14 DAY TRIAL // Despite their popularity, shows like X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent are heavily criticized by many for mass-producing recording “artists” who, they say, have no other reason for being in showbiz than a 15-minute claim to fame. One of the stars speaking out against these shows is Sting, whom Simon Cowell brands an “idiot” in a recent interview cited by PopCrunch.
The “feud” was ignited late last year, when former Police frontman and one of the most successful artists of our times Sting told the media that shows like X Factor and BGT are the worst thing the music industry could produce. Simon Cowell, who is the creator and acts as judge on both, expectedly took offense with Sting’s statements and, though it took him a few months to come back with a reply, it’s very cutting.
“First of all, anybody who at the age of 60 calls himself Sting is an idiot,” Cowell says when asked about Sting’s earlier remarks. “I find those kind of people… who come from quite humble beginnings and they’re [now] living in these stately homes, professing to know everything about everything in the world, and what the contestants may or may not feel… They can say that because they’ve got everything they want in their lives, but what they’re really saying is anybody else who needs a shot shouldn’t be allowed to do it,” the music mogul continues.
This is not the first time that Mr. Cowell goes public with his defense for the shows, since they’ve come repeatedly under fire for being a public magnet that, ironically enough, does not lead to the launch of successful singers who can boast a time-enduring career. Not few have been those to claim that X Factor and BGT are the worst the pop industry could ever come up with – and what’s even worse, they show no signs of going away anytime soon. A while ago, Cowell was saying in an interview with NME the exact opposite of that was true, since it was these shows that made people buy music again.
“The music industry was in a huge decline. What I would argue in my defense 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. We haven’t seen this kind of uplift in years,” Cowell said, as we also reported at the time.