“What you’ve got is that you’ve got ‘the singer versus the entertainer,’” he continued. “And this is fascinating — I’ve never seen this before. They genuinely don’t know what the audience is gonna vote for here, because Jordin is the better singer and Blake is the better entertainer.”
Although he feels that Jordin is a better singer than Blake, Simon had a unique take on the pair’s actual career potential. “I think Blake would be easier to produce because he’s more contemporary,” said Cowell. “I mean, there are a lot of people out there like Jordin already. I think Blake is an easier artist to focus on.”
And while he remarks that Jordin’s popularity has grown “suddenly,” Simon makes no bones about his extreme disappointment in losing Melinda Doolittle from the competition last week — a loss that surely disappointed many viewers as well.
“I’m still frustrated I haven’t got my girl in there,” he confessed to Access, but hinted that he knew what was coming beforehand.”I kind of knew going into the semi’s that she wasn’t gonna make the final, because I know that we have a lot of people who vote who are younger…they dial and dial and dial. The older voters were voting for Melinda. So I didn’t think she was gonna make it, but I absolutely said I was going to give this girl every chance I could — because based on consistency, based on talent, she should have been on the finale.”
“I was really mad,” said Simon of last week’s elimination, in which he was seen holding his hands over his face when it was announced Melinda would be leaving. “I just felt really, really down because I felt that someone who’d worked that hard for 10 or 11 weeks absolutely deserves an opportunity to showcase herself in the finale…I didn’t know what to say at the end. Because she did everything she should’ve done, other than she perhaps wasn’t young enough or had the personality to get those vital younger votes.”
Despite his frustration at seeing her go, Simon knows that Melinda will be “fine” with her career. Besides, he’s got the other two finalists to focus on this week — and then it starts all over for him next year.
“I’m doing three more [seasons] and that’s it,” revealed Simon. “That will be 10 seasons at the end of that.” (editor’s note: it seems that Cowell misspoke, as it will actually be nine seasons at that point rather than 10.)
Even if he’s asked to do more seasons than that, Simon would rather quit while he’s still ahead of the game. “I think people are gonna get tired of me, if they are not already,” he remarked. “Certainly after 10 seasons they will. And I’ve had a great time and I’m very thankful, but that will be it.”
Tired of Simon? Perish the thought!
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