London, England
Simon Phillip Cowell (born 7 October 1959) is an English music executive, television personality, television producer, talent judge, and entrepreneur. He is best known on both the UK and the United States for his work as a talent judge on shows like Pop Idol, Britain's Got Talent, American Idol, The X Factor UK, and The X Factor USA. He replaced shock jock Howard Stern on the judging panel on America's Got Talent in 2016.
As a judge, Cowell is known for his blunt and sometimes controversial criticisms, wisecracks, and insults about contestants and their abilities or lack there of.
As a record executive, Cowell has launched the careers of such artists as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Westlife, One Direction, and Fifth Harmony just to name a few.
On the UK series, he often mentored the Overs and Groups categories, the Girls category a few times and the Boys category only once.
Cowell acted as judge on The X Factor UK until 2010 so he can work on The X Factor USA. He later returned to the UK show in 2014 after the USA show ended.
In 2019, Cowell introduced two spin-off series which are The X Factor: All Stars and The X Factor: Celebrity. While the celebrity version was airing he announced that the All Stars series was cancelled and was replaced by The X Factor: The Band.
Judges Rank
The X Factor UK
| Year | Category | Last Act | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Over 25s | Steve Brookstein | Winner |
| 2005 | Groups | Journey South | 3rd |
| Celebrity (2006) | Groups | The Chefs | 4th |
| 2006 | 16-24s | Leona Lewis | Winner |
| 2007 | Groups | Same Difference | 3rd |
| 2008 | Boys | Eoghan Quigg | 3rd |
| 2009 | Over 25s | Olly Murs | Runner-Up |
| 2010 | Groups | One Direction | 3rd |
| 2014 | Over 26s | Ben Haenow | Winner |
| 2015 | Over 26s | Anton Stephans | 6th |
| 2016 | Girls | Emily Middlemas | 4th |
| 2017 | Groups | Rak-Su | Winners |
| 2018 | Girls | Scarlett Lee | Runner-Up |
| Celebrity (2019) | Groups | Max & Harvey | Runners-Up |
| The Band (2019) | Boys | Unwritten Rule | Runners-Up |
The X Factor USA
| Year | Category | Last Act | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Girls | Melanie Amaro | Winner |
| 2012 | Groups | Fifth Harmony | 3rd |
| 2013 | Groups | Alex & Sierra | Winners |
