Simon Cowell: Is American Idol Paying Him Too Much?

If you watch American Idol, you know who Simon Cowell is. Aside from American Idol, he also hosts Britain's version of American Idol called "X-Factor", as well as Britain's version of America's Got Talent. Simon Cowell has his own record label called "Syco Records" and he signed Leona Lewis who became a big superstar after he took her into his wing. He is a talent finder and the judge who tells it how it is. If he likes the way you sing, he will say positive things about you, but if you aren't that great of a singer, he will be brutally honest. Some of the phrases he used are "appauling", "patronizing", "dreadful", "bloody awful", and "horrid" just to name a few. He has also become funnier than ever before the last few seasons with new quotes. Everyone has their own opinion about Simon.

According to this Telegraph website, Simon Cowell was the highest paid US TV star last year making £25 million a year as judge of American Idol. If you convert that to American dollars, that is about $40 million. He makes more than all three other judges (Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson , and Kara DioGuardi) on American Idol. The other judges on the show make only about 4 to 8 million a year but is that fair? Paula, Randy, and Kara have an equal vote and equal say compared to Simon yet they make considerably less.

But would there be an American Idol without Simon Cowell or would it be getting as high in the ratings? Throughout all nine seasons of American Idol, it has averaged about 30 to 40 million people watching and is a ratings juggernaut. It is #1 in the ratins and has beaten almost every other show in its time slot. Simon is the face of American Idol. To be fair, most of the viewers who watch American Idol value Simon's opinion the most compared to Randy or Paula or the new judge. I don't know too much about the new judge but Randy and Paula can be repetitive with what they say. Whenever I watch American Idol, Paula usually "loves" all the singers and thinks they are great and wonderful, while Randy starts it out with a Check it out and says Dawg, you rocked it! The other judges don't have anything fresh to say.

In my opinion, I think Cowell is a little overpaid and the numbers he is making is staggering compared to others in the music world but I still think he should be the highest paid judge. The harsh reality is that American Idol can't flourish without him. There is no other judge out there like Simon and he is a major asset to American Idol. Love him or hate him, American Idol needs him!