Simon and the gay Idols. (the Buzz).

WILL YOUNG--WHO WON THE U.K. Pop Idol contest and then promptly came out--is finally hitting America! Sort of. The tall, lanky, good-looking Young is featured in a music video on the 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure DVD, swinging the big band number "Try Again."

Unfortunately, Young's other attempts to gain a toehold in the U.S. market are failing. When impresario Simon Cowell--Mr. Nasty in the smash hit spin-off American Idol--was asked about Young's debut album ever getting released in the States, he said, "Unlikely. Unlikely. I'm being honest with you." But Cowell says the same for runner-up Gareth Gates, so it's probably more about lack of name recognition than Young's being out.

Meanwhile, Cowell expressed mock surprise over the coming out of American Idol's Jim Verraros. "Oh, well, you know we were really shocked about that," says Cowell. "We had no idea he was gay. Jim Verraros actually came up to me at a show and said, `Simon, I've got something to tell you.' I said, `What?' He said, `I'm gay.' I said, `Yeah?' He went, `Well, I've come out.' I said, `Jim, you came out the second you appeared on this bloody show.'"