Simon Cowell... Gets Sentimental!

WITH SEASON 20 OF AMERICA'S GOT TALENT ABOUT TO LAUNCH, THE TV ICON REFLECTS ON HIS SUCCESS AND HOW HIS SON 'SAVED ME'

- JOELLE GOLDSTEIN, MACKENZIE SCHMIDT

Simon Cowell still vividly recalls watching talent competition shows on television while growing up in the U.K. “I loved them,” he says. “The kind of acts I remember were those really wacky acts, where it just used to crack me up.” So it’s no surprise that years later, after establishing himself as a hitmaker with American Idol, Cowell, 65, jumped at the chance to create a program that his younger self would’ve loved. “Once I'd done Idol and enjoyed it, I thought, ‘It’s time to revamp that kind of show that has singers along with other acts, but how do we make it big and loud and exciting and funny?’” he says of creating America’s Got Talent. “It was a light-bulb moment, and it evolved into what it is now.”

20 Seasons In "It is the best job in the world," Cowell says of being on AGT with Howie Mandel, Terry Crews, Sofía Vergara and Mel B.

Doting Dad "If I wasn't where I am in my life today, it would feel quite empty," Cowell (with Silverman and Eric in September 2024) says of fatherhood.

AGT premiered on NBC in June 2006, just one month after Cowell wrapped up his fifth season on