Ananova:

Simon Cowell has apologised to a female American Idol contestant after making a saucy comment.

He said he would like to come back in another life as her microphone.

Amanda Avila admits she was a bit shocked because she knew her 11-year-old sister would be watching the show.

She told TV Guide: "We know that Simon's a little strange.

"He meant it as a compliment. As a female trying to make it in this industry, worse things have been said to me before.

"It was definitely inappropriate and I wasn't expecting it on national TV. My first thought was, 'Gosh, my little sister is 11, and I hope she didn't know what that meant! Geez, Simon, this is a family show.'

"But I'm sure he got a lot of flak for that, and he apologised to me later on another TV show.

"He said it was a slip of the tongue and he shouldn't have said it, he's not that bad of a guy."