"American Idol" Judge Randy Jackson Talks Ellen, Paula, And Show's Ninth Season

Since "American Idol" debuted in 2002, the show has catapulted then-unknowns like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, and Adam Lambert to pop music stardom. Now in its 9th season, "Idol" has seen the exit of one of its premier judges, Paula Abdul, and the introduction of funny-woman Ellen DeGeneres to the judges table. Through it all has been record producer/musical director/A&R exec Randy Jackson, who says the changes will make for a very interesting season.

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Although the judges haven't had DeGeneres on the panel just yet (she'll first appear after the auditions on Hollywood Week), along with looking forward to her very different critiques, Jackson says he and host Ryan Seacrest have been friends with DeGeneres for quite some time. "We're really good friends and I think we're going to have a very funny, interesting season ahead of us. There's going to be a lot of laughs," he says.

Before DeGeneres takes her seat beside Jackson, songwriter/producer Kara DioGuardi, and the brutally honest Simon Cowell, a slew of guest judges join the show for auditions including Mary J. Blige, Katy Perry, Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, Shania Twain, and Kristin Chenoweth, among others. The show premieres with Boston auditions which featured Spice Girl Victoria Beckham as guest judge. "They all brought something different to the table," Jackson said. "These are all performers in their own right that have achieved high acclaim and massive success in the entertainment field."

But while this season will see the most superstar guest judges handing out golden tickets to Hollywood, viewers will notice someone missing. Paula Abdul, who's been with the show since it began in 2002, will be sitting out for the first time this season due to unsuccessful contract negotiations. "She's one of my best friends. We speak all the time. The whole thing started with me, Ryan, Simon, and her," Jackson said. "We look down the table sometimes and it's like, 'Where's Paula?' It's going to take a little getting used to. We're a little bit sad about that. But it's going to be an interesting, fun, different season."

But while "American Idol" and its judges are pop culture phenoms in their own right, there's also its contestants who are poised to be the next great music superstar. Last season, singer/songwriter Kris Allen took the win while runner-up Adam Lambert has eclipsed him in attention and album sales. The year before that, David Cook came out on top, with David Archuleta close behind. "The last couple of seasons, boys have won. So I've been wondering for the past few seasons, 'Where are the girls?,'" Jackson said. "But this year you would've thought a lot more Kris Allen or Adam Lambert-types would have shown up but that's not what happened at all. This year, we got some real bonafide, stand-in-your-shoes singers."

You can see Randy Jackson and the latest group of superstar hopefuls when season 9 of "American Idol" debuts on Fox on Tuesday, January 12th.