Teen.com: First things first. Why are you allowing people as young as 12 to audition for The X Factor?
Simon Cowell: I think what you see now with the popularity of Justin Bieber and even artists like Willow Smith is that you can actually compete against people like Rihanna, Beyonce, Madonna. So I’m expecting a ton of teenagers to turn up and blow us away in the auditions. I genuinely believe that’s gonna happen in a way that we haven’t seen before.
Teen.com: We hope so! What kind of advice do you give to teens who are auditioning? Teens who may be nervous?
Simon Cowell: Because of their age they’ve had access to the internet. They can work out what kind of artist they want to be, they can tell me who their audience should be because they have that advantage. I would just say to anyone, when they do an audition, don’t listen to your mum and dad – work it out for yourself. If you’ve got what it takes and you’re talented you’ve got a good shot on this show.
Teen.com: And we would think that choosing age-appropriate songs is important, too…
Simon Cowell: It’s really frustrating when I get 14-year-olds and they’re singing songs that are 60 years old. It’s depressing; you want them to come in with songs that are appropriate for their audience. That’s why I’m excited!
Teen.com: You mentioned Justin Bieber before. Is X-Factor looking for the next Justin Bieber?
Simon Cowell: Well, at the end is that you’re gonna find an artist who can have a career after this. I think the best way of finding that is that you open up the challenge pool as wide as possible, take off any restrictions, be open minded and have judges with you, particularly people like LA Reid who has experience with finding people like Justin Bieber and turning them into stars all over the world.
Teen.com: Do you think Justin Bieber has staying power? Or do you think he’s going to fizzle out soon?
Simon Cowell: No, I think he’s got a long career ahead of him. He’s done his own internet posting and built up his own fan base himself, he plays music, he has a very grown-up relationship with his manager Scooter (Braun)… and when you meet him he’s an old head on young shoulders. I think he’s bright.