Simon Cowell Hasn't Seen 'American Idol'

Don't expect any scathing comments about the new season of American Idol from former judge Simon Cowell. Why not? Because he hasn't seen the show.

"I haven't seen a full episode yet," the music exec told Us Weekly. "I saw a three minute sort of recap last week. From what I've seen and what I've heard, it all seems to be going well. I always thought that would be the case. What I was more concerned about was the ratings falling off a cliff, meaning that the whole genre is now over."

Cowell has vested interest in avoiding such a scenario after creating a UK spinoff of Idol called The X Factor. Now, however, he's busy working on launching an American version of his UK hit. "I left [Idol] on fantastic terms," he told Matt Lauer on The Today Show. "I still talk to Randy [Jackson] and Ryan [Seacrest]. We're still good friends, but we're going to be competitive with each other, make no mistake," he said of when The X-Factor hits the States.

His Idol neglect has to do with a difference in time zone than any issue he takes with the new judges. "I think they're doing fine," Cowell said about Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. They have a different approach to what I used to do, but the show had to reinvent itself. It's a different show than what we made before." —KIMBERLY STEELE