While the format around American Idol hasn’t changed much over the years, the lineup of judges has. Throughout the history of the show, stars like Mariah Carey, Keith Urban, Katy Perry, Steven Tyler, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and former winner Carrie Underwood have judged. But no matter how big the star might be, nothing compares to Simon Cowell. Known for completely crushing dreams in a matter of seconds, Underwood once wrote how shocked she was by Cowell’s feedback.
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Although over two decades have passed since she won season 4, Underwood found herself taking a trip down memory lane when she returned as a judge. Returning with millions of albums sold and holding numerous Grammy Awards, the singer opened the journal she kept with her during her time in the competition.
Reading through the notes, Underwood highlighted a moment when Cowell offered a prediction about her career. “All the judges praised me. Simon [Cowell] told me that I was not just the girl to beat, but the person to beat. He then went on to make a prediction that I would not only win the AI competition, but I would sell more albums than any other American Idol [winner] has.”
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Not Every Contestant Received High Praise Like Carrie Underwood
If Underwood ever doubted herself in the competition, Cowell’s praise on American Idol put those negative thoughts to rest. Even the singer wrote, “I mean, I know that Simon loves me, but that was a total shocker!”
Holding the statement close, not every contestant received the same treatment from Cowell. Just to list a few of his classic comments:
“You definitely don’t have a 10/10 voice. At best, I’d give you a 2.5 and that’s being generous.”
“You are the worst singer in America.”
“It was dreadful… really dreadful. And I’m saying that to be kind because you will never ever ever have a career in singing. Remember these words: You are not a singer.”
“It sounded like you swallowed a load of people and they were all screaming.”
“The only decent thing about that audition was the end.”
“If I were you, I’d phone up the war department, volunteer your services because you just created a new form of torture.”
A part of television history, Cowell didn’t necessarily care for his past comments. “All I wanted with these shows was to find successful artists to sign to the label. So when all these people were coming in and they couldn’t sing, we would say after 10 seconds, ‘You can’t sing.’ Not, ‘You’re going to be brilliant.’”
Helping discover stars like Kelly Clarkson and Underwood, Cowell added, “I’m not proud of it, let’s put it that way. When I hear about these clips, I’m like, ‘Oh, God.’ But then again, the upside is that it made the shows really popular worldwide.”
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Grand Ole Opry)
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