Popjustice
  • Home
    • Briefing archive
  • Features
  • Playlists
  • Get Popjustice emails
  • About Popjustice
    • About
    • Popjustice: Est 2000
    • The Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
  • Contact
    • General contact details
    • Submit music
  • Forum
Recent Posts
  • Congratulations to Charli XCX and Lorde: winners of the 2024 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
  • The 2024 Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
  • The 2023 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
  • Fine, let's do a Substack then.
  • The 2022 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: shortlist
Hello! In theory you should only be seeing this if you're using a mobile or tablet. How's the site looking? If anything's wonky click here and tell us so we can fix it. Thanks! x
Popjustice
  • Briefing
  • Features
  • Playlists
    • New Music Friday: The Popjustice Edit
    • Big Hit Energy
    • 21st Century Pop
    • 2018% Solid Pop Music
    • Full archive
  • About
    • About Popjustice
    • Contacting Popjustice
    • Send music
    • Popjustice: Est 2000
    • The Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
  • Forum
  • The Briefing

When is a snub not really a snub?

  • August 5, 2010
  • Popjustice

There's an amazing article in today's Metro in which singer Zarif — who was signed to Sony a couple of years ago but dropped along with half the roster last year — tells this story about Simon Cowell. 

"We were at a Louis Vuitton party and I decided to try my luck. I went up to Simon and chatted him up and said I wanted him to hear my music. He asked me to come on X Factor and I said, 'no way'. He asked why and I told him those shows ruin music."

OH JESUS CHRIST. So you approach Simon Cowell (Simon Cowell) hoping for a record deal, but turn your nose up at reality TV? That's like ram­raid­ing Greggs then com­plain­ing when you get a donut stuck under your wind­screen wiper. 

This bit is good as well.

"I was totally shocked when he told me he thought I was more intel­li­gent than half the people he has to work with."

Okay so it seems that what has happened here is:

1. Simon Cowell's method of politely but firmly declining the oppor­tun­ity to sign Zarif was to suggest that she audi­tioned for The X Factor. We are not really sure if this counts as Zarif snubbing Simon Cowell.

2. Simon Cowell sub­sequently did that thing he always does when you meet him which is to flatter you into thinking he thinks you are amazing so you go a bit wobbly but what it seems he actually said was basically "you are intel­li­gent not to audition for The X Factor" which, really, isn't neces­sar­ily a glowing endorse­ment of someone's talents.

The End.

(Having said all this Zarif's really not all that bad — some of the tunes on her MySpace are on the right side of listenable.)

  • simon cowell
  • The X Factor
  • zarif
Previous Article
  • The Briefing

The element in the room

  • August 5, 2010
  • Popjustice
Have a read
Next Article
  • Videos

The Saturday — Missing You

  • August 5, 2010
  • Brad O'Mance
Have a read
Further listening
Greatest hits
  • Interview: The Internet versus Lily Allen
  • Patrick Wolf interview: "Bring a cushion"
  • An amazing Charli XCX interview-slash-chat
Further reading
  • 1
    Congratulations to Charli XCX and Lorde: winners of the 2024 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
  • 2
    The 2024 Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
  • 3
    The 2023 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: Shortlist
  • 4
    Fine, let's do a Substack then.
  • 5
    The 2022 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: shortlist
  • 6
    2021 Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize: Laura Mvula wins
Est 2000. Still going.
Socials

 Spotify
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Instagram
 Soundcloud

'Quick links'

About Popjustice
Contact Popjustice
Sign up for the newsletter 
Submit music
Est 2000
Twenty Quid Music Prize 

Playlists

21st Century Pop 
New Music Friday: The Popjustice Edit 
2018% Solid Pop Music 
The Sound Of Popjustice 
Playlist archive

© 2020 Popjustice Ltd. Scrolled to the bottom now you're here
  • Privacy, Ts & Cs, cookies etc
  • Corrections

Input your search keywords and press Enter.