Simon Cowell has claimed that legendary singer-songwriter Bob Dylan would not pass an audition on American Idol.
The music mogul, whose new programme Simon Cowell: The Next Act is set to arrive on Netflix on December 10th, made the remarks during a new interview on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast.
During the conversation, Cowell was asked about points that were made when the television show began about “unconventional” voices like Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Frank Ocean, who may fail auditions despite their immense ability as songwriters.
In response, Cowell shared of the American Idol auditioning process, “At the end of the day, it was based on what the public wanted or liked.”
He then said of Dylan: “When I heard Bob Dylan’s version of that Adele song, ‘Make You Feel My Love’, I didn’t know he wrote the song. I think if he’d walked in and sang that version, I’m not gonna lie, I would’ve gone, ‘Forget it’. Seriously. Because I didn’t even know he wrote the song, when I heard his version, I was like, ‘Whoa’. I just don’t think that would have been a great audition.”
Cowell continued, “Look, I’m not a fan of Bob Dylan, but if people like him, then they like him, and if you don’t, that’s what I learnt from my career. Everybody has different tastes, whether it’s food, entertainment or whatever.”
This isn’t the first time that Cowell has made remarks on this subject. In 2007, the X Factor judge said that Dylan’s music “bored him to tears”.
He also claimed that having artists like him on the show would be a nightmare for ratings, adding, “I’ve got to tell you, if I had 10 Dylans in the final of American Idol, we would not be getting 30 million viewers a week. I don’t believe the Bob Dylans of this world would make American Idol a better show.”
Previously, in 2004, there were rumours that Dylan was being eyed up for a judging role on American Idol, but Cowell’s comments on him disprove the substance of that speculation.
