Answering a challenge inspired by an 'X Factor' contestant by the name of Storm Lee, the competition's judge officially changed his name for 24 hours only.
- October 11, 2010
AceShowbiz - Simon Cowell has an electrifying new name - Lightning Cowell. The music mogul was annoyed when a singer named Storm Lee entered as a contestant on his U.K. TV show "The X Factor" last month, and he refused to call the wannabe by his adopted moniker.
Cowell insisted that if he changed his name to "Lightning", his fellow judges - including British singer Cheryl Cole - would find it ridiculous. But he was ambushed by presenter Konnie Huq during a live broadcast of spin-off show "The Xtra Factor" on Saturday night - she presented him with Deed Poll documents to legally change his name.
And Cowell gamely agreed to sign the papers, officially becoming Lightning Cowell - but he intends to revert to Simon after 24 hours. As Huq handed him the documents to sign, Cowell said, "Is this official? Are you serious about this? Can I hold the contract? Okay, for 24 hours then."
