X Factor’s Simon Cowell says son Eric knows more about music than he does

Simon Cowell says his son Eric is already showcasing the promise of a talent show judge.

We guess it’s in the genes…

Simon said: “At the moment he seems to know more about music than I do! If I say to him, ‘Can you tell me the lyrics to this record’ he will literally repeat the entire song.

“So when he watches all these movies, like Trolls, which has an amazing soundtrack by Justin Timberlake, he knows every word, who the original artist is, and if I tell him the song he just repeats it. I think he’ll probably end up doing what I am doing.”

Simon continued: “He’s quite shy, when I am filming and I put the microphone in front of him, I’ve got to really push him to say something. But it’s amazing how quickly he’s got what I do.

“I used to ask him what daddy does for work and he’d say ‘You press buttons’, that’s BGT.

“Then Louis [Walsh] said to him today, ‘What does daddy do’ and he just said, ‘He talks into a microphone!’. That’s what he thinks I do! He really has got good taste in music though and is very interesting to watch because when we get new records come in from our artists, I watch him when we play the record.

“If he’s interested then it’s a really good chance it’ll be a hit. He’s got fantastic instincts.”

Meanwhile, Simon vowed to retire if he ever “lost his taste” in spotting new stars.

“I wouldn’t try and hang on,” he said. “But because I am still, almost obsessed with the idea of signing new talent, finding new talent, and I still enjoy it as much as I used to, then I hope to still be doing this in five or ten year’s time.

“Once you cross that middle line, if you’re still successful, you can use your experience to hopefully find the next person who is going to do my job. That is as fulfilling as finding an artist.

“You know, someone who starts off as an intern and ten years later is running your record label – that’s as valuable as finding an artist. I’d get a real kick out of that.”

The X Factor continues this Saturday and Sunday night on ITV.