Simon Cowell talks to CTV in an indepth interview covering everything from One Direction, The X Factor and Paula Abdul.

Q: Changes / Ratings Expectations for Season 2?

SC: I will give you a ratings expectation. Anything over 1 million, we are winning!
How's that. Before we get to that one again….

Q: Are you looking at Structural Changes?

SC: I am. I'm not going to say what it is, because as you know we are going to be
competing with The Voice. No question of doubt, I've already seen from last year to
this year elements of what we were doing on these shows. Producers do that. They see
something they like, and they'll nick it and you end up with both shows looking the
same… I think they will go down their route… Because the Voice is on at a similar
time to us, we have to look as different as we possibly can, not just from them but
from what we made last year - and what we saw on Idol this year. It has to have its
own DNA and its own characteristics. We have brought new people onto the team and it
will make an improvement I think, and hopefully, like I have done before with these
shows, the 2nd, 3rd and subsequent series have always been better than the first
one - the first year of X Factor in England, when I look back on it now, I'm amazed
at what we have done. I thought it was a disaster, an absolute disaster.

Q What do you think the voice nicked from you?

SC : I don’t even want to mention it. They know. Anyone who watches both shows,
you'll see where they started and where they got to and what changes. I have seen it
on other shows, as well. Like I said, It's the nature of TV producers, they will do
it. We have been working on some ideas for a year, some may work, some won't, but I
am trying to make it different for the right reasons.

Q Is there anything you can credit the voice for what they have done right?

SC: Spinning chairs. I'm going to suggest a little addition, not only does it spin,
it ejects people, all the way through the ceiling!

Q What are the Canadian projects in the works?

SC: I think it's to give the confidence to the local broadcaster in the same ways I
would to the record company. There are countries in the world that do produce local
artists who go on to become superstars and I believe that in Canada, Sweden,
Australia. What I want to get to, is to put together a judging panel that can
actually do they job they are paid to do which is to find that diamond in the rough,
change that person's style of music to what he/she/they should be doing, and
creating a star. For me, that's how I determine the success of one of these shows.
Has this show been the person that's discovered the and launched __x_ Frankly, in
the past, not enough of the shows have done it. I think the reason is because
everyone have got into the habit of saying we need cute girl, ditsy girl, dick – me,
and one other and it's a formula! You can't run a business like that. When we run a
record label, we constantly change the talent who comes into the company - the
younger people looking for new A&R stars, and I think these shows should be the
center. I don't believe these attitudes that we're a smaller country therefore we
can't compete with the US / UK.

Q. How's Melanie doing?

SC: We'll she's rich!! Maybe too rich I don't know! I heard a little bit of track
she recorded last week which I think is a smash and with Melanie we have to make an
outstandingly good record, because she's that good and when they are that good it
takes a little longer. And I never put a timeline. When I made the first Leona Lewis
record, I took me two years to make the album and as I said to Melanie 'it doesn't
matter to me along as you make a great record, come back on the show and people
remember how good you are. And we've just finished Josh's album the runner up and
its outstanding – a really good record.

Q: Are things like the 1D lawsuit just a price of doing business? Or is there
something irksome about this one?

SC: well its irritating when the headline is that I stole their name! It was like ,
'let me think of someone whose got a name that I can steal – I'll steal yours!' You
know – like that really happens – not. I think they could have been a little bit
more gracious about the fact that obviously. It was a coincidence, nobody was being
unpleasant about it and we could have done this amicably and I actually maybe could
have helped them! But everyone wanted the story that 'mean simon stole the poor
group's name' and actually it was the best publicity they'd ever had – I don't think
anyone had heard of them before that. They should have dealt with it with bit more….

Q: I have to say you don't seem very mean siting here!

SC: Im not – if I get bored and you audition for me and you are useless and you tell
me your blessed and you're not then I get a bit annoyed.

Q: Do you ever regret being in the spotlight with all the crazy headlines etc etc

SC: I couldn't care less! Anyone will tell you, advantages / disadvantages.. Its
about 99% advantage, genuinely just about every single person I've ever met
through this job, people like yourself and when you are on the road, they are nice
to you, you know you've broken the ice! You know when we used to go to parties and
you have that ghastly conversation before you sat down.. What do you do , you're not
interested & what do you do, I'm not interested – I didn't like that. I don't like
smalltalk, I like to be able to have a common ground and if people are interested in
what you do – its a nice way of having a conversation… and you get nice tables and
you get better discounts! I don't get freebies I get great discounts!

Q did you ever think you'd still be in spotlight on air after this many years, an on
air judge if you'd been told that all those years ago:

SC: I get the craziness.. And I had a phone call from Ann-Marie who has been working
with me in publicity for the last, what 8/9 years ? (AMT : "12".. .. !) ….and it all
summed up to me the ridiculousness the other day…. and she said ' oh you know, very
interesting story about you Simon , I think you'll be happy, you're the second most
recognisable face in history.. And I went 'well that’s good.. Who's number 1?'….
I'll call you back .. 'Who's number 1'.. (and she) whispered 'Hitler'… Part of me
was kind of annoyed!!…But that to me put it into perspective that this is a kind of
a weird life but immensely flattered because it means that people watch the shows -
Without the shows and without the shows being popular no one would know who I am.
And that’s why its a positive thing – because the alternative is you do a show,
nobody watches it and then nobody knows who you are. So when they know who you are then at least you know people are watching your shows still. But its been what we
call a slog – its been hard work – but the reinvention and everything I had to deal
with last year is what gets adrenalin up – it should be that easy. We've got to
deserve getting an audience and you only do that by making a good show.

