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In Step With...Randy Jackson
By James Brady
Published: January 6, 2008

American Idol, one of the most popular TV shows ever, returns for a seventh season later this month. I had coffee with judge Randy Jackson (he took mint tea) at a Manhattan hotel the other morning to talk.

Since the 51-year-old has three kids, I started off by asking if he’d permit his own children to enter Idol, an experience I called “the meat grinder.”

“Yes,” he said. “I would, if they truly wanted to try. Oh, my god, you may think we’re tough, but the public is tougher. Mick Jagger had it hard at first. They threw stuff at Prince when he was an opening act. People will say, ‘What big ears, I don’t like that nose, look at her hair,’ even before they listen to the music.”

What’s it like sitting next to Count Dracula and a space cadet? Randy laughed. “They’re cool people,” he said of his fellow judges. “Simon is very smart, with an amazing eye for talent and a little bit of brash. But people identify with him. Paula is a great artist who really loves these kids and nourishes them like a mother.”

Now he’s got a new show of his own coming to MTV—a reality competition called Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew. Will he dance? “No,” he said. “I’m producing.”

Wearing a soft black leather jacket and a black-and-white sports shirt, Randy is a big man who used to be even bigger. “A couple of years ago, I was feeling rocky,” he said. “I was 43, and when I went to the doctor, he said I had type 2 diabetes.” It was a stunning wake-up call for a successful artist and executive in his prime, and Jackson took steps: medicine, diet, exercise. “I lost 121 pounds and put only 10 back,” he said, sipping his tea. “I completely changed my lifestyle.” And he continues to be a major force in pushing for diabetes research through the American Heart Association (IKnowDiabetes.org). I admired the handsome silver cross and chain he wore. “Yeah, I’m a Baptist,” Randy said. “But besides that, I think it’s fly—that means cool. I like a little bling.”