Most of us know Simon Cowell for being one of the toughest judges on TV shows like American Idol , X-Factor , America’s Got Talent , and Britain’s Got Talent , and for wearing strictly loose, wrinkly, wide-neck t-shirts. But there is way more to know about him!
Here are a few random facts about Simon that fans probably don’t know!
1. He discovered One Direction.
For many of us, the boy-band, One Direction, appeared seemingly out of nowhere and became an overnight success. But the backstory is actually quite interesting!
“I met them as solo artists to begin with. Each of them individually had very good auditions,” Simon Cowell told Rolling Stone .
“We had high hopes for two or three of them in particular, and then it all kind of fell apart at one of the latter stages. Interestingly, when they left, I had a bad feeling that maybe we shouldn’t have lost them and maybe there was something else we should do with them.”
“And this is when the idea came about that we should see if they could work as a group. We invited these five guys back. They were the only five we cared about .”
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2. He knew One Direction was going to be a huge success from the moment he heard them sing together as a group.
In an interview with Rolling Stone , he revealed that after hearing them sing together for “after about a millionth of a second,” he knew that they were going to be huge stars.
3. He was the only *American Idol* judge without a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame until 2018.
Of all the stars who have been judges on American Idol , including Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry, Simon was the last one to see his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
4. He is worth over $500 Million.
Thanks to the time he put into his shows, American Idol , X-Factor , America’s Got Talent , and Britain’s Got Talent , Simon has not only made other people rich and famous but also himself !
5. He wasn’t sure whether or not *X-Factor* was going to be a success.
“When we launched the show, which was literally 10 years ago,” he told the Hollywood Reporter .
“I was talking to people, talking up the show, which nobody knew anything about. This is when we were trying to get people to audition in the first place and praying that it was going to work and that people would like it. But until people actually showed up, we didn’t know whether the show was going to work or not.”
6. He has a huge t-shirt collection.
Aside from running several major talent shows, Simon is known for almost always wearing a white or black t-shirt.
He has committed to his signature look for as long as most of us can remember. According to Daily Mail , he owns 30 black Armani t-shirts.
7. He uses Botox.
In an interview with Mirror , Simon admitted that at one point, he was going a bit overboard with Botox.
“I love watching ‘the Botox years,” he said. “All of us are like, ‘Christ, we had a lot that year. Not so much that year… maybe a bit too much that year.’ You know, the old clips of us are hysterical.”
8. He was once arrested for hijacking a bus using a toy gun.
“I put a gun – I shouldn’t even be saying this – it was a pretend gun and we said to the bus driver ‘take us to Watford!’. He literally did not stop from Radlett to Watford,” Simon said on This Morning .
“I was there with [X Factor contestants] Rak-Su the other day and I told them the story, saying: ‘The last time I went to bloody Watford, I was thrown in jail,'” he went on.
“My mum and dad came in and my mum was actually worse than the police… she was furious with me.”
9. He thinks that it’s important to maintain a good sense of humor as a judge.
“I think you always have to retain a sense of humor. You lose your sense of humor and you will literally go mad,” he told AJC .
“Some of this crazy stuff you see. I just finished seven, eight days of filming in the U.K. Luckily we found some great people but along the way, it’s like a horror show. You also have to trust your own opinion.”
“No one is an expert at everything. But you have to make a call on what you think the public will like and will this person have a career post show.”
“Also, what kind of advice you can give them during the show, which is crucial. You want to help them, not just judge them.”
10. He published an autobiography called *I Don’t Mean to be Rude, but…*
I gotta say, that title seems very fitting for Simon!
The book details Simon’s journey through the music industry and offers up tips on how to be successful. I’m sure it is a hilarious novel.
11. He turned down a £1million deal to be the face of Viagra.
“Last year my agent rang me and said, ‘You’ve been offered an incredibly big deal. It’s to be the face of Viagra,'” he told NME . “I just said, ‘Sorry, but that has to be a [expletive] insult.'”
