Shaina C. Indovino - Simon Cowell: From the Mailroom to Idol Fame

SIMON COWELL:

FROM THE MAILROOM TO IDOL FAME

EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS WITH A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OR LESS

JENNIFER ANISTON: FROM FRIENDS TO FILMS

TYRA BANKS: FROM THE RUNWAY TO THE TELEVISION SCREEN

HALLE BERRY: FROM BEAUTY QUEEN TO OSCAR WINNER

JAMES CAMERON: FROM TRUCK DRIVER TO DIRECTOR

SIMON COWELL: FROM THE MAILROOM TO IDOL FAME

ELLEN DEGENERES: FROM COMEDY CLUB TO TALK SHOW

MICHAEL DELL: FROM CHILD ENTREPRENEUR TO COMPUTER MAGNATE

STEVE JOBS: FROM APPLES TO APPS

RACHAEL RAY: FROM CANDY COUNTER TO COOKING SHOW

RUSSELL SIMMONS: FROM THE STREETS TO THE MUSIC BUSINESS

JIM SKINNER: FROM BURGERS TO THE BOARDROOM

HARRY TRUMAN: FROM FARMER TO PRESIDENT

MARK ZUCKERBERG: FROM FACEBOOK TO FAMOUS

SIMON COWELL:

FROM THE MAILROOM TO IDOL FAME

by Shaina C. Indovino

SIMON COWELL: FROM THE MAILROOM TO IDOL FAME

Mason Crest 370 Reed Road Broomall, Pennsylvania 19008 www.masoncrest.com

Copyright 2013 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

First printing
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Indovino, Shaina Carmel.

Simon Cowell : from the mailroom to Idol fame / Shaina C. Indovino.

p. cm. (Extraordinary success with a high school diploma or les)

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4222-2296-6 (hard cover) ISBN 978-1-4222-2293-5 (series hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4222-9357-7 (ebook)

1. Cowell, Simon, 1959-Juvenile literature. 2. Sound recording executives and producersEnglandBiographyJuvenile literature. 3. American idol (Television program)Juvenile literature. I. Title.

ML3930.C68I53 2012

781.64092dc23

[B]

2011024225

Produced by Harding House Publishing Services, Inc.
www.hardinghousepages.com
Interior design by Camden Flath
Cover design by Torque + Design.

CONTENTS

Finding a great job without a college degree is hard to dobut its possible. In fact, more and more, going to college doesnt necessarily guarantee you a job. In the past few years, only one in four college graduates find jobs in their field. And, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, eight out of the ten fastest- growing jobs dont require college degrees.

But that doesnt mean these jobs are easy to get. Youll need to be willing to work hard. And youll also need something else. The people who build a successful career without college are all passionate about their work. Theyre excited about it. Theyre committed to getting better and better at what they do. They dont just want to make money. They want to make money doing something they truly love.

So a good place for you to start is to make a list of the things you find really interesting. What excites you? What do you love doing? Is there any way you could turn that into a job?

Now talk to people who already have jobs in that field. How did they get where they are today? Did they go to collegeor did they find success through some other route? Do they know anyone else you can talk to? Talk to as many people as you can to get as many perspectives as possible.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, two out of every three jobs require on-the-job training rather than a college degree. So your next step might be to find an entry-level position in the field that interests you. Dont expect to start at the top. Be willing to learn while you work your way up from the bottom.

Thats what almost all the individuals in this series of books did: they started out somewhere that probably seemed pretty distant from their end goalbut it was actually the first step in their journey. Celebrity Simon Cowell began his career working in a mailroom. Jim Skinner, who ended up running McDonalds Corporation, started out flipping burgers. World-famous cook Rachael Ray worked at a candy counter. All these people found incredible success without a college degreebut they all had a dream of where they wanted to go in life... and they were willing to work hard to make their dream real.

Ask yourself: Do I have a dream? Am I willing to work hard to make it come true? The answers to those questions are important!

Words to Know

reality television Reality television is programming based on real peoples lives or competitions that involve real people, rather than actors. Reality television shows dont use scripts.

record label A record label is a company that finds new artists, signs a contract with them to sell their music, and then gets the word out about the artist.

borough A borough is a smaller part of a big city. Often, large cities will be made up of several boroughs. New York City, for instance, has five boroughs.

song charts Song charts record which songs are selling the best, ranking them by their sales.

O n Monday, January 11, 2010, Simon Cowell shocked TV audiences by announcing that he would leave his job as judge on American Idol. The reality television show had been a gigantic success in the United States since it first aired in 2002, when it introduced American viewers to the sharp-tongued Simon. Based on the British show Pop Idol, on which Simon was also a judge, American Idol had made Simon Cowell an international star, mainly for his harsh criticism of the singing competitions contestants.

Simon had helped make the show a massive hit, but it was time for the television talent judge and music executive to move on. I want to leave Idol this year bigger and better than it was in the past, he told the Television Critics Association. Simon added that he was very proud of what the show has achieved. And he had right to be proud; American Idol had become one of the most popular shows on television in the time Simon was a judge on the show.

Simon wasnt leaving American Idol for nothing, however. He planned to start an American version of The X-Factor, another British reality television competition on which he was a judge. [I] didnt think it was right to do two shows in America at the same time, so [I] decided to leave one and start another, he said. Simon was ready to get to work on something new after being on American Idol for almost ten years. Im thrilled that we have put a date on the launch of the U.S. version of The X Factor, and delighted to be continuing to work with Fox, Simon said. We have a fantastic relationship, a great team and are all very excited about this.

Replacing Simon would be a major challenge for American Idol and for Fox, the company that aired the show. When Simon announced he would be leaving the hugely successful show, the chairman of entertainment at Fox, Peter Rice, didnt want to tell reporters who would take Simons place on American Idol. Talking about finding a new judge for the show, Rice said, We have to take our time on that.... We have to make sure the chemistry of the judges is as good as it could be. Simon was a unique voice