After the gargantuan success of American Idol, there's no denying that Idol judge and show producer Simon Cowell has helped to transform the face of mainstream music in the U.S. by ushering in a new age of pop-stars. Now that America's Got Talent has also become a hit with U.S. TV viewers, Cowell is riding high with another talent hit that makes its LIVE return to the NBC airwaves on Tuesday, August 26 and Wednesday, August 27.

As contestant gets set to wow judges Piers Morgan, Sharon Osborne and "The Hoff" David Hasselhoff, we caught up with the outspoken Simon Cowell to find out what he looks for in talent and whether he's gotten better over the years at spotting stars.

THE DEADBOLT: Out of all of the acts that cross both the American and British stages, what type do you like the best? Is it singing, dancing?

SIMON COWELL: Gosh. The more I do this the more I believe in the process. I think these shows are valid. I like to think that the shows, whether they’re from the Got Talent brand or the Idol brand or the show I do in the U.K., The X-Factor, that you find an artist who can become an international star. Kelly Clarkson is a great example of that. The girl who won the British show, Leona Lewis, has become a huge international star. So I don’t really mind where they come from as long as you find someone who can become famous all over the world. That’s essentially what we’re looking for now.

THE DEADBOLT: Has your radar for spotting talent over the years gotten better or has it gotten to a point where the good and bad sometimes seem the same?

COWELL: I think it’s definitely gotten better. I think these shows have helped me evaluate talent better than I used to be able to do, because, like I said, you don’t look for someone who’s going to be a success in their own country. You now want to find a worldwide star. This girl, Leona Lewis, who is recently number one in America in the single and album charts, she started off on our show in the U.K. and she was a receptionist in an office - very, very shy girl, but was an incredible talent. All the doors were closed to this girl in the business. But when she came on our show, you know, you just see some things. And I think I’ve been able to spot talent better, funny enough, through judging all of these shows over the years.

Other Conference Call Highlights:

Simon Cowell on the decision to have the audience involved during the audition rounds:

"To be honest with you, it was something I wanted from day one on the show in America. But it took it took us three seasons to persuade the network that it really was a crucial part of the format. The most important reason for doing it was it differentiated the audition process from American Idol. And I thought the idea of a contestant having to win over the crowd as well as the judges just made it a more fun, dramatic show to watch. For the audience, they feel like they’re participating in the show. I judge the British version of this show with two thousand people behind you going crazy, it’s intimidating. But I think anyone who can get past that has got a chance at doing well. So for me now it’s one of the most important parts of the show and I think without that it’s not as good a show."

Cowell on whether he’ll get more involved in running American Idol now that Nigel Lythgoe has stepped down:

"Yeah... We had a couple of meetings in the U.K. recently with the main production team and some of the Fox guys and we’ve spoken through part of the format, in particular the middle stages and the end stages as to what we think we can do to improve it. So yeah, I would say that I’m going to get more involved this year, yeah."

On plans for America’s Got Talent, beyond the show:

"Well, I think there’s a very good chance this year that we will do a tour, possibly in Vegas. So like the Idol contestants, they’re going to get a chance to showcase themselves. And some of them will get work and some of them won’t, but we’ll be a little bit more involved with them afterwards."

Simon Cowell on the Olympics taking away any momentum from the show:

"Well, there wasn’t much we could do about it. I mean the Olympics were there. We couldn’t start the show any earlier, so it had to go out when it went out. My view is - I think it may be a slight advantage insomuch as I’ve seen the ratings for the Olympics, which are through the roof and we had a lot of trailers for our show in it. So there’s a chance we might be encouraging an audience who haven’t seen the show to watch the live finals when they start next week. You know, what my view is - and I always believed this - if you make a great show, people are going to come and watch it. And if you make a terrible show, they won’t. And I have a feeling when the live shows start next week, they are going to be better than the shows we did last year. So I think the figures are going to do well over the next few weeks."

Cowell on when he first crossed paths with David Hasselhoff and why wanted to be in business with him:

"Well, I met David years ago when he was signed to BMG as a recording artist and he, at that point, was selling millions and millions of records in Germany. And I met him then and really liked him. I made the decision to hire David when he came on the finales on American Idol. I think it was three years ago, because one of the contestants, who wasn’t very good, had sung a David Hasselhoff song and we arranged for David to meet this guy on the live final. And I saw the reception David got when he walked into the Kodak Theater. And, at that point, I thought I got to use David as a judge on one of our shows, because he’s larger than life, he’s unpredictable, very emotional, funny, and there’s only one David Hasselhoff. I adore him."