The American Idol XIII is now on air on Thursday and Friday, 6pm and 8pm on StarWorld, SingTel mio TV Ch 301 and StarHub TV Ch 501. Here’s a transcript of a conference call with Randy Jackson who is now not a judge but a mentor to the contestants this season of American Idol.
Q: Can you talk about what made you decide that you wanted to be a mentor as opposed to judging?
Randy: Honestly, after 12 seasons in, as a judge it felt like I’d said and done everything that I really ever desired and needed to and wanted to do as a judge and I just felt like it was just time to do something else. I’m a big evolution guy. So, I felt like there’s no other way I could say it and do it and whatever.
So, I said, you know what, I think it’s time to kind of step away and I’m really excited to step into the mentor role because I get a chance to work more hands on with the kids and help impart some of the wisdom that I’ve gained over my 35-year career to them, you know.
Q: What do you miss most about being behind the judges’ table?
Randy: You know, honestly, to be honest with you, I don’t really miss it at all. When I walked away I was really done with it. I had done everything I thought I could do. I couldn’t even figure out another way to say stuff, so I was really happy that I was on for 12 seasons as a judge.
And I’m happiest now about this new role as a mentor because that’s kind of what I do anyway as a record producer, as a manager of artists and a talent manager. It’s what I do is nurture talent, so it’s what I do every day. So, this is the most natural fit for me.
Q: Do you, though, sometimes kind of want to tell what you think to the people since you’re not up there judging them?
Randy: No. Listen, I think the judges are doing an amazing job. I think Harry, Keith and Jennifer are amazing. They’ve got such a natural, great chemistry and they’re all dear friends of mine for a long time. So, you know, I love them.
And I think they’re doing an amazing job. Once I kind of walked away from it I was kind of done with that, you know what I mean?
Q: So you’ve seen in the live shows that contestants tend to gravitate towards songs that have been done to death, “Hallelujah,” those songs that get done over and over. As a mentor, will you try and discourage them from maybe making some of those done to death song choices?
Randy: Yeah, I will because I think you’re absolutely right and you’re very astute to pick that up because, especially if contestants have really sung it on the show, you can’t help but get that comparison from the audience and from people that are on the show and watch the show. So, you always want to try and come off a little unique and a little different, unless you’ve got a really different twist on that song.
Q: Do you feel like you can help them get back to putting an interesting twist on something?
Randy: Yeah, I’d love that and I want more of that. We just had like an intense workshop with them and I talked about that. That’s what I mean, if you take a song; for instance, if you want to do “Hallelujah” do you have a different version of it? Can you do something else different with it?
And I think also what it does for the judges and for the public is let you know the real range of their talent. If they can take something and move it around like that and make it really creative, you go, wow, I didn’t know your talent was that deep. You know what I’m saying? So, I love that, yes, of course, I will definitely try and help encourage that.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about what you’ve been feeling when you watch the episodes back on TV thus far?
Randy: Oh yeah, listen, what you look for on the judges panel always to me, it’s what me, Simon and Paula and Ryan kind of naturally had. We didn’t even know we were looking for it, but we kind of naturally had it, to be honest with you.
You look for that natural chemistry because you can’t really force that because you know, you are individual judges, but you’re as a team, as a panel so it has to work well that way. I mean, they’ve done sensational. I love them all as people and friends in the industry anyway, but I think they’ve done an amazing job.
Q: We talked about Adam Lambert as a mentor. I want to know what Adam and Chris brought to the table in the workshop because we know they’re coming up and everybody is excited. And we want a little sneak peak of what we can expect from those guys?
Randy: Well, listen, I wanted to have them there because I’ve been doing the show since it started so I have a wealth of knowledge, but they were actually in the trenches of people that we were actually judging so they could tell it from a completely different side. And the two of them are so different, but they’re also equally really, really talented and I think both of their seasons, I thought both of them would win. During the season you just never know and they both have had amazing careers thus far, so I really wanted them there.
So, they were able to impart a lot of wisdom on what they go through. We talk about everything in this workshop, because I really wanted to break it down for the kids, like, when the judges say this, are you really hearing what they’re saying? Are you retaining 20%, 30%, what are you listening to? Because you’ve got cameras in your face, you’ve got 500 people in the audience. You’ve got all the chatter from social media. You’ve got your friends and family and you’ve got millions of people watching on TV.
We really broke it down and went through everything that we could and I think it really helped the kids a lot. And Adam did a great job.
Q: This year we had our first openly gay on camera contestant. Is that something that you welcome, a change that you’re glad to see on the show?
Randy: I’m really proud of her and I’m really happy for her and I think, who would have thought in 2014 you’d have to do that. I’m just always surprised. But we should have come a lot further a lot faster, but it is what it is. But I think, yeah, we’ve never said you can’t do this, you can’t do that. It’s never about who you are or what you do or what you choose and where you’re from. It’s always really about the talent.
So, she’s a natural, so I mean I’m really happy for her that she’s able to say that. You know what I mean?
