Simon Cowell opened up on the fulfilling yet difficult journey of being a judge on reality television.

Cowell, who's known for his blatant truths on singing competitions like American Idol and The X Factor, is now taking his critiques over to America's Got Talent. And speaking to Billboard last Thursday about this transfer, the judge explained why he decided to be part of the series.

As fun as it is to join, Cowell admitted it can come with some challenges.

"I must like to torture myself," he said. "Look, it's not easy; I'm not going to lie to you. I get genuinely miserable. On Idol, especially the last few seasons, you'd finish the year and think, 'I wasted nine months of my life.' The worst are the in-betweens, where you've got to sit through someone singing John Legend or 'At Last' again."

Luckily for Cowell, when there are terrible times, this can be followed by amazing times.

"Then you get those moments where you find somebody incredible, and you don't care that you had to torture yourself," he said. "The good times way outdo the bad times. And even the really bad times, like William Hung, made me laugh."

Cowell then pointed out that a reality series can only be successful if the fans are giving their support.

"There's obviously way too many reality shows on TV, and a lot of them won't last. As with anything, if you don't listen to the viewers, you're dead," he said. "As soon as our shows go on the air, we're hit with a barrage of information from social media. You think I'm honest? Christ almighty, are they honest on social media. And I like that. I like to do things that make a lot of noise."

America's Got Talent returns on Tuesday, May 31 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

Tags: Americas Got Talent television nbc Simon Cowell