Find Out Who Simon Cowell Thinks Should Win 'Idol'
May 4, 2006 — -- "American Idol" is down to its final four contestants.
Paris Bennett was voted off Wednesday night. If Simon Cowell were a betting man, he'd put his money on two of the remaining men.
"I think it will be between Chris [Daughtry] or Taylor [Hicks]," Cowell said. "But you can't rule out Katharine [McPhee] because she's just getting better and better."
Although the competitors come off as friends on camera, Cowell said, that's not exactly what it's like behind the scenes.
"You know, they don't really like each other that much," Cowell said. "They think they do. But they don't. They don't want anybody else to do well. They want to win."
Apparently, there's no love lost among the judges, either.
"You've got four colossal egos, with mine being the smallest in a very small space," Cowell said. "I swear, no doubt. Everyone thinks it's me. It's not. … Ryan [Seacrest has] got the biggest ego. Followed closely by Paula [Abdul]. Then Randy [Jackson], and then myself."
Cowell didn't stop there.
"Ryan would marry himself tomorrow," Cowell said. "I mean, literally. I mean he is the most egotistical person I have ever met in my life, and bearing in mind I am based in Hollywood that is quite a broad thing to say. But he has. And that's kind of one of the reasons why I like him. Paula's always had an ego. Randy's developed one. And so. … Shake it all up, you get a few fireworks occasionally."
Abdul's emotional behavior on the show has raised some concern among her fans, but Cowell said there was no need to worry.
"That's Paula," he said. "I mean, she is, you know, a bit crazy. But that's the way, that's the way she is."
A recent poll found that one in 10 Americans had voted for someone on "America Idol." Cowell said that he thought it would be higher. Thirty-five percent believed their votes for the new idol counted just as much as their vote in the presidential election.
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