Did Simon Cowell Have a Meltdown on 'The X Factor'? [POLL]

Fox

And Everyone Thought Britney Was the One They Had to Worry About

Has the pressure of trying to be the top reality singing competition gotten to Simon Cowell? Indeed it has according to Cowell's biographer, who writes that the X Factor judge and producer suffered a breakdown earlier this year.

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Tom Bower has added a chapter to his 2012 Cowell biography Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life of Simon Cowell in which he describes how the 52-year-old reality TV mogul was bedridden for a week earlier this summer when the pressures of his personal and work lives got to be too much.

His lifestyle, the British newspaper The Sun reports, had turned him into a "weird vampire," and only bed rest and a strict detox from his late-night habits, myriad health supplements and smoking would make him better.

Read: Simon Cowell Break-In: Cowell Face-to-Face with Burglar!

"I don't want any more tablets and pills. I'm cutting out the lot, including cigarettes," Cowell reportedly said. "I desperately need peace. I'm craving normality. I've got to work out my demons and come out of it.

"I have to get back to where I was years ago. I had to stop reading texts at three in the morning and making calls later and later. I wanted peace."

The week of being bedridden was part of an overall three-week break from filming auditions for The X Factor, The Sun reports, which gave Cowell a chance to recover from his "nervous exhaustion."

But his stress levels will likely be back at a high this week, as The X Factor makes its season two premiere -- with high-profile new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato -- on Fox on Wednesday.

Read: Simon Cowell Turned Down $130M to Stay on 'American Idol'

Cowell lashed out at his rival, NBC's The Voice, last week, as NBC scheduled a third night of The Voice to go up against The X Factor in its season opener.

The Voice, featuring Spears' one-time teen diva rival Christina Aguilera, kicks off its three-night premiere tonight.

Tell us, which singing competition series will you be watching this fall?