Compassionate Cowell?

No one ever accused Simon Cowell of being compassionate – until this year.

Three weeks into the new season, the resident “American Idol” grinch has been sugarcoating his critiques of mediocre and helplessly tone-deaf wannabes.

A prime example of Cowell’s benevolence was when he gave the thumbs-up to a sweet young mother who had a new lease on life after a terrible car accident, but no real shot at cracking the finalists’ ranks.

Then again, any act of Cowell kindness would seem significant following the outrage he provoked during tryouts last season with vicious attacks an assortment of earnest, defenseless contestants, even comparing one singer to a “bush baby.”

And not everyone expects the new attitude to last.

“He’s nice for three weeks, and then suddenly he’ll flip and he’ll turn out being (a) bloody horror again,” says “Idol” executive producer Ken Warwick.

“Wait until we get into this next batch, you know, the top 12.”

Cowell seemed to be returning to form on Wednesday’s final audition show. After 25-year-old Joshua Moreland serenaded Paula Abdul with a love song he’d written, Cowell sniped: “It was a horribly over-the-top, corny, revolting audition.”

Moreland looked as if he’d been slapped in the face.

Cowell was equally mean to an unassuming woman who claimed her voice was a gift from God, asking: “Does he have a return policy?”

“If there’s anybody that comes in that he can honestly see does have a problem – a genuine problem – then he will be nice to them,” Warwick says.

“He gets nothing to gain out of beating up on kids who are disadvantaged, genuinely having a real tough time with their life.”

“Idol” has had a slight ratings dip this year, premiering to 33 million viewers and slipping below 30 million per episode in the last two weeks (it still remains the most-watched show on TV).

Last season the show premiered to 37 million viewers and only dipped below 30 million for one audition episode.

The show has dug deeply into contestants’ back stories to foster a stronger connection with viewers. Producers say “Idol” suffered last year by giving too much air time to celebrity mentors who had personal projects and concert tours to promote.

“Idol” watcher Jessica Shaw calls it backstory overkill.

“It’s like, ‘I don’t care about you if you grew up on a farm and you’re a single mother and, you know, you wear … horrible acid-trip clothing if you can’t carry a tune.’ Because ultimately that’s what the show is about,” says Shaw, who writes for Entertainment Weekly magazine.

But she gleefully expects that “all the claws are gonna come out once they hit Hollywood.”