Simon Cowell says he quit “American Idol” because he was “bored” — and suggested that whoever replaces him should know more about music than fellow judge Ellen DeGeneres.
With only a week to go before he leaves “Idol” for good, Cowell appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show yesterday — saying that he believes “Idol’s” ratings suffered this season because Paula Abdul is not there.
“I think we had a great team,” he told Oprah. “She had her own . . . reasons for doing what she did, and I’ve stayed in contact with her a lot, but Paula . . . she’s got great instincts.”
When asked whom he thought should replace him, Cowell made it clear that it would be a mistake to hire someone like DeGeneres again, who lacks music business experience.
“I think primarily, you’ve got to have somebody on that panel who actually knows what they’re talking about — because everyone is talking about casting the nasty person or this person or get another Brit,” Cowell said.
“If we were judging ice skating, I mean, you wouldn’t have somebody on who’s obnoxious. You’d have somebody who knows the difference between a 10, a 9 and an 8.
“I think, to a point, [the show] has to get back to that.”
Cowell is leaving “Idol” to launch the American version of his British hit, “The X Factor,” next year.
When Oprah asked why he’s leaving “Idol,” Cowell replied frankly: “After a while, you start to go on automatic pilot, and there were too many times where I was sitting there bored, and I thought, ‘At the end of the day, the audience doesn’t tune in to watch me being bored. They deserve more than that.’
“But I can’t hide it when I’m bored,” he says. “I just can’t fake it.
“It’s time,” he said. “I just loved the buzz [when the show first started] and I liked kind of the adventure . . . and then you get to a point, and for whatever reason two years ago, I remember sitting in the auditions one day, and I thought, ‘I think this is about as far as we can go.’
“And I’ve always promised myself that I’d leave before I was forced to go.”