It was like orderin a hamburger and getting only the buns" (After Brooke White of season 7 on american idol sang the song 'Hero' by Mariah Carey)

Money brings you security and choice. You can make decisions in a different way if you have a lot of money. But when you have nothing, you have a naivety, and a more fearless attitude because you have nothing to lose.

Choosing how you vote should not be a snap verdict based on a few minutes of television.

The love I have for my ex-girlfriends will always be there, so I think that's true love.

It's the government's job to encourage entrepreneurialism and investment. Most importantly, it's the government's duty to inspire confidence.

I've never bought a Dylan record. A singing poet? It just bores me to tears. I've got to tell you, if I had 10 Dylans in the final of 'American Idol,' we would not be getting 30 million viewers a week. I don't believe the Bob Dylans of this world would make 'American Idol 'a better show.

Would I like kids? If I knew I could be - and how could I put this delicately - faithful, then yes. I do like kids.

I could just sit back and get someone to spin my achievements, I suppose, but when I see others do it, I always think, 'Why are you telling me how successful you are?' I am always suspicious of those kinds of boasts.

If I had one dog, I'd want a hundred. If I had one kid, I'd probably want a hundred. I mean, it's just the way I am.

I met someone the other night who's 28 years old, and he hasn't worked a day since he left college because he's pursuing a dream he'll never, ever realize: He thinks he's a great singer. Actually, he's crap.

We have hated the French for years. Now you have just joined the club. It makes you much more likable.

If we had to choose one American Idol to go out to dinner with, it would be Fantasia. There are no airs and graces about her... I like her.

You are a saucy little thing aren't you?

I've spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on the very best security and I can assure you my homes are as safe as the Bank of England.

I hate belongings. I hate clutter. It really bothers me because I can't think properly. If you've got distractions in front of you, your mind goes nuts.

I love producing shows. And so when you're on a show where other people are making decisions you don't necessarily agree with it, after a while you start to feel like a passenger.

Every show I've ever, you know, produced, essentially it's the show I want to watch myself.

I don't want to tell a 15 or 14 year old what they should be doing. I want them to tell me. And that's what I got when I met Justin Bieber for the first time.

I hated school, but I love work.

The only magazines I read are car magazines.

What I would argue in my defence is that shows like 'Britain's Got Talent' and 'The X Factor' have actually got people more interested in music again and are sending more people into record stores.

I probably get more satisfaction from making a show than being on a show.

Not everybody is perfect, and I don't think we should be looking for perfect people.

I'm not sure who has the right to say that you have better taste than somebody else, because essentially what you're doing is calling millions of people morons.

Have I got a black book? Yes, it's called a mobile phone. I do get offers. There is no shortage of people if you want to go on dates - working in TV, living in L.A., it is there if you want it.

When you're making a reality show, you can't even plan a week ahead now.

I'm not that musical. I don't really know how a record is produced, and, funnily enough, I don't want to.

I think you have to judge everything based on your personal taste. And if that means being critical, so be it. I hate political correctness. I absolutely loathe it.

Everyone who turns up on 'X Factor' does it because a door has been closed to them at some time in their lives, and this is the only shot they have got.

If you've got a big mouth and you're controversial, you're going to get attention.

The minute you start assuming that the audience is very happy to see the same show again, you're dead.

When I think of invention, I always think of America. You're always seeing ads: 'Have you got the next big idea?' There seems to be that spirit in America of inventions and inventors.

My attitude is, if someone’s going to criticize me, tell me to my face.

My proudest achievement has been the success of the shows and artists I have been involved with, because they were made in Britain.

Sometimes when you have a record out, you think you're going to go in at No. 1 but you go in at No. 8. So your second record has to be better. That's how I treat it.

I don't have sophisticated tastes. I have average tastes. If you looked in my collection of DVDs, you'd see 'Jaws' and 'Star Wars.' In the book library, you'd see John Grisham and Sidney Sheldon. And if you look in my fridge, it's, like, children's food - chips, milkshakes, yogurt.

I didn't have any qualifications when I left school - I had three O-levels.

I have always hated celebrities lecturing people on politics. So forgive me. But I am passionate about this country. I am equally passionate about the potential of the people who live here.

I LOVE ONE DIRECTION!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone who complains about invasion of privacy shouldn't work in the entertainment business. You can't have it both ways. It's as simple as that.

The young people working for me are ambitious and hard-working. That work ethic has always been a trait of the British.

I think that by ignoring the show you're ignoring the audience who put you there.

It's not my habit to kiss and tell. I've never done it.

Anyone who goes on 'The X Factor' to make big money will be in for a big shock.

There's no need for me to get married. I live with someone; we're happy; end of story.

I'm going to give all my money away, eventually. I don't believe in all this hand-down stuff. Even if I had kids, I don't think I'd want to give them everything.

I like to know why a video has suddenly gone viral, why a song has broken, why a TV show is suddenly rating out of pattern... I'm pretty good at understanding why things are becoming popular.

When I look at it now, the whole punk thing is sort of comedy in a weird way.

Thank God kids love following an artist. When you get a group who pop, it's the best thing in the world.

I grew up when the whole Motown thing was huge. The charts in those days were dominated by groups more than solo artists at one point.