Simon Cowell, the controversial judge of the American Idol television series, who employs self-absorbed arrogance to masquerade as confidence, has provided a clue to his very narrow preferences. According to Reuters, Cowell told Playboy magazine that if he had witnessed a young Bob Dylan singing, he would have had to “plug (his) ears and run in the other direction.”
If you watched American Idol once or twice, which happens to be my limit, you would know that if a contestant doesn’t sing in that trendy warbling falsetto voice that’s all the rage, the chances of getting by Cowell are slim. Fortunately for Dylan, Cowell’s preferences are not the rest of the world’s.
In fact, at least as far as rock and roll is concerned, a unique voice with character will get you a lot farther than a musically pure voice. You could fill a book with the names of one-hit wonders who could really belt out a tune that nobody remembers. On the other hand, the list of singers who stood the test of time – names like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Mick Jagger and Gregg Allman – could fill a two-page brochure at best.
Before dazzling us again with his insightful opinions, Simon Cowell would do well to consider that it won’t be long before people say “Simon who?,” yet Bob Dylan’s recordings will still be selling.