeply in debt, to move back in with his parents. Later that year, he became an A&R consultant for BMG. Subsequently, Cowell signed a number of acts to S Records that made a mark in the pop music world, including Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia Evans, 5ive, Westlife, and Robson & Jerome. He also released several novelty recordings featuring the likes of wrestlers of the World Wrestling Federation, Teletubbies[3], Zig and Zag and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, that were huge successes.[2] Cowell set up another label, Syco Records, in 2002 which later became part of Columbia Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Artists such as Il Divo and contestants from The X Factor and America's Got Talent are released on Syco. In 2006, Cowell signed to two record breaking deals. In the US, he agreed to remain as a judge on American Idol, earning £20 million ($38 million) per series for another 5 years. He also has a deal with FOX which allows his production company to broadcast Got Talent and American Inventor on other networks, but he may not appear on them. In the UK, he signed a "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV, worth approximately $13 million a year for 3 years, which gave them rights to his hit talent show The X Factor, a British spin-off of his Got Talent franchise, and a musical version of the X Factor to find the stars of a Grease production in London's west end. In late 2005, he signed a new contract to remain working for Sony BMG. Projects
Other activitiesIn June 2003, Cowell sold his half-share in S Records for $42 million to BMG, thus becoming a multi-millionaire. In December 2003, Cowell published a book, I Don't Mean to Be Rude, But …. In it, he recounted his childhood, his years working in the music industry, his experiences on Pop Idol and American Idol, and finally, his tips for being successful as a pop star. Cowell has appeared as a guest voice in an episode of The Simpsons ("Smart and Smarter"), in which he gets beaten up by Homer Simpson (while criticising Homer's punches), and made a cameo appearance as himself in Scary Movie 3, where he sits in judgment during a battle rap (and subsequently gets killed by gunfire for criticising the rappers). He also appears in Shrek 2 as a judge in Far Far Away Idol, and also provided the voice. He appeared on an episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Saturday Night Live in 2004. Cowell has also guest-starred (filling in for Regis Philbin) in the popular talk show Live with Regis and Kelly during American Idol's finalist week in early 2006. Cowell was once the fastest "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" on BBC's motoring show Top Gear, driving a Suzuki Liana around the show's test track in a time of 1:47.1. When Top Gear retired the Liana along with its rankings after the eighth series, Cowell was the eighth fastest overall and the third fastest non-professional driver. Cowell introduced entertainer Dick Clark at the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards and also contributed in the 2006 Queens Speech to the Nation (UK) for which he chose the title music. He was also seen on Comic Relief Does The Apprentice where he donated £25,000 for a fun fair ticket. Besides judging unknowns of the music industry, occasionally Cowell comments on already-established pop icons. For example, he opined in Esquire magazine that Beyoncé Knowles was overrated, and that Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" was one of the best pop records ever made.[4] Popular culture
Personal lifeIn late 2002 Cowell started dating longtime friend Terri Seymour. In 2006, British newspaper News of the World reported that he had cheated on Seymour with model and socialite Jasmine Lennard, and printed photos of her leaving his home. Photos of a visibly irate Seymour, (who was in the US when the story broke) being met at the airport by Cowell were later published in Heat Magazine. However, both Cowell and Lennard, who was also in a relationship, denied that anything untoward had occurred, and attributed the meeting to business.[5] Cowell has stated on many occasions that he does not want to settle down and have children,[2] prompting media speculation that he might be homosexual. Cowell denies such allegations and states that he would happily admit if he were homosexual.[6] Upon his appearance on Top Gear, it was revealed that Cowell pays more than £21.7m per year in income tax, suggesting that his taxable income is over £54.25m per year with income tax at the time approx 40%.[7][8] (NB: UK Income Tax 40% for earnings over £33,300). He is 5ft 9in tall. [9] References
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