so carrie underwood was a really good example that year.e in color. what was the allure to get into tv? i was offered to be a judge on a show called "pop stars." - right. - and i said yes, then i said no, and then i realized i'd made a mistake, because if i say no, i didn't get the rights to sign the group. it was very much... "if i don't get in this now, i'm gonna miss the train." this is "american idol" that you're talking about. yeah. all i was thinking about, harvey, was "i want to make sure my label is involved in this business, so whoever wins, we'll sign the artist." harvey: so you never really thought this was gonna be a huge hit, but it was gonna be a driver of music for you. simon: i thought we might have a couple of years, i'm gonna be honest with you. i wasn't paid the first year i went on tv, harvey. i wasn't even thinking about it. it was like, "i can probably do a better job at selecting the artists than anyone else, so i'll do it," and then, you know, it all went-- it all went kind of nuts. first of all, lose the accent, mar