Cavan Sambrose blog

Simon Cowell denies "American Idol" bad blood

Ten years after helping launch "American Idol" into a national pastime, Simon Cowell is again playing the role of underdog.

He's back auditioning talent for a largely unknown singing competition -- although this time, when "The X Factor" premieres on Fox this fall, it will come with immense hype and expectations.

Cowell, 51, spoke with Hollywood Reporter editor at large Kim Masters for a segment on her KCRW radio show, The Business. An edited transcript follows:

TELL ME WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM LAUNCHING IDOL THAT YOU MIGHT BE PUTTING INTO PRACTICE NOW WITH THE X FACTOR?

Simon Cowell: When we launched the show, which was literally 10 years ago, I was doing exactly the same thing. I was talking to people, talking up the show, which nobody knew anything about. This is when we were trying to get people to audition in the first place and praying that it was going to work and that people would like it. But until people actually showed up, we didn't know whether the show was going to work or not. And it's the same principle now. No matter what your ambitions are for one of these shows, it absolutely depends on who the contestants are. If they're all useless and boring, you haven't got a show.

THE EXPECTATIONS FOR "IDOL" WERE NOTHING, AND IT TURNED OUT RATHER WELL. THE EXPECTATIONS FOR "X FACTOR" ARE HIGHER, SO WHAT DO YOU DO?

Cowell: Just keep doing what I'm doing, which is don't believe the hype, assume you've still got to get the message out to people -- maybe those who would normally not enter a show like this. You've got to start from the absolute basics because we haven't filmed a second yet of this new show. I know what it turned into in the U.K. It turned into a really successful, fun show, and I hope the same thing can happen in America.

"IDOL" RATINGS HAVE HELD UP QUITE WELL, AND THE TALENT IS AWFULLY GOOD THIS YEAR. IS IT OVERSTATING IT TO SAY YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT TALENT NOT KNOWING WHAT "X FACTOR" IS AND NOT TURNING OUT THE WAY THEY DO FOR "IDOL" NOW?

Cowell: I said from the beginning I was going to put my money where my mouth is. So we put up, in addition to a recording contract, $5 million to the winner of this show, as a statement to say that I actually did believe that we could find somebody who would become a world star. Because we don't give out recording contracts like that at Sony any longer.

IS THAT $5 MILLION CASH GUARANTEED?

Cowell: It's $5 million cash guaranteed. Whether you sell one record or 10 million records, you get $5 million.

DO YOU HAVE A NUMBER IN YOUR HEAD OF WHAT SORT OF RATING WOULD BE A WIN FOR YOU?

Cowell: That's a very good question. I mean everything over 20 million (viewers) would be a good first week, right?

IT WOULD BE GREAT. "IDOL" AT THIS POINT IS DOING 22 MILLION, DOWN FROM A HIGH OF 31 MILLION.

Cowell: Well, we have a fifth of your population in the U.K., and on the final last year, 21 million people tuned in. It's a vast amount of people in this small country. But I don't take anything for granted. I've sat in there many, many times during auditions, thinking this is going to be a complete and utter disaster, and then somebody good walks in an hour later.

"IDOL" WAS NOTORIOUS FOR TENSION ON THE SET. IS IT JUST A PART OF SOMETHING THAT BIG AND SUCCESSFUL, THERE'S GOING TO BE BAD BLOOD?

Cowell: There wasn't bad blood from my point of view. I was very grateful for the show because otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you today. It did a lot of good for a lot of people, and we all benefited from it. It's sad when you read about the producers saying, "I'm glad Simon's not on the show anymore," that "it's better without him," because you kind of wish that they would say that to your face rather than in public. Because I didn't feel that when I was on the show. I thought we all liked each other. And that's why I'm happy now that I'm launching something new with people who do want to work with me.

SO THE NOTION THAT YOU WOULD BE HAPPY IF IDOL FAILED WITHOUT YOU, IS THAT JUST FANCIFUL?

Cowell: I never said that. I still talk to Randy (Jackson), Ryan (Seacrest), (producer) Kenny Warwick, (executive producer) Cecile (Frot-Coutaz). A couple of people maybe would have a grudge, but no, we always said that if that show remained popular it means that people are still interested in these types of shows. But we are competitive with each other, which is healthy. Each show wants to do better than the other. But it's not just "Idol," it's "Dancing With the Stars," it's Mark (Burnett)'s new show, we're all competitive with each other. But that's a good thing.

I DO MISS YOU AS A JUDGE ON IDOL. NOBODY IS SAYING THE WORDS THAT YOU USED TO SAY, WHICH IS "THAT WAS A HUGE MISTAKE" AND "YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE GONE." DO YOU WATCH?

