Simon Cowell on Love/Hate Relationship With Paula Abdul: I Could Literally Throttle Her

“It is exactly like old times, which is both good and negative. There are times when I could literally throttle Paula, and there are times when I’ve had the best time of my life,” Cowell told FOX411’s Pop Tarts while on a recent photo shoot promoting the FOX show.

“She’s just got that ability. She can be fantastic and the most annoying person in the world, in the space of five seconds. That’s Paula, but she’s been great,” he said. “I love having her on the show and she’s been a really good judge. I think the chemistry with her and Nicole Scherzinger is great.”