You gotta love Simon Cowell.

The persnickety panelist appeared to diss singer Kechi Okwuchi’s stirring rendition of “You Are The Reason” on “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” Monday.

“I’m gonna be honest with you,” Cowell said. “I didn’t really like it that much.”

Jeers ensued ― and rightfully so. Kechi returned to the “AGT” stage a more confident performer after making the finals in 2017. She impressed with her vocals and the odds she had overcome just to be there. The singer survived a plane crash that killed 107 fellow passengers and endured more than 100 surgeries to treat her burns and other injuries.

On Monday’s show, Kechi’s performance brought the house down.

What was Cowell thinking? Well, it turns out he was just messing with Kechi and everyone else.

“I actually loved it,” Cowell said after a pause.

Then he pushed the Golden Buzzer to vault her into the finals.

Watch the performance above.

That’s more like it.