Simon Cowell has been in the music industry for decades, so he’s been around plenty of stars. However, there are just a few that he considers his “Mount Rushmore.”
While visiting Jennifer Hudson on her eponymous show on September 22, Cowell named four he considers the G.O.A.T.
“So number one, I would say Whitney Houston,” the former “American Idol” judge said.
Cowell continued, “Then, no particular order: Frank Sinatra because he’s just so cool. Stevie Wonder, and then Mariah Carey.”
“That’s a Mount Rushmore right there,” Hudson exclaimed.
The “America’s Got Talent” judge revealed that he had met Houston and Carey, but it was a phone call from Wonder that got him flustered.
“I actually thought it was a prank call, so I put the phone down,” Cowell told Hudson.
He shared that Wonder called back and asked him why he hung up on him, and that’s when Cowell realized that the person was actually the legendary singer.
“When the phone rings, you don’t think this is really Stevie Wonder, and it was. And he was the nicest, nicest guy,” Cowell said.
Cowell then told Hudson that she makes him starstruck as well, which surprised the “Dreamgirls” star. “Hearing Simon say that, that’s like winning an award,” the talk show host gushed.
Cowell & Hudson Have a Long History
Hudson and Cowell first met when the singer auditioned for “American Idol” in 2004. Although she lost to Fantasia Barrino in the finals, Hudson went on to have an illustrious career.
In September 2022, Hudson invited Cowell to her show, and relived some of the critiques he gave her on “American Idol.”
“He did tell me that I was out of my league, and maybe at the time, he was right,” Hudson admitted. “But what I do love about Simon is honesty, and I respect that. It prepares you for the industry,” she added.
Almost 20 years later, Cowell and Hudson reunited in an episode of the “Jennifer Hudson Show,” during which she serenaded him.
After she was done, Cowell surprised her with a big birthday cake, and the two shared a touching hug.
Cowell Blamed Barry Manilow Week on Hudson’s Elimination on ‘American Idol’
While chatting with Hudson about her time on “American Idol,” Cowell bluntly told her that Barry Manilow week was her ending.
He said of Hudson’s pick, “Weekend in New England,” by Manilow, “I remember thinking, ‘This is not a great song.’ It wasn’t your fault and then, of course, what happened, happened.”
“And then I was thinking to myself a few days ago, ‘If you were going to go back in time, would you have changed the song or would you have kept things as they were?'” he continued.
The EGOT winner replied, “No, but it’s other songs before that that I would have changed because that song led me to get ‘Dreamgirls,’ honey because Barry Manilow structured that song as if it was ‘And I Am Telling You’ and a lot of people thought that’s what I was singing.”
Hudson added, “By the time I was eliminated, I felt I had gotten an opportunity to display who I was as an artist, so I was okay with being eliminated.”
