Simon Cowell admits his life has changed dramatically since Eric was born. For one he laughingly says he has been forced to watch the films The Jungle Book and Frozen “hundreds of times” and is desperately trying to broaden Eric's viewing habits.
When asked by the Daily Mirror at an interview at Simon's judges house in France, if fatherhood has made him more relaxed, Simon said: “Yes I do actually. I think like with anything, you have a lot more perspective on things. Eric has made a massive difference because I wasn’t expecting that and I didn’t know what that would bring to my life. He is so much fun."
Simon is dreading Eric asking him to give up his one vice, smoking. “I tried the vapour ones but I hated it. I have tried everything. If Eric grows up and says stop it I don’t know what I would do."
“I was saying to Louis, this is the one thing I would find very difficult to give up because I do love a cigarette. A cigarette and a beer.”
On the subject of the future of X Factor, both here and stateside, Simon said: “Would I give American X Factor another go? Absolutely 100 percent, for sure,” he says.“We got it all wrong, going in very arrogant. Again I opened my big mouth, I said we would get 20 million and as I said it I thought ‘oh my god, why did I say that’. I should have said five because it got something like 14 which was crazily good but of course I was dead by that point.
“Also we couldn’t be the last show of the year, so there was American Idol, America’s Got Talent, dance show, two versions of The Voice. It was overkill and I was exhausted before we even started watching it.“I do still think as a music show it is the best one out there.”
“When we replaced Idol with X Factor (in the UK) that was absolutely the right thing to do, if we had done that and waited for Idol to peter out in the US and gone in its place that would have been the sensible move.”
Simon is convinced there is still a lot of mileage in the show. Commenting on the suggestion from the shows executive producer Richard Holloway that X Factor should be rested to avoid burning it out. Simon said “I think he was talking about himself being rested,”
“If you said to any broadcaster now, would you like to rest a show that is doing nine-and-a-half, ten, eleven million every week, that is bringing in the group of advertisers you want the most, they would say ‘you are out of your mind’.“
They would never allow that to happen. If we were sitting here ten years ago and you said ‘how many years have you got’ I would have said if we can get to five we have done well. We are now at ten and I think that is the fact that they do make a really good show.”
“I wouldn’t worry about the future of X Factor Mark. We are going to be fine,” he says smiling.
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