Simon says: You ready to be a Vegas idol?

Cowell will create a new talent search program for NBC

Chris Pizzello / AP File

Simon says: What happens in Vegas ... gets broadcast around the world.

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updated 8:42 a.m. ET Feb. 3, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Wannabe singing stars on “American Idol” have been known to cringe whenever judge Simon Cowell speaks.

Would-be magicians and other Las Vegas-style entertainers could soon become just as nervous if the acid-tongued Cowell finds a judge as outspoken as himself for a new talent competition.

Cowell will create a show for NBC that allows viewers to ultimately decide which performer is rewarded with a headline spot in a Las Vegas show, NBC announced Thursday.

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(MSNBC is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC.)

Cowell will executive produce the program but leave the judging to someone else this time.

“Personally, I hope to find the next Siegfried and Roy,” Cowell said of the magicians who were a Las Vegas mainstay for decades.

The show, scheduled to debut in the summer, will feature hopeful future stars from across the country who audition before a panel of celebrity judges. The show has yet to be named.

NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said Cowell is a natural for the executive producer job.

“Simon has his finger on the pulse of pop culture,” he said in a statement.

Cowell has been a judge on Fox’s “American Idol” since its 2002 debut, and has become known for bluntly telling contestants what he thinks of their abilities.