“The secret of my success is that I make other people money,” he said. “And, never ever, ever, ever be ashamed about trying to earn as much as possible for yourself, if the person you’re working with is also making money. That’s life! The more they’re making, the more money I want.”

For his American Inventor winner, who will take home $1 million, Simon has certain expectations – they must make a product that he thinks is worthwhile. “You’ve got to relate to the product,” he said. “Something where you go: ‘God! I wish I’d invented that.’”

Last year’s winner invented a baby car seat which spins in a crash, lowering the impact on an infant.

“Its gonna take a long time to get it manufactured because you’ve got to go through obviously, tons of safety checks, and the government gets involved, but it will go on the market,” Cowell said. “And I believe when it goes on the market it will save thousands and thousands of lives. So, it’s fantastic!”

He is not as enthusiastic about some of the other submissions he has seen. “We even had a guy who had to be escorted out by security this year, who came in with the best invention in the world and when we asked him what it was: it was the wheel,” he said.

One of the show’s four judges is boxing legend George Foreman, who didn’t invent the famous grill that bears his name. But his heavyweight endorsement earned him a reported $150 million.

If Simon were a contestant on this show, he knows what he’d bring in as his invention. “I’ve invented good shows, and I think that when you invent TV shows, it’s a very similar process,” he said. “You’ve got to get it financed, then you’ve got to get it made. Then you’ve got to make it popular. They’re all inventions, aren’t they?”

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Post from: Idol Stalker

Ever wonder what is going on behind the scenes before American Idol airs? Well here’s a glimpse into what happened before the finale.

Blake’s VIP Treatment

Thirty minutes before the show started, Blake Lewis, rockin’ his performance gear, made an appearance in the FOX VIP room in the Kodak Theatre lobby. The room lit up as the finalist was escorted in, looking cool as ice despite having to get onstage and take on Jordin Sparks moments later. Blake, who was all smiles, greeted guests, shaking hands as he made his way around the room.

The Idols

Johnny the warm-up guy led the cheers and jeers at the Kodak Theatre Tuesday night. With the clock counting down to show time, he introduced the top 10 (minus two), sending the crowd into hysterics as Haley Scarnato, Melinda Doolittle, Chris Sligh, Sanjaya Malakar, Phil Stacey (wearing his black and white sailor suit), Gina Glocksen, Brandon Rogers, Stephanie Edwards and Chris Richardson made their way into the room. And this group, who will hit the road for the American Idols Live tour this summer, couldn’t have been a happier, more easy-going bunch.

Brandon, who may have been the most excited of the group, snapped digital photos of everything – including Sanjaya and Haley, who posed together, Haley doing rabbit ears behind Sanjaya’s head. Meanwhile, Chris Richardson and Melinda rocked out, with Richardson’s arm around her, as music played over the sound system, while Chris Sligh, always the loner, still with that signature ‘do, decided to make his way over to greet and congratulate the Lewis family (something all the Idols would do later on).

They should be dancing

When it was time to introduce the judges, band leader Ricky Minor had a little surprise up his sleeve: When Simon Cowell came out wearing, rather than his signature tight tee, a discoed-out black suit with a white shirt unbuttoned down to his “cleavage” (as Ryan Seacrest would later joke), Minor and band played “You Should Be Dancing” by the Bee Gees, replacing the lyrics with “It’s Simon Cowell, yeah.”

But, of course, Simon and Randy Jackson were already in their seats, with no sign of Paula Abdul. No problem: Minor and crew had some lyrics for that as well, adding “where’s Paula Abdul? Where’s Paula Abdul?” And, finally, Ryan, who is always on cue and on time, got a little theme too as he made his way onto the stage: “What you doin’ Seacrest, yeah? It’s Ryan Seacrest, yeah!”

Where’s Paula?

With two and a half minutes left to air, there was no sign of Paula anywhere. The audience started chanting “Where’s Paula? Where’s Paula?” With seconds to spare, in she came under the guidance of executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who brought her out by the hand and let her hug and greet the former Idols before helping her up a step and into her seat. (She’d broken her nose in a nasty fall over the weekend.)

Ryan, Ryan

After Ryan introduced Simon Cowell as “Simon Cleavage” and said on live TV, “So the bitch is okay?” to Paula Abdul after she explained how she’d tripped over her female dog, it was revealed that Ryan’s parents were in the house. “The Seacrest family is here,” said Johnny the warm-up guy. “Big round of applause for Mom and Dad!” Aww … Ryan smiled as he headed over to do his next monologue right next to his folks. But true to form, he didn’t let their presence hold him back, continuing to make often risqué quips on and off screen.

Blockin’ up the scenery

Too bad for the sign-holders in the middle of the orchestra-level seating: Debbie the stage manager warned them before the show started not to hold their signs up too high as they were going to obstruct the cameras. Then, to their dismay, they asked to pass their signs to the ends of their rows so they could be removed. Let that be a warning.

TV Dads

Ricky Schroder was in the audience with his wife Andrea, daughter Cambrie and sons Holden and Luke, as was Heroes’ Greg Grunberg, with his wife Elizabeth and their sons Jack, Sam and Ben. During one commercial break, Schroder, holding his daughter’s hand, went up to shake hands with and chat with the judges.

