Senate daughter Ayla Brown endorses Simon Cowell

Ayla Brown and her father, Scott Brown, are really supportive of one another. The Season 5 "American Idol" semifinalist recently worked the campaign trail for her dad, and now he's working it for her.

When he was interviewed last Sunday on ABC's "This Week," the newly elected U.S. senator from Massachusetts told Barbara Walters he'd love for Ayla and Simon Cowell - who called his then-17-year-old daughter's "Idol" audition "robotic" - to get together again.

"I'd love 'em to get together and have her get on 'Idol' again," Brown said. "I think it would be great for her. It would be great for the show and let people know that there's life after 'Idol.' . . . Ayla actually respects Simon greatly about his critiquing, even though he is kind of harsh. . . . If you actually listen to what he says, it was right."

In fact, Ayla told EW.com that Cowell's departure from "Idol" at season's end is a mistake. "I think without a Simon persona, the show will not be successful. . . . I think by Simon leaving, it's going to be a real loss to the show."

But Ayla, 21, isn't sitting back and waiting for Hollywood to call. After her father's election, music label Double Deal moved the release of her five-song EP, "Circles," from April to Jan. 26, and she marked the occasion with a performance on CBS' "The Early Show."