Love him or hate him, Simon Cowell made an undeniably massive impact as a judge on American Idol. His brutally honest assessments of the singers’ performances made him as much of a breakout star as any of the winners. Cowell left the show in 2010.
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When he left, it wasn’t because he was thinking of buying a gold watch and sailing around the world in his retirement. Instead, Cowell has set about his building his media empire, which encompasses music and television. Let’s talk about what Cowell has been doing with his post-Idol time.
Simon Cowell’s Life After Idol
It’s important to note that Cowell has always been the type with a lot in the hopper, even in the midst of his busiest successes. When he left Idol in 2010, allegedly due to his busy schedule (although he has since amended that claim and given other reasons for his departure), his dance card was already full in terms of his television judging, both in America and his native Great Britain.
These shows were all developed by Cowell in conjunction with his production company, Syco TV. First came X Factor, which debuted in the UK in 2004 and seven years later in the U.S. (not long after he departed American Idol.) The distinguishing characteristic of this show was how the judges also served as mentors for the contestants (a format later followed by the popular U.S. competition show The Voice).
As if that weren’t enough, Cowell and his production company also put together the “Got Talent” shows, including America’s Got Talent (which also debuted in 2011). The idea here was to open the competition to performers of all stripes, not just singers. As with X Factor, Cowell has also served as a judge on America’s Got Talent, which recently formed spinoffs Extreme, All-Stars, and Fantasy League.
Music Mogul
Long before he became the world’s most famous television singing judge, Simon Cowell earned his keep in the record industry—he had been introduced to the business by his father, who was a music exec. Cowell showed his savvy by using the television shows on which he appeared as a kind of feeding system for his own label, Syco Music. (Cowell also formed another label called S Records).
Many of the most popular artists guided by Cowell began their careers after he left American Idol. The American version of X Factor produced Fifth Harmony (which included breakout solo artist Camila Cabello). Meanwhile, pop band One Direction came from the British version of X Factor, which means Cowell is indirectly responsible for the career of Harry Styles and the solo careers of the other band members.
In addition to all this, Cowell has always been game to send up his image by appearing in films and TV shows in cameo roles. He has been punched by Homer Simpson, inhabited the center of the Hollywood Squares, and was comically murdered in Scary Movie 3.
Cowell’s empire seems to keep growing, and his early years on American Idol set the stage.
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