simon cowell
I know this isn't exactly a "weighty" topic, but:
In the Susan Boyle video, at 4:48, Simon says, "Susan, I knew the minute you walked out on that stage that we were going to hear something extraordinary, ...". What do you think? I don't believe him, and I don't think anyone else did (e.g. he looks down while he's saying all this).
Is there anything at the beginning that indicates his true expectations?
I don’t think he was lying. I think he was using the word “extra-ordinary” to mean just that. Extraordinary can be good or bad. I suspect if you talked to Simon, he would tell you he knew she would be knock-your-socks-off good, or horrendous.