Simon Cowell Says He 'Couldn't Give A S***' About 'The Voice' Emmy Win

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Simon Cowell isn't taking a page out of the book of former American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who expressed shock over the Outstanding Reality Competition Emmy win for The Voice.

The franchise creator and current judge on The X Factor USA said he "couldn't give a s***" about the rival singing competition's Emmy win.

"The only thing I care about are the ratings [for my show]," he went on to tell The Hollywood reporter at a preview screening party for The X Factor USA's upcoming "Four Chair Challenge" Round. In fact, Cowell was far more interested in discussing the new sudden-death elimination twist than in discussing Lythgoe or The Voice, and with good reason: the twist debuted in the UK this past weekend (as the "Six Seat Challenge") to considerable controversy.

"This came from X Factor Holland, where they used it very successfully," Cowell explained. The twist involves 10 semifinalists from each of the four categories competing for the four spots for the live shows. A judge can swap out contestants they've already put through to the live shows if another in the same category comes along and proves worthy of a chair. "We elaborated on it, and it's very different than anything we've done before," he added. "This is probably some of the most exciting TV we've made on one of these shows. It is dramatic, it is controversial, but we all love that …"

Cowell had a hard time disguising his enthusiasm for the new twist, going on to add, "We thought we can make this bigger and better. It aired in England over the weekend and people went nuts -- half loving it and half hating it."

The Four Chair Challenge Round airs on this week's editions of The X Factor USA, on Wednesday and Thursday at 8/7c on FOX.