Cowell complains about 'Idol' phoneys

Simon Cowell has complained that some wannabe contestants for the fourth season of American Idol have been singing badly on purpose, in hope of becoming famous without having any talent.

The last season of the talent show resulted in awful auditionee William Hung releasing an album.

"We've had what we call 'The Hung Effect' this time," Cowell told Zap2it. "There's no question we've had people showing up and singing badly on purpose. They may as well have neon signs on their foreheads.

"That whole thing came down to one word, 'naivete.' Even at the point where he got a recording contract and was talking about doing a second album, I told him, 'There will be no second album.' That sort of delusion was part of his charm."

However, Cowell has told viewers that they can expect another exciting season ahead.

He added, "The good thing is that because it's a reality show, it's not scripted. Because you have a new group of people showing up, it does sort of feel like a new show each time.

"Having me and Paula and Randy and Ryan around gives it consistency, but it's always new faces otherwise, so you have to approach it like it's the very first show."

The new season begins on January 18 on FOX.