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Music mogul Simon Cowell is set to launch a global version of his America’s Got Talent show.

Cowell has scored TV hits with both the U.S. and U.K. versions of the program, and now he wants to take his talent search one step further with World’s Got Talent – comparing the competition to that of the annual Eurovision Song Contest.

He says, “This global show will unite the best acts. It’s going to be great.”

“The Eurovision’s not perfect – that’s why we want to have a go at doing something that rivals it. But it’s watched and enjoyed by millions of people around the world. There will be some countries’ acts that make you laugh and cringe. They won’t be to everyone’s liking, but that’s the whole point – it gets people talking and arguing. But I think we can get genuine talent.”

Cowell and his business partner Simon Fuller are the brains behind other popular reality shows American Idol and the U.K.’s The X Factor.

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Simon Cowell didn’t seem so nasty when he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Tuesday.

After viewing a reel of his harshest critiques from this season’s American Idol — among his greatest hits were, “You sounded like Dolly Parton on helium” and “It was a bit like ordering a hamburger and only getting a bun”, the sometimes nasty judge told Ellen DeGeneres, “That was like slightly, harshly edited there,” but conceded, “I must admit watching myself back I hated myself.”

Although DeGeneres said she usually agrees with him, she feels Cowell can go “too far.” To his own defense, he said, “This is just the way the music business is. When you’re performing in front of 25 to 30 million people and you’re not making the effort to make your self into a star I don’t think you’re doing yourself any favors so that’s why I said it.”

But the two TV personalities did agree on one thing: rocker David Cook will take the Idol crown. “I’m gonna call it for David Cook,” Cowell said.

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From the looks of disgust on Simon Cowell’s face this season, it might seem like he despises each of the American Idol contestants with equal vigor. Not true! As Blender has learned, Simon despises one contestant less than the others.

Who do you think deserves to win this season? we asked Simon. “Probably David Cook,” he drawled. “I think he’s done more to deserve it over the eleven weeks. He’s taken more risks, he’s done things with certain songs that have been more interesting. If I’m gonna base it on who has done the best performances over the live shows, David Cook deserves to win.”

Of course it’s also true that Simon is coaching Cook this week, which means he’ll sing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” a ballad also recorded by Cowell’s chart-topping X Factor discovery, Leona Lewis. “I love that song! David Cook didn’t even know what it was,” Cowell snorted.

For an obnox — uh, opinionated guy like Simon, nothing is more ruinous to good television than boring contestants. He was clearly not pleased with Jason Castro (”He just gave up — I get frustrated over that”). “There was a classic moment last week,” Cowell continues unhappily. “We had these callers phone in and I forget what the question was — ‘What do you like?’ — and they just sat there. They couldn’t talk. It was literally un-be-liev-able.”

Is it because they’re all working to ingratiate themselves with voters? “Of course! It’s like they’ve studied the show and they don’t want to put a foot wrong. And that’s going to have to change, going forward. I want what I call gobby, talkative people on the show.”

So, next season of Idol: gobby, talkative singers. We won’t say which contestant Simon finds the most boring, but we will mention this: When told that his Blender interviewer bears a resemblance to David Archuleta, Cowell roared, “I would think you have a bit more personality than he does.”

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A British TV presenter has branded Simon Cowell self-obsessed, insisting his vanity is genuine and not an act for the TV cameras.

Stephen Mulhern – who presents Britain’s Got More Talent, a spin-off of Cowell’s Britain’s Got Talent series – has laid bare his behind-the-scenes secrets, insisting the 48-year-old’s conceit continues even after the cameras are switch off.

He says, “Simon’s first port of call is his portable mirror that he takes with him all the time. He has his own make-up artist, Julia, who travels with him wherever he goes. No one else can get his orange tint right.”

Mulhern also confirmed there is a “genuine animosity” between Cowell and costar Piers Morgan, saying, “I worry that it could come to fisticuffs.”

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WENN