Simon Cowell has admitted that his reaction to Susan Boyle during her iconic Britain's Got Talent audition was 'horrible' and served as a 'wakeup call' for him. The Scottish singer, now 65, first appeared on the ITV talent show in 2009 as a church volunteer, and was initially met with smirks from judges Cowell, Amanda Holden, and Piers Morgan after she expressed her dream of being as successful as Elaine Paige. However, she left them stunned with her powerful rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Misérables.
Cowell Reflects on His Behavior
Speaking 17 years later on the podcast Tales from the Celebrity Trenches on Wednesday (6 May), Cowell confessed that his initial reaction was 'awful'. He recalled, 'I remember saying, I don't think we look bad enough. I think we were even worse than that. I said, we're going to just tell it as it is. And they went, you look awful. I said, we are awful. All of us. I mean, that look Piers gives me. It's just I think of all the looks I've ever remembered, that might be the worst.'
Cowell continued, 'And I was just as bad. We all were. And then, you know, thank God for her, it all worked out well. And, of course, I had the ability to cut all that stuff out, but it was a bit of a wakeup call. Which is, you can't judge a book by its cover. We do look disgusting, but you got to hold your hands up at that moment. A lot of people are going to realise in about 24 hours that we're just horrible. And so we're going to say sorry. And that's what we did.'
Boyle's Lasting Impact
Cowell emphasised that Boyle's audition was 'so important for so many reasons' and prompted self-reflection. He added, 'I think we all looked at ourselves at that point and went, oh, God, we're all terrible. I do remember, actually, because she didn't win obviously. So I ran up to the stage. I said to her, Susan, I'm going to sign you, just so you know, it doesn't matter. It really, really doesn't matter. Because I knew she was going to be upset.'
Although Boyle lost the competition to dance group Diversity, her debut album I Dreamed a Dream sold over 10 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling albums of the century. Her life story was turned into a 2012 musical, and she performed for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. In 2023, she suffered a minor stroke but returned to the stage months later. Last year, she serenaded actor Timothée Chalamet for his birthday after he named her one of his five favourite Brits, saying, 'She dreamt bigger than all of us. Who wasn't moved by that?'
