Known for his brutal honesty, veteran judge, critic and producer Simon Cowell is joining America’s Got Talent for its upcoming season.

Cowell will replace radio mogul Howard Stern as the fourth judge. Stern had announced that he would be leaving AGT after the conclusion of this past season.

Previously, Cowell was the star judge on American Idol on Fox, which he also created. He stepped away from that role after nine seasons.

During his time as an American Idol judge, Cowell began producing The X-Factor, a singing competition show for Britain. He later brought The X-Factor to the U.S., which aired on Fox in alternate seasons with American Idol.

To expand his productions, Cowell then started Britain’s Got Talent, a show featuring people with any talent, not just singing.

America’s Got Talent premiered on NBC in 2006 while Cowell was still a judge on American Idol. He was producing AGT, but he could not appear as a judge due to his ongoing contract with Fox.

After he left American Idol, Cowell continued his judging on both the American version of X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent.

Cowell recently went back to judging the British X-Factor, which led to the cancellation of the American version on Fox. American Idol is also having its final season, which begins in January 2016.

The end result is that Cowell no longer has contract obligations for Fox and he is free to become a judge for America’s Got Talent, which will air in the summer. He is still contracted to continue as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent as well.