[Janette]

RIK WALLER MAY ENTER US POP IDOL

RIK Waller may enter the US version of Pop Idol so he can confront judge Simon Cowell again.

Cowell famously told Rik he was "too fat to be an idol."

Rik, who is in New York to record a cover version of Something Inside So Strong, says he might go along and audition just to see Cowell's face.

Record company executive Cowell is helping to judge the US show, called American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, which is to be screened on the Fox network in the summer.

Rik says he is sad that his relationship with Cowell soured after he was forced to quit the show because of throat problems.

He said: "Every time I see him I go up to him and say, 'How's you doing, Simon', shake his hand and be really nice to him.

"I think that is the thing that annoys him more than anything, the fact that I'm not nasty to him when he would so love to get that reaction."

Rik is hoping to break into the American market after having a top 10 hit with his UK debut single, I Will Always Love You.

He said: "The US is anybody's territory. You've just got to make sure you do it right. There are many British bands who haven't made it in the United Kingdom but are massive in America.

"I think I have the tools to break the American market. One thing that is becoming increasingly more evident across the world is that people aren't bothered about plastic pop stars - the ones who care more about their looks than their voice."

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I seem to remember that Simon actually liked Rik and it was Pete who didn't want him on the show. Personally i don't think he's a very nice guy and if he had have carried on in the British version of the show, he certainly wouldn't have won!