Cowell: I watched it a couple of weeks ago. And it was interesting. I was watching it with some friends. And for a moment, it's like you're on the show and somebody's singing and you want to say something, and then suddenly you realize you're not on the show and you're listening to somebody else. It's a really odd experience. But they genuinely seem to be happy and the audience seemed to like it so I guess everyone's happy.

Va Commonwealth keeps alive First 4 to Final 4 bid

A few years ago, George Mason showed that a No. 11 seed from an unheralded conference can make it to the Final Four. Now league rival Virginia Commonwealth is on the verge of topping that — taking a No. 11 seed from the First Four to the Final Four.

The Rams had to win a play-in game just to secure their spot in the NCAA tournament, and have been unstoppable ever since. A series of blowouts against big-name programs from big-time conferences got them to the second weekend, and they showed Friday night that they can win the tight games, too.

Bradford Burgess made a layup off an inbounds pass with 7.1 seconds left in overtime, and Rob Brandenburg blocked a shot at the buzzer, giving VCU a 72-71 victory over Florida State in a Southwest Region semifinal. If the Rams can knock off top-seeded Kansas on Sunday, they will be headed to Houston next weekend as the biggest surprise in a tournament that's been filled with them.

"We're going to have to play much better than we did tonight," VCU coach Shaka Smart said. "Our guys know that, and I think we have it in us."

The Rams (27-11) were up by nine points with 7:37 left, seemingly headed to another lopsided win. Then they nearly blew it. They scored just three more points in regulation, perhaps getting caught by the fatigue of being the only team that advanced by winning three games last week.

VCU's final attempt of the second half was blocked, giving Florida State one last shot. A long jumper didn't get over the front rim, setting up the extra period.

The Seminoles were up by one in the final seconds of overtime when Rams guard Joey Rodriguez stood underneath the basket ready to throw in the ball. VCU was going to run its favorite inbounds play, but FSU recognized what was coming and called a timeout to switch their defense.

Smart realized what the Seminoles were doing, so he switched to another play.

Burgess ended up weaving through several screens while Rodriguez made a ball fake to get the big guy guarding him leaning the wrong direction. With the 5-second count close to expiring, Rodriguez skipped the ball between two defenders, right to Burgess. He bobbled the pass a bit, then banked it in before the defense could recover.

"I had been messing up — my layups were getting blocked," said Burgess, who scored 26 points, making 6 of 7 3-pointers. "I wasn't going to the hole strong enough, and I said if I got the chance I wanted to win the game for the team."

Florida State's Derwin Kitchen, who missed the potential winner in regulation, had the ball in his hands again on the final possession in overtime. He drove the baseline, then passed it outside. The shot may have been too late to count, but Brandenburg avoided any controversy by swatting it, sending into the regional finals this program from the Colonial Athletic Association that had never even been to the regional semifinals.

"Guts — just guts and want-to," Smart said of his team's recovery after its second-half pratfall.

The NCAA tournament selection committee was widely criticized for letting VCU into the field after the Rams lost five of its last eight games. Smart used that us-vs.-the-world schtick for motivation and half-jokingly said Thursday that he hoped it continued even if they beat Florida State. Well, there's no doubt they will hear it leading up to their matchup against Kansas.

The Jayhawks are coming off a 77-57 route of Richmond that wasn't even that close. They also are the lone No. 1 seed remaining, making them the favorites to win it all.

But the Rams might have as good of a chance as anyone to knock them out. Having already KO'd high-profile programs from the Pac-10 (Southern Cal), Big East (Georgetown), Big Ten (Purdue) and now the ACC, they could use someone from the Big 12 to round out their collection.

"It's going to be a fun game," Rodriguez said. "We're going come at them and we're going to run with them. It's going to be fun. ... It's a great opportunity. Cinderella gets the only No. 1 seed left. You couldn't ask for more."

Florida State (23-11) hadn't been this far since 1993, and thought it had the team to keep going. The Seminoles certainly had the defense (allowing the lowest field-goal percentage in the country) and had star Chris Singleton back in as close to full gear as he's been since breaking his right foot in mid-February.

It still wasn't enough. Kitchen scored 23 points and Singleton was clutch as could be, making a tying 3-pointer with 45 seconds left in regulation and a go-ahead layup across the baseline with 29.2 seconds left in overtime. He finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

"It didn't just come down to one play," Florida State's Bernard James said. "The game was decided in the first 30 minutes when we didn't play defense."

The first NCAA tournament matchup between teams seeded 10 and 11 was tight throughout. VCU's biggest lead was nine; FSU's biggest was four.

The Seminoles outrebounded the Rams 47-32. Florida State had 21 on the offensive end, leading to 18 more shots than VCU. Yet it wasn't enough.

