Simon Cowell thinks 'American Idol' wasn't the "same show" after he and Paula Abdul left.
Simon Cowell
The 56-year-old music mogul was on a judge on the pop star search show from 2002 to 2010 but quit to bring his British show 'The X Factor' to the US.
However, he believes the show started to suffer when fellow judge Paula left in 2009 and then got worse after his departure a year later.
Referring to the show's downfall as broken body parts, he explained: "Paula was the right leg and I was the left leg. And with both legs gone, it wasn't the same show.
"To be honest I think it changed more significantly once Paula left. At least for me, the show was never the same because she and I had such a connection and such a shorthand together."
'American Idol' - hosted by Ryan Seacrest - has seen a number of famous faces join the panel over the years such as Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Ellen DeGeneres, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Keith Urban, but Simon believes none of them had the same "fun" chemistry as Paula and himself.
The final ever series of the show with judges Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. concludes on April 7 but Simon admits he doesn't watch it any more.
Simon - who has just joined the panel of 'America's Got Talent' - told the New York Daily News newspaper: "I haven't seen it at all, so I wouldn't have a clue as to what it looks like now."
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