While Hollywood readies for a new round of Idol wannabes, The Deadbolt caught up to the straight-shooting Simon Cowell on a recent conference call to hear his thoughts on the changes fans can expect in Season 7, the impact of the writers' strike on the show, whether American Idol will ever go back to Houston, and how Britney Spears can make a musical comeback after such a troubled year.

Simon Cowell on his opinion of last season and whether there will be any changes in Season 7:

"Well, 90%, I think, of what happened on the show last year was very good. I’ve always said it’s a very well produced show. But... I mean we are completely and utterly reliant on who walks in the door in terms of the quality of the contestants. So, most of our focus this year was to make sure that we got a better Top 12 and a more interesting Top 12 than what we got last year. I’m pretty certain that we have that this year. So, that’s the most important thing.

"Cosmetic changes. There will be a new set, which will be good. They tried a couple of bits and pieces in the Hollywood rounds of having people play instruments, which wasn’t particularly a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t think it made too much difference because we were lucky enough that the contestants were better, and that was the most important thing."

Cowell on whether anyone stood out from the Dallas auditions:

"I can’t remember anyone particularly, but that applies to every city. I can’t remember who came from which city after I’ve done the auditions. I never can. If anyone, I watch the shows back then it all comes flooding back. But I can’t, at this point, differentiate, for instance, Dallas or Philadelphia. It’s all a bit of a blur to me still."

Cowell on the impact of the writers' strike:

"Well, I don’t know the ins and outs of the dispute, to be honest with you, other than I’m sure both sides have a case. In terms of the impact that it’s going to have on us, I don’t think it’s going to have as big an impact as people have said mainly because people still have a choice to watch other channels. We have to be making a better show this year than we did last year. That’s the only reason we’re going to gain or lose viewers."

Cowell on whether he has a favorite to become this season's American Idol:

"I’m not going to name any names because I always get into trouble for doing that. I might do it in a couple of week’s time though. There are luckily three or four very strong guys and three or four very strong girls this year. It’s probably going to be one of the most open competitions we’ve ever had. I can’t call out a winner at this stage. In my mind I think I have an idea who could make the finals, but I’m not going to give anything away at the moment."

On whether Houston was too bad for the show to revisit again:

"Absolutely not. I’d go back there in a heartbeat. It wasn’t great, but we had an enormous amount of fun when we went. I always enjoy going to Texas. I think we’ve gone just about every year. So, I would push to go back to Houston next year. This year, if we do go back, you have a point to prove. Maybe it’ll be better. So, I personally would put it at the top of the list."

On Hillary Clinton's emotional moment in New Hampshire:

"It didn’t do her any harm, did it? I always say tears on American Idol never do the contestant any harm, and I don’t think it’s done her any harm either. But I found it an absolutely fascinating race to watch this year, incredibly unpredictable, and I think it’s going to be one of the most exciting elections you guys have seen in a long year. My gut feeling is I think it’ll be a Democrat [who] is going to win the election in November. I’m fairly sure of that. But actually, I have to say overall, I think they’re a good bunch of candidates on both sides this year."

Cowell on whether it's too late for Britney Spears to come back and the advice he'd give her:

"Well, it’s never too late because I think she’s the most searched artist on the Internet in the world at the moment. So, she has a head start. I genuinely think, if I sat down with Britney, I would, number one, remind her of all the good thing in her life, which are her kids, her money, her success - everything. So, I’d try and give her a sense of perspective.

"Then I’d take her out [of] where she’s living at the moment and ask her to go and live with her family and live normally for six months because if you can live normally and do normal things, you’ll suddenly find that the Paparazzi aren’t camped outside your door everyday. Most importantly, just give her a sense of perspective because it looks to me at the moment that she’s out of control and she has to have someone in her life who she has to listen to. She’s welcome to call me anytime."

Simon Cowell on whether he was surprised that some of the recent Idol's albums didn't sell well:

"Am I surprised? Not particularly. I said this earlier on. I mean the record business is incredibly unpredictable. You literally have to give the public what they want, and the public decided this year it wasn’t necessarily what they wanted. So, we have to try and do that this year and I’m confident that we will."