Chris Daughtry Comes ‘Home’

Fans have heard the song “Home” all season each time one of the finalists was given their walking papers, but tonight, to the crowd’s delight, former Idol Chris Daughtry gave a live performance of the song that even the judges had to stand up for. Audience members, including Denise Richards and Marlee Matlin, cheered and gave Daughtry and his band a standing ovation.

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Post from: Idol Stalker

In an interview with Goof Morning America on Thursday, Simon tells Britney to “go home to your family.” I’d say that some good sound advice. He also says that Brit-Brit is still able to say her career because she is “still one of the most talked about pop stars on the planet. She has the X-factor because people want to write about her. She’s not conventional, she’s not normal.” He adds, though, that Britney “can’t handle the tension and the pressure.” His advice? “Lock the door, don’t go out with your stupid friends, have some home-cooked food, get a sense of reality, go lie in the garden, okay? And then say to yourself, ‘There’s more good in my life than bad. I’m still a rich, talented girl – now I want to get my career back on track.’ End of story.”

HERE’S WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT WHO SHOULD HAVE WON…

Simon went on to say that “Jordin was the most improved over the whole season. She didn’t start the best but midway through, this was the girl who suddenly got momentum.”

But…

“Melinda should have won,” he says. “She tried the hardest, was consistently the best and had the best voice. I think about it now – whether I should have endorsed her as much as [I did],” he says. “I think it was the right thing to do.”

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Post from: Idol Stalker

I was happy to read this interview with American Idol judge Simon Cowell because it pretty much sums up how I have been feeling. I have no idea who will win this and neither does he! He told People magazine that he thinks “they both have different strengths. One’s a better entertainer and one’s a better singer, so I think it will be down to what they do on the night.”

On Finale Predictions
“I think they will both chose their favorite song from what they’ve done over the past 11 weeks – and I’m hoping Blake will do the Bon Jovi song because I thought it was his best performance. And I don’t know what Jordin will do.”

On Fighting with Ryan
“It’s rather like having a silly little dog who wants to jump up on your lap and you just swat the dog off. Occasionally in a very stern voice you have to say ‘no.’ And that’s how I deal with Ryan.”

On Melinda’s Next Stop
“I don’t think she should try and compete with too many of the R&B artists out there at the moment. I think she’s more of a throwback to people like Gladys Knight and Tina Turner. And I think she should play to her strengths.”

On Contestants Talking Back
“I encourage it. I don’t think they do it enough because I think they all think they’re going to be voted off if they’re rude to me. I think it’s the opposite. I think the more rude they are to me, the more votes they’ll get. I think off camera they’re going completely nuts complaining about me. Then on camera they’re just smiling and I don’t understand that. I think it should be two-way. If I’m rude to them, they’re more than entitled to be rude to me back.”

On Sanjaya Fever
“I would never want to be in a situation where we cast the 12 as just normal people because I think it would be boring. The panel is wacky enough and therefore I think the contestants should be a bit strange as well. And I thought the whole Sanjaya thing was hysterical. I’m happy now because he’s out. I don’t think I’d be happy if he was in the finals, so I can now be quite smug about it.”

On Kelly Clarkson’s New Record
Kelly Clarkson is not an artist who’s in it for the money. She has a lot of integrity and this is a record she wanted to make. And I admire her for that. … It’s not as commercial as her last record, but any Kelly Clarkson record at the moment is a pretty good record compared to the competition because she’s an incredible artist.

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Kelly Clarkson is getting a little support from the man who helped her get her start. Simon Cowell, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, weighed in on the controversy surrounding Kelly’s new album, My December. Here’s part of what he had to say:

”Kelly is not a puppet; she does not like to be told what to do. She could have gone the easy route, which is, you go with ['Since U Been Gone' producer] Max Martin — it’s a guaranteed success. She made it absolutely clear that she wanted to steer the musical direction on this record. You just gotta say, ‘You know what? This girl has given us millions and millions of sales.’ You’ve got to give her that opportunity. If it works out, fantastic. If she then decides she wants to do a pop album, every good writer and producer wants to work with her. Because Kelly will be here for 30 years. She has one of the best pop voices in the world right now. What she sold in the U.K., Europe, Asia had nothing to do with American Idol. It had everything to do with the fact that she made a great record and she’s got an incredible voice. She’s not a girl who got lucky in a talent competition; we got lucky to find her.”

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Melinda Doolittle went home last night. I am beginning to wonder about some of the theories circulating out there. One of the most popular is that they want Jordin to win, so in order to do that, they had to remove the biggest threat – Melinda. I love Blake and that is not meant as an insult, nor is it a suggestion that Jordin is not talented, but I can kinda see the logic. This is a sad day. To tell the truth, any one of the three going home is tragic. They were all so different and so talented in their own way. I think the absolute saddest part was Simon Cowell’s reaction. He was visibly upset by the news. I don’t know if I have ever seen him react like this:

Goodbye, Melinda. You are a class-act, amazingly talented and have grown so much as a performer. I hope to see your name in lights someday soon!

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Post from: Idol Stalker

Apparently, American Idol judge Simon Cowell “feels sorry” for Paris Hilton and Randy Jackson thinks that the situation is “crazy” and that Paris is a “good girl.” What? Okay, last time I checked, getting punished for driving without a license after having it suspended for driving under the influence was not crazy. It’s actually pretty smart. Geez. This is one of the few times when the justice system does not fail the average citizens and now it’s suddenly “crazy.” Whatever.

Post from: Idol Stalker