Among the other invitees were celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, former supermodel, Naomi Campbell, and Simon’s own mother, Julie Cowell, who looked very, very elegant for the occasion.

Here are some pictures that I found!

Images: INF

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It’s incredible to get a glimpse into the humbler side of the most acerbic American Idol judge and, while I won’t print the whole letter here (read the whole thing on the Daily Mail website) I will share some highlights:

Dear Simon,

First things first, how are you? On second thoughts, don’t answer that. I know exactly how you are feeling. It is the early Nineties and you are frustrated, exhausted and worried sick. Life at this moment is not great. Yet just a few years ago, you felt like you were the king of the world!

However, your dazzling reign turned out to be rather short-lived, to say the least. The record label you co-owned went bust and you lost everything – the big house, the car, everything.

So the sun went down on your shiny empire and you had to go back to living with Mum and Dad. That was, as I am sure you and I agree, humbling to say the least. Yet what is harder – much harder – is trying to claw your way back up the ladder…

Everyone knows you have lost your company, so you don’t exactly have a glowing reputation. You are depressed and your confidence is in shreds.

You feel that everyone is laughing at you behind your back. Do you want to know something, Simon? That’s because they are.

You have this idea about television. In some strange way, you vaguely grasp that at some point television is going to play an incredibly important role in your future.

And in an industry where everyone sells their records primarily through radio, you are just beginning to work out that if you sell them through television instead, there could be an incredible business. A very profitable business…

Next week, you are throwing a fabulous bash to celebrate your 50th birthday. Your great friend, Sir Philip Green, and his wife, Lady Tina, are organising it for you but, contrary to some reports, he is not paying for it. Simon, you would never let anyone pick up that tab. Are you kidding? Old habits die hard.

You are tremendously excited about this party. When you were a small boy, your parents lived next door to one of the bosses at Elstree film studios. You remember peering over the garden wall and seeing the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton at a fabulous party.

And what you remember, most vividly, is that you wanted to be at that party. You wanted to join in. Well, this time the party is all yours. It is going to be a great night. So happy birthday!

Love Simon

Pretty sweet, isn’t it?  Make sure you visit the Daily Mail to read the whole thing.  It’s incredibly interesting!

image © 2008 FOX BROADCASTING CR: FOX

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Cowell bought a $25 million dream home in L.A. and has since done some major renovations and put forth some big changes to make it perfect. His home measures out to an impressive 12, 000 square feet. It features a cinema with leather seats and a beautiful pool equipped with a sound system, palm trees and turrets of fire along the sides.

He’s also gotten a staff of workers to look after the place and to serve guests when they arrive. Simon predictably calls the place “Chateau Cowell.” A place fit for a king, I guess! He told his Britain’s Got Talent co-host, Piers Morgan, "Nice, isn’t it? I’m so happy. It’s the first time I’ve felt properly happy since I came to Los Angeles."

Are you guys jealous yet? Because I certainly am! It’s great to hear that Simon seems to be really enjoying himself with this new home. It’s important to have a place where he can just relax with the busy schedule that he has.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

Post from: Idol Stalker

She said: "I might become a little bit of a buddy with Simon because whenever I watch that show, as much as he’s an asshole, he’s a very truthful, honest a**hole. I don’t want to break their hearts, but how many of us know that one person that has been trying and trying, and doing karaoke and little gigs here and there at, like, an open mic. And nobody has told them they can’t sing in pitch—for, like, 15 years," Perry said. "You’re like, ‘Somebody needs to say something’ and unfortunately, I might be that gal to tell you the truth."

Katy will be sitting in on the panel during the Los Angeles auditions.  Check out the video of her talking about it below (she also touches briefly on the death of DJ AM):

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I almost started to compare it to some of the American Idol performances but that wouldn’t be fair since, by the time they make it to the stage, the Idol contestants have been working with show coaches for weeks.  So, all that considered, I would have to agree that Danyl’s delivery of “With a Little Help From My Friends” is probably the best first audition I’ve ever seen as well.  Decide for yourself.

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Now that Sinitta is divorcing financier Andy Willner, Simon is apparently providing the moral support.  Sinitta said: "Simon’s been supporting me big time. But I’ve been trying not to turn up on his doorstep in tears too much. Just knowing he’s there makes a huge difference.  Andy’s taking care of the kids in Hong Kong while Simon spoils me. He’s told me to concentrate on all positive things in life so we’ll be having fun – jet-skiing, reading, wining and dining.  Simon’s friendship is the most important in my life. I never knew my father and I don’t have a brother or any uncles, so he’s been the most constant man in my life since I was 14. I couldn’t live without him."

