Simon Cowell Weighs In on ‘American Idol’ Reboot, Plus: Why He Would Never Return

Only “Extra's” Terri Seymour sat down with Simon Cowell, who was open about how he feels regarding that “American Idol” reboot as rumors swirl that Lionel Richie will join the new season on ABC.

Fresh off a hugely successful season of “America's Got Talent,” the seasoned judged and famed producer shared some advice for the new “American Idol,” which has been trying to figure out who will fill the last seat at the judges' table after Katy Perry and Luke Bryan signed on. Simon said, “Maybe do it without judges.”

He pointed out that he would not return to the show that he helped make famous even if they begged, saying, “You can't go back! We had the best of times when we did it.”

He went on, “You can't recreate what we had before, you know, it was me and it was Paula and Randy and Ryan and it was an amazing chemistry there. When I hear all this talk about casting judges, I have to be honest with you, I think this is where they have it wrong it doesn't matter about the judges, it is about the contestants and that is why everything has gone the wrong way right now. You know when we cast 'Idol,' it was done so quickly but the only thing that mattered was, 'Do you have the right people to help you find the stars?'”

When Terri asked if he thought Luke was a good fit, Simon quipped, “I genuinely don't care. Look, in my time, I will tell you the real story on what really happened there and it is an interesting story.”

Someone he does care about is the first winner of “American Idol,” Kelly Clarkson, who performed on the season finale of “AGT.” Clarkson is set to join “The Voice” next season, which Simon felt was the right decision, explaining, “It would just be too weird… For her to be on the show and win and then judging other people on the show — that would have been quite uncomfortable. So, she is excited to be doing 'The Voice' and I am happy for her. She said to me, 'I am not going to be mean, I am going to be constructive,' and I said, 'Well, that kind of means being mean occasionally,' and we were laughing about it. But, you know, she has really thought this through.”

As for current events, Cowell also recently spoke to his good friend, superstar Ricky Martin, who has been working feverishly to raise funds for hurricane-stricken Puerto Rico. Simon shared, “He has put together his own appeal for all the people in Puerto Rico and he was telling me a lot of stories. You know, you hear it on the news, but from someone involved... Basically, what is happening over there is worse than people know. He gave me a list of things that people need, just basic things apart from money, but money will buy you those things. They don't have water, they don't have electricity, I mean, this is a disaster zone. He has asked me to talk about the things that he is doing not just through the things he has set up but for whatever people can do to help. So we have given them some money and I have said today that I want to put up the details of his website where you can go to and we will give you more details of where you can donate or whatever you want to do.”