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American Idol 10

'American Idol' is better now than it was with me, Simon Cowell says

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/10/2011

American Idol can count former judge Simon Cowell as a fan of this season's retooling.

"I think it's a good show," Cowell told America's Got Talent judge and CNN host Piers Morgan in an interview scheduled to air on Piers Morgan Tonight's March 14 broadcast.

Cowell said American Idol's new judging panel has resulted in a better show than last season -- which marked the final Idol edition Cowell participated in before leaving to launch a new American edition of his The X Factor singing competition on Fox this coming fall.

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"I personally think it is a better show than last year. I genuinely do. I think what they've got -- It feels to me they've got their energy back -- They're confident; They're competitive," Cowell explained.

"I said to everybody on my show, 'If you think that Idol is going to be the same it was last year, think again. They're going to be working 10 times as hard, just as I would."

However the former American Idol judge said while he feels the show has successfully improved itself, the end result wouldn't have been his personal vision.

"It's not the show I would make myself because that's why I moved from the show in the first place," Cowell told Morgan. "I wanted to make something different, but for Idol, as I said based on last year, I think it's better."

Cowell added that new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez and returning judge Randy Jackson seem to have great chemistry, which was an important factor missing from American Idol's last couple of seasons which had added Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres to the judging panel.

"I always think of Idol, really, as me, [Paula Abdul] and Randy, and when I think other people were brought in and Paula wasn't there, it was to me, like being on a different show because it was my last show and I'd announced I was leaving -- weird atmosphere," Cowell explained.

(Photo credit Fox)

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