Would Bret Michaels be a thorn in American Idol's side, or would he come out smelling like a rose? Time will tell, because the rocker told Parade magazine that he might be taking the spot vacated by Simon Cowell. "We have a meeting in L.A. in a couple weeks and we're going to sit down and talk. They did a poll and I think it was Madonna, P. Diddy, Howard Stern and myself, and I took 50% or 60% of the vote and that's tremendous. I would love to be a judge on American Idol. I think I would bring a lot to the table," Michaels said. But don't expect him to doff the bandana in place of tight t-shirts or adopt a British accent. "I would have to bring my own personality. I think if they have someone in there to try to imitate Simon, it would be a mistake; he's an original. Bring Bret Michaels in to be original to who and what I am. Bring someone who can bring a little grit, true grit back to the show," he said. The ailing rocker has undergone several health crises in the past few months, but he toughed it out and is now back on the road touring. After so many years of sticking with the rock gig, Michaels thinks he can serve as an example to the often-disposable pop acts that don't go on to do much of anything post-Idol: "I'm going to try to build new talent that will be around like Poison, Aerosmith, Stevie Nicks and Lynyrd Skynyrd. You can say what you want about us classic bands, but we're still out here selling out arenas." That's something we can believe in.