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Cowell on X Factor Singer: "Best First Audition I Have Ever Heard"

Simon Cowell

Attention all future American Idol hopefuls: Simon Cowell can be impressed.

The usually prickly judge was recently won over by a contestant on the U.K's The X Factor, according to Popeater. Danyl Johnson dazzled Cowell so much with his rendition of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" that the singer earned a standing ovation from Cowell.

See photos of Cowell behind the Idol judges' table

"That was single-handedly the best first audition I have ever heard," Cowell said. "He could be one of the best contestants we've ever had," he added.

But was he really that good, or just an improvement over the rest of the talent from that day? Cowell had stormed out of the theater earlier in the day after a man took the stage dressed in a blue gorilla outfit, which Cowell called a "waste of time."

You be the judge: Check out the audition on YouTube, and tell us if you think Johnson was worthy of Cowell's praise below.

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