By Stephanie Wenger0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.Simon Cowell is looking back on Susan Boyle’s viral “Britain’s Got Talent” audition 15 years later.
As fans may recall, Boyle, 65, sang “I Dreamed a Dream” for judges Cowell, Piers Morgan, and Amanda Holden during her audition, which made her an internet sensation. However, the “America’s Got Talent” judge admitted he initially misjudged Boyle.
"Susan is a real character, and I think at the corner of my eye, I must have seen her messing around in the wings or something because I thought she was a comedian, a standup comedian," he told “Extra.” "And, yeah, there is that famous awful look between me and Pierce. And that's what we were like on the day.”
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“And I wanted people to show that you can't judge a book by its cover,” he added.
...The television personality shared that he “absolutely adore[s]” Boyle, adding, "She did more good for our show than probably any other contestant."
Fans took to the comment section in support of Boyle, with one fan writing, “Lots of great talent over all those years ... but Susan Boyle is the GOAT ... and it's not even close.”
“Susan Boyle is an ICON,” another fan shared.
While appearing on “Tales from the Celebrity Trenches” podcast earlier this month, Cowell admitted his initial reaction to Boyle during the audition was “awful.”
“But actually, I remember saying, I don't think we look bad enough,” he explained. “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.”
...He noted that he was “just as bad,” adding, “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,” he continued. “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.”
Cowell admitted that the moment led to the judges to reflect, explaining, “I think we all looked at ourselves at that point and went, ‘Oh, God, we're all terrible.’”
"America's Got Talent" Season 21 premieres on June 2 on NBC and the next day on Peacock.
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