Even with their late woes, the Rams made 45 percent of their shots. They were 12 of 26 from behind the arc, realizing they were better off trying long-range shots than going against Florida State's size inside.

"They hit some really tough shots, shots that were heavily contested," Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton said. "Almost from the parking lot, way beyond NBA range, at least three or four of them. ... Sometimes you have to give the other team credit. Even when we contested the shots they made those 3s."

Plutonium detected in soil at Japan nuclear plant

Plutonium has been detected in soil at a stricken nuclear plant in Japan and highly contaminated water has leaked from a reactor building, the operator said Monday, fanning environmental fears.

Radiation worries have disrupted efforts to restart the cooling system of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was battered by a huge earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that left more than 28,000 people dead or missing.

With Japan struggling to contain its worst ever atomic crisis, France said its nuclear groups Areva and EDF had been asked to help.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said plutonium was found at five spots within the crippled facility, but stressed the levels were not believed to be a hazard to human health.

"Of the samples from five locations, we believe that there is a high possibility that at least two of them are directly linked with the current reactor accident," a spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

But he added: "We believe the level is not serious enough to harm human health."

The level of plutonium was similar to that detected in Japan after neighbouring countries such as North Korea and China conducted nuclear experiments, the spokesman said.

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said it was unclear which reactor the plutonium came from.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the agency, said the detection of plutonium suggested "certain damage to fuel rods", in comments carried by Kyodo News.

According to the US environmental protection agency, external exposure to plutonium poses "very little health risk", but internal exposure "is an extremely serious health hazard."

Plutonium is formed from uranium in nuclear reactors and generally stays in the body for decades, exposing organs and tissues to radiation and increasing the risk of cancer, it said.

The massive earthquake and tsunami which crashed into northeast Japan knocked out the cooling systems for the six reactors of the Fukushima plant, which has been leaking radiation into the atmosphere.

The latest discovery will add to environmental concerns over contamination which has already been detected in farm produce and tap water, although Japan says there is no imminent health threat.

Traces of radioactivity from the Fukushima plant have been found in rainwater in the northeast United States, but pose no health risk, the US environmental protection agency said.

Earlier Monday TEPCO said a large amount of highly radioactive water had escaped from the number two reactor's turbine building into an underground tunnel and might leak into the ocean.

The water is thought to have leaked from the vessel containing the fuel rods -- which are suspected to have temporarily melted -- or from the pipe system.

The radiation in the water was measured at 1,000 millisieverts an hour, a dose that can cause temporary radiation sickness with nausea and vomiting for people who are exposed.

Seawater near the plant has been found to contain radioactive iodine more than 1,850 times the legal limit, although it is not exactly clear how the contamination spread to the Pacific Ocean.

TEPCO was severely reprimanded by the government Monday, a day after it erroneously said radiation in water at the site had reached 10 million times the normal level before later issued a much lower -- but still dangerous -- figure.

"Considering the fact that the monitoring of radioactivity is a major condition to ensure safety, this kind of mistake is absolutely unacceptable," said top government spokesman Yukio Edano.

Adding to questions about the handling of the crisis, TEPCO said its president Masataka Shimizu took several days off from a joint emergency taskforce with the government due to sickness, but has now returned to work.

The group has also faced criticism over an incident last week in which two plant workers braving hazardous conditions were hospitalised because they stepped in radioactive water without proper boots.

TEPCO shares plunged nearly 18 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday, while the broader market saw a day of subdued trading as the Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.6 percent.

Work to restore power at reactor two has been suspended since Sunday because of the danger posed by the radioactive water leaks.

The immediate focus is on draining the highly radioactive water from the turbine room basements, but without releasing it into the environment.

The nuclear crisis remains a distraction from the dire plight of hundreds of thousands made homeless in the quake-tsunami tragedy.

The disaster, Japan's deadliest since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, has left 10,901 dead and 17,649 missing, the National Police Agency said Monday.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will make a short visit to Japan during a scheduled trip to China this week, an official from his party told AFP on Monday, but the precise date is unclear.

Obama vows U.S. forces won't get bogged down in Libya

President Barack Obama told Americans on Monday that U.S. forces would not get bogged down trying to topple Muammar Gaddafi but stopped short of spelling out how the military campaign in Libya would end.

In a nationally televised address, Obama -- accused by many lawmakers of failing to explain the U.S. role in the Western air assault on Gaddafi's loyalists -- said he had no choice but to act to avoid "violence on a horrific scale" against the Libyan people.

"We had a unique ability to stop that violence, an international mandate for action, a broad coalition prepared to join us," he said in his fullest defense of his strategy since air strikes began 10 days ago. "We also had the ability to stop Gaddafi's forces in their tracks."

