Jessica Vosk Recalls Simon Cowell’s Harsh Criticism on American Idol

Jessica Vosk can still vividly remember her American Idol audition — and Simon Cowell’s less than complimentary feedback.

“I walked in. I sang Heart’s ‘Alone.’ Everybody knows that song. I sang it and Simon looked at me and said, ‘That was pathetic,’” Vosk, 41, said during a Friday, December 13, episode of The Drink with Kate Snow. “Can you believe [it]?”

Vosk explained that she was in college at the time. “‘That was pathetic. It was desperate. It sounded so desperate,’” Vosk recalled of Cowell’s criticism. “I remember saying to myself, ‘Don’t cry on camera. Don’t cry on camera.’ Because after you leave that room, they follow you all the way out to your car, and I remember being like, ‘Don’t cry.’”

Vosk noted that American Idol, which was also judged by Paula Adbul and Randy Jackson at the time, was her “first foray into reality TV.” When asked whether the experience made an impact on her, Vosk replied that it did.

“I wasn’t fully formed yet. I didn’t have an opinion of myself necessarily to feel so strong in who I was and what I wanted to do,” she said. “You feel like you are disappointing people by not making it.”

Vosk called the audition a “huge turning point” for her to not want to “put myself out there.” She added, “And just sink a little bit deeper into the background, which was sad. It was sad.”

Vosk noted that the experience was “probably” what led her to pursue a career in finance. “I did really well when it came to working in the corporate world and graduating college and going immediately into a job,” she said. “It was kind of crazy. But I did, I put everything musical right down.”

Vosk stayed at her job on Wall Street for about three years, while battling panic attacks, before leaving the role to pivot back to musical endeavors. Now, Vosk has added Broadway star to her resume, notably playing Elphaba in the musical Wicked.

Outside of theater, she has continued to pursue music — releasing a Christmas album called Sleigh earlier this year. Vosk exclusively told Us Weekly in November that the ideal recipe for creating a festive tune includes authenticity.

“There’s love, there’s authenticity, there’s just a feeling of memory,” she said on the opening night of Elf on Broadway. “It always takes me back to being in the living room with a record player and my parents and learning to sing. So, for me, it just echoes back to being a kid.”