Q: What would you like people to say about you

SC: "He's better looking in real life!"

Q: How soon before we see Canadian XF?

SC: Partly why I'm here, I've got to get to a position where it starts with a record
label, because it starts there, have we got the money because we have to make the
show compete with what you would see say from the states, because you can't make an inferior version , and can we do what we set out to do and if we can get those two
elements agreed then we've got somewhere to start but I would be the first to come
here and I'd put my name out there and say to all the Canadians who want to enter –
look maybe forget the past and how its done, we'll do it a different way, I'm going
to back you here financially because I believe we can find a star. There has to be
somebody listening to this who is that person – I have to believe that.

Talking about Canadian Idol:

For me, it looked like a bad pastiche of what was going on in the states like they
were trying to cast people. It doesn't work that way. It's a crazy thing to do
(Canadian Idol)

So, we either join XF up so we can have Canadian contestants, which I think could
make sense, or we persuade the broadcaster, that more importantly, that we can find
the right team who I really really trusted, who gets what's going on in the market
right now, to say, :"'ll find you the talent." You've got to dig for it. You can't
just say turn up this day, you’ve got to look for it, and I'm determined to do that.
If you look at what's happening in the charts over the last 10-20 years and look at
the Canadian talent that's happened, you're crazy not to try and do something. I
think it's an attitude that the broadcasters are trying to make a show, rather than
what I'm concerned about - you're trying to find a star.

Q: Is that because of your background in the music business? You're thinking about where this goes beyond just how this does in the ratings tonight?

SC: 100%, or you'll end up like the bachelor – you'll get a winner, but who cares.
Or Survivor. That's not why we've made these shows in the first place.

Q: What do you think Idol has fallen in the ratings?

SC: It's 10 years old. That's why I left. It's like dating someone for 10 years.
After 5 years, we're reaching that point where we are getting fed up with each
other, after 10 years – bye! That's how it felt! For me, it felt like it was being
on groundhog day if I'm being honest with you. When you're not in control of the
show, and it gets a little political and too many people are making decisions, again
I refer back to running a record label, you can't run a record company like that.
If you have got very polarizing positions on what you want, and luckily I had a
choice…The X Factor was doing better in England and I had that option of taking it
over here. It was a tough year last year. Once I opened my big mouth about the 20
million, I was like I'm so going to get this back. Maybe it's karma, but I learned a
big big lesson from that. I would do the same decision in a heartbeat. It's fun when
you have to start something new again, it's challenging. It's fun, as long as we go
up.

Q: Do you think the ratings will go up this year? Do you think the cast has
something to do with it?

S: I've got to say yea. There is a lot of interest in the cast. I have to say, if I
was sitting back as an outsider, I would want to see Britney on this show. Overall,
with the other stuff we've said, I think it's going to be an improvement.

Q: How do you feel about people tuning in to see if Britney was going to fail?

SC: That always happens…. But if that was the case he would have said to me or I
would have said to her, oh this isn't working or you can't cope with it or you can't
do the job - but its not the case. Oh I mean she is an interesting person, she's
not bog standard, Britney Spears but that’s not why we hired her."

Q: So no regrets?

SC: No, None at all. For me it feels energised and I'm feeling that from the
audience we have who come and see the show, theres a real buzz in the air.

Q: How does Paula feel?

SC: I think she's said on record she thinks its a good idea. I have always said this
to Paula and I've backed it up with Nicole . Because we make a lot of shows, there
aren't that many people you can put on the shows so I would always do something with
her. Nicole's got the UK gig now, for Paula something will come along I am guessing in the next few months that she'd be perfect for – and also because we've got a
friendship apart from working together – I like her.

Q: So she's got a job on the way?

SC If she wants it

Q How about Susan Boyle – do you feel any responsibility at all for the troubles she
is going through?

SC: We have our ups and downs, I've got to tell you , when she didn't win and we had
all these problems – there was a day and it was one of the lowest days I've ever had
in my life where I genuinely had to look at myself and go have I done the wrong
thing here – you know , was she happier in her old life or have I put her in a
situation where, in her mind she has failed because she hasn't won and she literally
can't deal with the pressure – and I didnt know the answer to that. And then I
thought about it and the truth is, now I have got to know her and I look at her
previous life and how she was living her life – and she was living in a village
where she had some friends nut she had on a regular basis , and this has happened
recently here with that lady on the bus, where she was bullied where they were
throwing things at her and she was being taunted… She had her cat and she dreamt
that one day she could have been a star – and without the show it was never going to
happen… And then suddenly we did what we did, I would have to argue even with the
problems that she has, that we've given her a better life than what the alternative
was which was frustration, being bullied and not ever knowing weather she had it
within her to do what she did.

But every artist carries a responsibility, you know they are not robots, they have
issues. What we try and do, when someone is in that situation you don't give them a
crazy promotion schedule, you don't make crazy demands of them and you let them make the choice of whether they want to make a record or not , do a TV show, not make a TV show and in the real world when you balance it up with some of the crappy things
going on in the world I had a clear conscience and I can say I'd do it again.