Despite his famously steely public persona, Simon Cowell quickly turns into a total sweetheart when it comes to his nine-year-old son Eric.
However, now that Eric is growing up and starting to express an interest in following in his dad's footsteps, the music executive isn't afraid to say that it's a no from him.
The America's Got Talent judge shares his son with fiancée Lauren Silverman, who he has been linked to since 2013.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Simon shared how his job as a talent competition judge may have inspired his son a little too much for his liking.
"Now [he's] decided he's going to audition for Britain's Got Talent," he revealed, adding: "I think he wants to be in a rock band," and that he loves Green Day.
Exciting as it may be that Eric is finding his passion, and while any doting parent wants to be as supportive as possible of their kids' endeavors, Simon couldn't help but confess: "That's going to be total torture."
© GettyHe explained: "I mean, of all the things I've ever done, this will probably be the hardest, because he does play drums. [He's] going to drum and sing! I went, 'Oh God, no.'"
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Despite his dad's hesitation, Eric is committed to honing his drumming skills, and Simon did admit: "He's really serious about it."
© GettyHe continued: "I don't know what it is. Maybe because all these kids are auditioning and now he wants to be up there with his friends... I think, hopefully, he'll be sitting there in ten or less years time."
Aside from his passion for the drums, Eric has also gotten a taste of what it would be like to sit in the judges' chair, and Simon also opened up about what a great asset he makes for America's Got Talent.
© Getty"Well, it's brilliant because he's to my left," he said, explaining: "So I always look over, and, you know the really crazy act tonight, who was like swallowing swords? [Well] he's jumping up and down in his seat literally and he's making me laugh so much."
Describing him as "a great barometer" for talent, Simon continued: "And with kids you can't fake it, you know? If they like something, they like it. If they don't like it, they're bored."
© GettySimon is always happy to talk about what a wonderful change Eric's arrival in 2014 brought to his life, and during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021, he said: "He's the most amazing thing that ever happened to me. I adore him."
"You're like a different dude with a child," host Kelly Clarkson then joked, adding: "I think the vulnerable little side of you came out when you had a kid."
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Simon relented, noting: "Maybe," before explaining: "After I lost my parents, I genuinely felt, Kelly, I would never feel that kind of love for anyone ever again. I thought that was it… until I saw the scan of him for the first time."
He gushed: "From that moment I saw the scan, I was like 'That is it, I'm besotted.' Now I just cannot imagine my life without him."
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