Simon Cowell started his career in the mail room of EMI Music Publishing, worked his way up to a music publisher, founded his own music label E&S Music in the early 1980s and became an A&R consultant for BMG in 1989.

Cowell signed up a number of acts that sold over 150 million records and has had over 70 No. 1 records in America and the UK including Curiosity Killed the Cat, Sonia Evans, Five, Westlife, Robson & Jerome, Ultimate Kaos, and others.

In 2002 he set up Syco Records, another label that later became part of Columbia Records and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. The same year he became a judge on the first series of Britain's Pop Idol along with Pete Waterman, Nicki Chapman and Neil "Dr" Fox, and on the first season of American Idol along with Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and host Ryan Seacrest. In 2004, Cowell was a judge on the first series of the UK's talent show The X Factor along with Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. In 2006, America's Got Talent, produced by Simon Cowell, made its debut followed by Britain's Got Talent in 2007.

Through those shows, Cowell brought up several promising artists including Grammy Award winner Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Carrie Underwood, Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis, Il Divo, and more.