Since the debut of American Idol, it was clear that judge Simon Cowell would be the star of the show. The acid-tongued Brit showed no sympathy when dealing with a delusional wannabe. Simon wasn't content with telling a rejected singer that they would not be moving on in the competition. He had to tell them just how badly they sang. But his sarcastic comments had viewers chuckling every week.
The show's other expert judges -- music producer Randy Jackson and former pop star Paula Abdul -- created an ideal balance for the judges panel. Paula was the opposite of Simon -- sugary sweet and supportive. Randy was somewhere in between -- and definitely the coolest "dawg" on the show.