“American Idol” judge Simon Cowell says he will leave the most popular show on television if it ever slips from the top spot in the ratings. “The idea that for the next five years, I'd be doing exactly what I've been doing for the past five years ... the thought is just too depressing,” Cowell said in a recent interview in his trailer, awaiting a taping of “Idol” at CBS Television City. “I'd go nuts, bored out of my mind. You have to evolve, you have to change. I like the challenge of launching something new.” With Cowell's deal with Fox expiring at the end of next season, that something new could be a US version of his UK singing competition series “The X Factor.” The “Factor” success was worrisome enough for Fox to forbid Cowell from launching the show in the US while he's under his current “Idol” deal. But all that could soon change. Between the continuing popularity of “Idol” and Cowell's ownership of “Factor,” he's armed with both a carrot and a stick. Asked if he would want to stay on “Idol” if the series ever slips from No. 1 in the ratings, Cowell burst out laughing at the apparent obviousness of the answer. “Absolutely not!” he said, looking horrified. “Being No. 1 is verging on an obsession with me. I don't like being No. 2.” Though the “Idol” audience has declined over the past few seasons, the show remains far and away the ratings champ, with about 22 million viewers per episode. No other program approaches its popularity.
