Beyonce Vs. Simon Cowell?

"X Factor" judge/producer Simon Cowell appeared with co-host L.A. Reid on a recent episode of "Extra" and revealed that Beyonce once made him eat some harsh criticisms he had of her earlier in her career. "I find the whole Beyonce thing really mystifying, She’s not sexy, she hasn’t got a great body and she’s not a great singer," he said previously. He revealed in the interview that she remembered those words when they were finally face-to-face.

"Yeah. I once criticized her then met her afterwards," he told 'Extra.' "Boy, oh boy that was a difficult meeting. Then she came on my show about a year later in the UK and it was still obviously in her head what I said and I apologized, I was wrong. She sang better than anyone I’ve ever in my whole life. Then at one point, she looked over to me and went 'criticize that.'"

When asked to describe Beyonce now, Cowell was full of positive superlatives for the megastar.

"Ambitious, talented, competitive," he said. "She defines this new breed of I’ve called super pop stars and they’re all girls at the moment. It’s like a new super species who literally want to rule the world. I remember when she came out with that song there was no irony-she wants to rule the world."

Mariah Carey Joining "X-Factor?"

Despite denials back in March that Mariah Carey would be joining "X-Factor," producer Simon Cowell has revealed that the songbird will indeed have a role on the new competition show. "X-Factor" debuts on FOX in September.

"I think Mariah will have a role on the TV live shows. I met her recently and she was on great form," Cowell reportedly said. "And her idea was to be the judge of the judges, which only Mariah could come up with. She'll be involved in some form. I literally adore her. I love her to bits."

L.A. Reid On Leaving Def Jam

The news of L.A. Reid's departure from Def Jam last month to become a host for TV show "X-Factor" shouldn't have been too much of a surprise for the music industry. Rumors had been swirling about Reid's tenuous relationship with his former label as far back as 2009. Reid himself finally addressed his leaving hip hop's most iconic label.

"It was very difficult to leave," Reid told MTV. "It wasn't difficult to decide to do 'X Factor,' it was difficult to walk away from this amazing roster and amazing staff of people and all the executives that were there that was tough."