How Much Cowell is too Much? Simon Cowell Hopes to Relaunch 'Top of the Pops'
by Sean Comer
A BBC household name going global? Well, this is Simon Cowell we're talking about.
Cowell has already been instrumental in localizing UK talent-show favorites "The X Factor", "Britain's Got Talent" and "Pop Idol" for rabid American audiences, and with undeniable success. Next, the world could watch Cowell resurrect the long-running British music showcase "Top Of The Pops" for a worldwide audience.
Popular UK tabloid The Sun reports that Cowell, 51 and still in the throes of launching his Americanized second coming of "The X Factor", is aiming for a circa-2012 re-launch of the Brit-pop cavalcade that run 42 consecutive years before its 2006 cancellation, but still produces an annual Christmas special under the "Top Of The Pops" name. Elsewhere, several foreign broadcasters in the 1990s purchased the format for localized repackaging.
Such a localized rendition airs regularly to this day on Rai 2 in Italy. According to Cowell, that's not far removed from he believes it will take for the show to rise again and thrive.
"It's not cost effective just doing it in the UK," Cowell said. "To do it properly it would need to be bigger than one country."
Who's to doubt Cowell? Never mind that he's ranked 41st on British magazine New Statesman's list "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures in 2010". From 2002 until 2010, he was instrumental in making "Pop Idol" retread "American Idol" an annual ratings juggernaut. So central was the former "Pop Idol" judge that 2003's "World Idol" displayed numerous countrys' own national Simon Cowell-type judges - blunt, abrasive personas that audiences loved hating.
On his way out the "Idol" door in 2010, Fox also purchased the rights to rehash Cowell's UK talent-show hit "The X Factor", debuting this fall. In the interim, Cowell has also been instrumental in sailing what we know as "America's Got Talent" to our shores, to still more ratings success.
When coiffed Cowell isn't conquering the world pop music scene, he's been instrumental in strapping a rocket to the singing careers of soulful R&B/pop chanteusse Leona Lewis.
But maybe I'm getting too far ahead of myself. After all, Cowell also brought America "Celebrity Duets", "Rock Rivals" and continues producing "Grease Is The Word." Any of those still showing up on anyone's DVR?
Still, his successes do net several times what his failures lose. Who are we to question?