But Obama set strict limits on his willingness to apply U.S. military might, making clear Washington would not act as the world's policeman "wherever repression occurs," a sign he would avoid armed entanglement in other Middle East hotspots.

He pledged the United States would scale back its involvement to a "supporting role," with NATO taking over full command from American forces on Wednesday, but offered no prediction of when -- or how -- the mission would end.

Obama vowed to work with allies to hasten the day when Gaddafi leaves power but said he would not use force to remove him -- as former President George W. Bush did in ousting Saddam Hussein in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Obama, elected in 2008, had strongly opposed the Iraq war.

"We went down that road in Iraq," Obama told military officers at the National Defense University in Washington. "That is not something we can afford to repeat in Libya."

He spoke on the eve of a 35-nation conference in London to tackle the crisis in the North African oil-exporting country and weigh political options for ending Gaddafi's 41-year rule.

COUNTERING CRITICISM

Obama sought to counter criticism at home that he lacked clear objectives or an exit strategy in launching the Libya mission, but he left unanswered the question of how long U.S. forces would be involved and how they would eventually leave.

Obama's challenge was to define the limited purpose and scope of the U.S. mission in Libya for Americans preoccupied with domestic economic concerns and weary of costly wars in two other Muslim countries, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We will deny the regime arms, cut off its supply of cash, assist the opposition and work with other nations to hasten the day when Gaddafi leaves power," Obama said.

But he acknowledged "it may not happen overnight" and said Gaddafi may be able to cling to power. "Broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake," he said.

Experts say failure to dislodge Gaddafi could lead to a bloody stalemate and require prolonged Western-led military action to protect civilians.

But Steven Cook of the Council on Foreign Relations think tank said coalition forces were trying to create an opportunity where Libyan rebels, who have made recent gains on the battlefield, "have at least a fighting chance to engage in their own regime change."

Obama's words were not enough to mollify Republican opponents who accuse him of failing to lead in global crises ranging from Middle East unrest to Japan's nuclear emergency.

"Americans still have no answer to the fundamental question: what does success in Libya look like?" said Brendan Buck, spokesman for House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner.

Obama is struggling to balance foreign policy challenges like Libya with his domestic priorities of jobs and the economy, considered crucial to his 2012 re-election chances.

Obama's prime-time speech came a day after NATO agreed to assume full responsibility for military operations in Libya,

The alliance's decision gave a boost to Obama's effort to show Americans he was making good on his commitment to limit U.S. military involvement. NATO will take charge of air strikes that have targeted Gaddafi's military infrastructure as well as a no-fly zone and an arms embargo.

Most polls show Americans divided over the Libya mission and believe on balance that the Obama administration and its allies do not have a clear goal in taking military action.

(Additional reporting by Alister Bull, Steve Holland, Arshad Mohammed and Susan Cornwell; Editing by David Storey and Todd Eastham)

Grammy-nominated R&B star El DeBarge enters rehab

DETROIT – R&B star El DeBarge, who earned a pair of Grammy nominations following his comeback album last year, has entered a rehabilitation center and dropped out of a national tour with KEM and Ledisi that's scheduled to kick off this week in Texas.

The 49-year-old singer said in a statement that he voluntarily checked into the center "to deal with issues stemming from many years of substance abuse." DeBarge said he has battled drug addiction for two decades.

"I hate to disappoint my fans, but it is necessary for me to take the time to work on me so that I may continue to share my music and my story with everyone," DeBarge said in the statement released Monday by Geffen Records. "I thank everyone in advance for their prayers and well wishes and hope that you will respect my privacy during this time."

The Michigan native's career peaked in the 1980s with DeBarge, a group he formed with his siblings that charted No. 1 hits such as "Time Will Reveal" and "Rhythm of the Night." Then came years of struggle with substance abuse, including a two-year jail stint following a 2008 drug possession arrest.

But he triumphantly returned last year with the release of "Second Chance," his first album of new music in 16 years, and earned two of Grammy nods, performed on the BET Awards and toured with Mary J. Blige.

DeBarge has been open about his history of drug addiction, telling The Associated Press in an interview last year that curiosity led him to begin experimenting.

"I said, 'Hey, let me try this.' And it took me 22 years to un-try," he said then.

KEM, a fellow Michigan artist who beat back his own drug problems 20 years ago, said he's thinking about his former tour-mate.

"Our prayers are with (DeBarge) and we will hold him there throughout his journey. Much Love, El," KEM wrote on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

KEM begins his 2011 "Intimacy" tour on Friday at the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, near Dallas. Grammy nominee Musiq Soulchild will join the tour in place of DeBarge.