Los Angeles, Jun 17 (IANS): Singer Demi Lovato says she was surprised at how normal and approachable Simon Cowell was when she first met him and describes the music mogul as "humble".

"I expected him to be a lot more intimidating. And I mean that in a humbling way, because when people think of Simon Cowell, they think like, 'Oh, the big boss, he's mean to people' or whatever, but he's super down-to-earth…," contactmusic.com quoted Lovato as saying.

"He's pretty fancy, but he's a humble guy. When he walks in a room, it doesn't matter if you're the biggest celebrity or the biggest big shot in the room, he'll treat you the same as the person who's coming into the room to bring you tea. I thought that was pretty cool," she added.

Despite his lavish lifestyle and expensive habits, Lovato joked his wardrobe could use some updating.

She said: "The jeans he wears are torn up at the bottom and you can tell that they're not brand new. So there are parts of him that are super-fancy and then other parts that are super down-to-earth."

In spite of their age difference, the duo has build a friendship and often exchange text messages and Lovato revealed she even has a special nickname for Simon.

She laughed: "He calls me Gobby, and I guess that means that I talk a lot or something. I call him Grampa or Grandma."