Don’t assume the pair are going to rekindle their romance (even though Sinitta ranks Simon an “11 out of 10 in bed”).  She went on to say: "I’m everything he doesn’t want! If he’d wanted marriage and kids we would have stayed together 20 years ago! I’m hoping he finds a new girlfriend soon – I’m just hoping that I’ll get on with her. There have been a few who haven’t liked me but luckily it hasn’t worked out!"

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At one point, she’s got her hair gathered up over her head and she’s smiling down at him and he appears to be trying to look around her to see something else that was going on in the club.  Of course, that could have just been an isolated moment (although, in another shot she’s getting all close but if you look in the mirror, he’s trying to drink his beer) in their evening since several of the other shots show them getting pretty cozy.  He doesn’t seem happy, however, when he realizes that someone is taking his picture!

images: Bauer-Griffin

Post from: Idol Stalker

She described their little group as a “dysfunctional family of sorts” and added that she is “the nurturing mom, Simon [Cowell]’s the disapproving dad, and Randy [Jackson]’s the cool brother.  It’s been an interesting journey. It’s something that I’ll always would want to be a part of.”

While details about an actually renewed contract have yet to emerge, I do think this is a positive sign that the judging panel will not be too different from last year.   I think that Paula should remain with this show until it’s pulled off the air.  I don’t know if I would watch it if the judges were different.

You might have noticed that in her statement, Paula didn’t mention the newest judge, Kara DioGuardi.  I don’t know if that is just because Kara is so new or if Paula doesn’t think the other woman on the panel belongs in their “dysfunctional family.”  Either way, I hope Kara gets to come back.  One season wasn’t enough and I’m sure it was tough for her to be the “new kid.”  Hopefully, she will have more confidence and will feel more comfortable coming up with her own critiques.

Then again, maybe it’s better with three since there’s a good, bad and middle?  It’s hard to say because I also have watched the Canadian, British and French versions and they all work just fine with four judges.  It’s lame that these four couldn’t find a way to make it work.

image © 2009 FOX BROADCASTING CR: FOX

Post from: Idol Stalker

She explained how things turned from an amicable relationship (he was initially her producer and chaperone) to a romantic one: “I had a huge crush on him, but he actually liked a friend of mine who was triple-timing him. One day he just said: ‘You know what I don’t really like her. It’s you I like.’ You know when you don’t kind of believe it, because we were such buddies? But it was fantastic, because I thought he was really cute.”

image: Zuma Press

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the easiest relationship since he seems to have had a wandering eye.  She says that they dated “on and off, because Simon was a horrible cheat! He was a horrible cheat. He was always disappearing and stuff, you know, and I’d have to work and he’d almost be laughing as he waved me off on a plane to Japan, like: ‘Great, I’m going to have a really good time while you’re away’.”

I know it’s hard to say what I would truly do in that situation but I would think that a mature woman might cut ties with a man who continues to cheat and refuses to settle down and marry (or commit) over 16 years.  To make matters worse, Sinitta said that he even tried to put the moves on her sister and best friend!  That’s unforgiveable!

She had one final thing to say about it: “crying over Simon Cowell – it’s so bad isn’t it? So bad. We’d break up because he’d do something awful and I’d go off and find somebody else. Then he’d see me with the somebody else and not like that and wait for it to fall apart.  He reckons that I broke his [heart], but he definitely broke mine.”

They must be friendly still, however, since he’s her children’s godfather!

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I was disappointed to learn that he had given in to the trend in Hollywood and had had Botox injections.  I wasn’t surprised, however, when he explained how he came to arrive at that decision.

According to The Insider, 42-year-old Ramsay said:  “It’s Simon’s fault. He leaned over and prodded my chin saying: ‘Mate, you’ve got to do something.’  I was like: ‘F*** off!’ I’ve always looked like Freddy Krueger [the serial killer from A Nightmare On Elm Street], but more people were commenting, so I did it – Botox. And no one has f****** noticed.”

It’s no shocker that Simon said.  He told Us magazine the following: “Yes, I’ve had Botox, but not in an obsessive way. Then again, every guy I know who works in the city has had it now.”

That’s the worst – when you give in to peer pressure and feel like you are making a change for the better and then no one even notices the difference.  It’s a good lesson for doing what you feel is right and now what other people think you should do.

image: Zuma Press

Post from: Idol Stalker