‘400,000 Songs Are Uploaded A Day’: Simon Cowell On Singers Trying To Get Famous Through Social Media Instead Of Shows Like American Idol

American Idol will mark its 24^th overall season during the 2026 TV schedule, while The Voice is wrapping up its 28^th season amid the 2025 TV schedule. For years, fans have been able to root for their favorite aspiring singers on a number of singing competition shows However, with a handful of artists using social media as a stepping stone instead of TV, some viewers may be surprised that artists are still trying to emerge by way of the small screen. Now, Simon Cowell is sharing his take on this.

Cowell knows all too well what it takes to make it big on TV. He’s judged and produced a host of singing competition shows, including American Idol, and also created, judged, and produced The X Factor UK. He's also behind the Got Talent franchise, which has various international spinoffs and offshoots. With a handful of outlets for people to get their start on TV, Cowell acknowledged to Page Six that more people are gradually trying to make it big online, but he’s not so sure how it will work out for them:

Of course, a lot of popular artists that have been discovered online but, in reality, it doesn't seem to happen as often as people might think. Simon Cowell does make a good point in that a lot of singers upload videos of themselves online in the hopes of being discovered and, in many cases, their videos are buried underneath hundreds of thousands of other clips of people trying to do the same thing. So what does Cowell think is the best course of action for artists trying to make it to the big leagues? Here's what he said:

Even if someone only makes it to the audition phase of a show, that still could provide sheer exposure for a singer. After all, shows like American Idol and The Voice are viewed seen by millions of people. That being said, even being on those shows doesn’t always help a person's career, but I still can't say I blame Cowell for believing aspiring singers have more a chance on TV than on the Internet. Heck, even Brian Littrell's own son was on Idol.

Some of American Idol’s most famous contestants include Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry, just to name a few. Other successful artists that have made it big, thanks to a singing competition series are One Direction, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, Carly Rae Jepsen, Melanie Martinez and Cher Lloyd. So the proof is in the pudding.

It's likely that for the foreseeable future, there will be people who prefer trying to make it big via social media rather than on TV and vice versa. Of course, despite Simon Cowell's take, that doesn’t necessarily mean one method is worse than the other. As previously mentioned, many artists have become successful by starting out online, such as Justin Bieber, Troye Sivan, Shawn Mendes, Tori Kelly and Billie Eilish. So just about anything seems possible in this music landscape.