Sir Elton John slams today's songwriters

London, (ANI): Sir Elton John has described today's songwriters as 'pretty awful,' but says he admires singers Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga.

"Songwriters today are pretty awful, which is why everything sounds the same. Contemporary pop isn't very inspiring," the BBC quoted him as saying. Sir Elton also said he admired stars such as Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse and Lady Gaga, but added: "It's important they write their own songs, so they're not at the mercy of anyone."

The singer, who insists he is not a fan of TV talent shows, told the Radio Times he refused to be a judge on American Idol because I won't slag anyone off and also found TV boring.

"I'm not a fan of talent shows. I probably wouldn't have lasted if I'd gone on one," he said. "Also I don't want to be on television. It's become boring... I like Simon Cowell (creator of X Factor), but what he does is TV entertainment. TV vaults you to superstardom and then you have to back it up, which is hard. (X Factor winners) Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke are at the mercy of the next song they can get," he added.