Letter to 'Idol' Staff: Simon's Knockin' Us Off

i dont care what anyone says.. i love simon. hes what makes idol so addicting. hes right to the point and honest. i personally wont watch idol when he leaves. well... i do enjoy ellen, shes a sweety but idol needs simon to survive. lets get real.. please stay on simon!!!

I think The X Factor was on in England before American Idol. In fact, I know it was. American Idol was a knock off of The X Factor. Now Simon Cowell is simply starting the X Factor, American Style. Cowell brought Paula Abdul to England to help him with that show, then later asked her to be a judge on American Idol.

There was already a legal dispute about this over the UK XFactor show that was settled out of court iirc. What always amazes me is that Fuller ripped off the show Popstars that came out of Australia to begin with, but no one ever mentions this.

Lola, XFactor came after American Idol. First came Popstars out of Australia where it was about finding a group, not a solo singer, then cam Postars the rivals which Cheryl Cole won creating Girls Aloud. Simon Fuller then created Pop Idol in the UK, which he took to the States as American Idol. Simon then created XFactor in the UK.

The X Factor was first and Simon wanted to bring IT to America but it didn't work like that and now you have a bastard red head step child called AI. Funny Xfactor is now in ever 1st and 2nd world countries.

I am glad Simon is finally making he show right.

There's nothing at all original about American Idol. It is clearly a copy of shows that have been on in other countries long before AI ever aired in the U.S.

The X Factor has been on for years in Britain with Simon Cowell.

People at AI should pull their heads out of their buttocks

I think they are hoping Kara will be the new Simon, brass and to the point - I don't see it...and I won't see it. I am not planning on watching it this season for no other reason than it's run it's course.

X-Factor is a much better concept than Idol, which is why Idol only lasted a couple of seasons in the UK then it was panned in favour of the X-Factor.

No age limit and groups can take part. It makes for a much better show, a more wide range of talent on display and the judges get more involved in developing the talent rather than just commenting on performances.

I am suprised Simon waited so long to launch this in the US. I think it will be a complete success.

Who cares which show came first. The fact is X-Factor is better and gives more variety.

The bottom line is WITHOUT Simon, American Idol will not be the same, ratings will go so low that the show will NOT survive more than one season... Just the Facts my friends!

Uhm Americal Idol is not a "ripoff" of popstars, which is much more similar to Eurovision which came before it.

There was nothing really like American Idol before it, yes there were many "reality TV" type of shows looking for a great singer but nothing exactly like American Idol (in fact popstars was about groups, like Eurovision, rather than solo singers). That's also why American Idol has done so well, while "popstars" flopped.

AI is not completely original (after all, we have kareoke don't we?), but it has originality to it and that's really why it became successful, the way it's presented, the judges and how they critique the singers, the way which the auditions are set up etc etc.

AI and all today’s talent shows are knockoffs Star Search and the Gong Show.

Karl, you are absolutely clueless. Read this you ignoramus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Idol

IDOL's time has come and gone. The show will be nothing w/o Cowell. X-Factor is sooooo much better and I can't wait til the US version gets here. The UK just started a new show this week called Popstar to Operastar. You can watch an episode on YouTube. Looks like it could be a pretty fun show.

These shows have been around for ages. Christ...I remember back in the 60's watching the Ted Mack Amateur Hour... the very first "America's Got Talent".

Idol CANNOT and WILL NOT survive one episode without Simon. They'll have to yank it in the middle and put on a rerun of The Simpsons. Also, I'm sure far less people will want to audition if Simon is no longer there. Simon should reconsider and do both Idol and X Factor. I will not watch one millisecond of Idol without Simon, and we'll have to wait almost a year and a half to see him again after this season of Idol. I want Simon to bring X Factor to America, but not at the expense of his involvement with Idol.