Simon Cowell Admits He Overestimated The X Factor's Success

Simon Cowell chatted with Extra's Terri Seymour about Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and Steve Jones' recent exits from The X Factor, and he reveals that this wasn't exactly how he thought things would pan out.

Cowell explained, "It's only because I opened my big mouth and said we were going to get 20 million [viewers]. If I hadn't said that, everybody would be saying the show was a huge success." Seymour asked Cowell if he thought The X Factor felt threatened by The Voice, whose mentors are Grammy-winning artists. Cowell replied, "No. Because I would ask how many hit records have they made? How many artists have they discovered?" Burn!

On Abdul's departure, Cowell admitted, "I would've liked to have kept her. She was very gracious and I said that to her. She understands it's business; it's never personal." So what about Scherzinger? Simon says, "I don't think she's mad. I think she's disappointed."

Cowell shot down reports that Beyonce would join the judging panel, telling Seymour, "I have no idea where this rumor came from. I read it online that I offered her $100 million a year. It's complete nonsense." While he would "love" Mariah Carey as a judge, Simon noted, "[Y]ou can't expect someone who's just had two kids to make the kind of commitment you would need on this show." Cowell added that Madonna would be "great" but "expensive" and Katy Perry "would be fun -- and she's feisty."