Randy Jackson sees American Idol having 'different kind of energy'

photo: FOX Studios

This year's up and coming American Idol, which is in its tenth season now, will be very different to any of the previous seasons, largely because there has been such a dramatic change to the judging panel. The only original judge that now remains is music producer Randy Jackson, as his fellow judges, Simon Cowell, Kara Dioguardi, and Paula Abdul, have all departed for reasons of their own.

However, the judging panel has been refreshed with new faces, and the remaining original judge, Randy, said that he thinks that season 10 of American Idol will have a 'different kind of energy' compared to previous seasons. After Simon Cowell departed to focus on his American version of the popular British talent show, The X Factor, some changes were made to the format of America Idol, and Jackson said that the changes were 'much needed'.

Season 10 will see the new judges, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, joining Jackson as the show's regular judges, and although Randy said that he is looking forward to working with them he will clearly miss Simon.

Jackson said: "Simon is our friend for life. I don't know if Steven knows him much, but Jennifer definitely knows him. We've all hung out together. So, listen, we definitely miss him, but it's a different kind of vibe. It's a different kind of energy now. And I think in season 10 the show actually really needed it."

He went on to say: "Look, he's irreplaceable. It's not about replacing him or any of the others: Paula, Ellen, Kara, anybody else. People have been saying to us, 'Who's mean?' We've all traded off on that because I think you have to always give people the truth, no matter what."

Season 10 of American Idol begins January 19th on FOX.