SIMON COWELL - COWELL SLAMS BEYONCE'S SINGING - AND BODY

SIMON COWELL has dealt BEYONCE KNOWLES the ultimate blow - by attacking her singing skills and much-celebrated curves.

While CRAZY IN LOVE beauty Knowles attracts millions of admirers the world over with her looks and vocals, British music Cowell has yet to understand the allure of the 23-year-old star.

He tells ESQUIRE magazine, "I find the whole Beyonce thing really mystifying. She's not sexy, she hasn't got a great body and she's not a great singer."

But Cowell cools off his attack when he speaks of pop star ASHLEE SIMPSON, who's lip-syncing and howling vocals have drawn much criticism recently.

He adds, "Why should you have to do something substandard just for the sake of being real? If it sounds better with the vocal you recorded, why shouldn't people listen to that? There's almost a witch-hunt mentality about people miming."