I'm pretty sure Simon wanted Daughtry to win last year. I wonder how much of a difference there is in the contracts, how much money Simon doesn't see, because Daughtry came in 4th instead if 1st. This is a large country, we have room for lots of different types of genres of music and entertainers.
Simon didn't even want Daughtry to go to the Hollywood Finals, let alone be the winner. Simon also tried to prevent Taylor Hicks from being advanced to Hollywood. He favored the the girl who did Over the Rainbow, can't remember her name.