Simon Cowell is opening up about reviving The X-Factor in the U.S. as he says there are networks interested in bringing back the singing competition.
Fox aired the reality show for three seasons in the U.S. between 2011 and 2013. Although it’s television run was short-lived, Cowell was able to discover the pop group Fifth Harmony during season 2 of the series. With almost 10 years off the air, Cowell told The Sun that networks in the U.S. have expressed interest in reviving the competition.
Although Cowell didn’t reveal how serious the talks are for The X-Factor to return to the U.S., he did say that the U.K. version would “more likely than not” have a comeback in 2024. The OG version of the show discovered acts like Leona Lewis, Little Mix and One Direction over the course of 15 seasons.
The music mogul is currently focused on StemDrop, a project on TikTok that helps creative people be seen. However, Cowell is still mostly recognized for being a judge and producer on The X-Factor.
“The funny thing is that when young people approach me on the street, all they want to know is when X Factor is coming back,” he says. “They all watch it on YouTube. When we stopped the show, I genuinely thought there was no need for it — that everyone would be signed from YouTube. But there are so many people wanting to be signed that we could use that extra platform.”
Cowell said that he “would only do it again” if The X-Factor returns “to where the show started” and find “some great people and create those TV moments that live forever.”
“There would have to be a genuine opportunity to make it how it was in the early years, and I would only do it with someone who was genuinely enthusiastic about it,” he added. “I would also bring back the managers and the A&R [artists and repertoire] people instead of having artists judge the talent because I don’t think that’s great.”
Cowell admitted that if the proposals to have The X-Factor come back fall through he would “like to do more mentoring.”
“If X Factor doesn’t come back, I won’t be looking for other shows to appear on. I don’t want to be just a TV personality,” he explained. “The idea of The X Factor not being on so I go on a game show . . . I think I’d jump off a cliff. I genuinely can’t think of anything worse.”
Cowell, the creator of the Got Talent franchise, continues to appear on TV as the executive producer and judge on America’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent.