To me, it was absolutely crystal clear at this stage last year that Carrie Underwood would win the competition. So it all felt a bit obvious. Whereas this year, I could argue the case for seven or eight of the contestants. I genuinely don't know who's gonna win. I've got a feeling who are gonna make the finals. But once you're in the finals, I think you're gonna have the most open competition you've ever seen, which for us and the viewers at home, that's a good thing. Simon Cowell