Randy Jackson is one of the original judges from American Idol’s debut in 2002 when he sat alongside Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. They’ve both left the show subsequently, but Jackson held on for 12 years, being the one original judge to remain, while others came and went. He has announced, nevertheless, that he is voting himself off the show and turning toward private business ventures, as he told E! News.
“Yo! Yo! Yo! To put all of the speculation to the rest, after 12 years of judging on American Idol I have decided it is time to leave after this season,” he said. “I am very proud of how we forever changed television and the music industry. It’s been a life changing opportunity but I am looking forward to focusing on my company Dream Merchant 21 and other business ventures.”
Those other business ventures include a music collaboration with Mariah Carey, writing a new book, and developing his branding business.
The show had over the years become the highest rated series, standing at number one for eight consecutive years, according to the Nielsen charts, beating “Seinfeld” and “M*A*S*H” in the process. So Randy Jackson can leave with the pride that he was an important part of the show for every season American Idol was on top of the charts.