Why is Simon Cowell packing his bags? He told Oprah on Friday that he quit American Idol because he was “bored” and had started “to go on autopilot.” He also said he missed Paula Abdul—“she’s got great instincts”—and hoped that his replacement, whoever it may be, will know more about music than Ellen DeGeneres. "I think primarily, you've got to have somebody on that panel who actually knows what they're talking about—because everyone is talking about casting the nasty person or this person or get another Brit," Cowell said. "If we were judging ice skating, I mean, you wouldn't have somebody on who's obnoxious. You'd have somebody who knows the difference between a 10, a 9 and an 8. I think, to a point, [the show] has to get back to that."