“I think she was in awe of me,” Simon Cowell told the British press recently. Currently in country to work on the X-Factor, Cowell will soon be Stateside for the eighth season of American Idol. And, according to him, the reality TV contestants aren’t the only ones who seem to be overwhelmed in his very big presence.

When Britney Spears visited the show, Cowell said she was awed by him, though he admitted the statement “may be a bit egotistical.” Ego from you, Simon? Never! “She was just staring at me,” he admitted. “I said ‘touch me, I’m human,’ and I think that broke the ice.”

Cowell recently told the British media that he may not return for another season of X-Factor, though he’s been threatening the same of American Idol for years.