Randy Jackson thinks American Idol is regaining its form. Sure, the head mentor of the original TV singing competition has a vested interest in promoting the show regardless of its quality, but he really thinks it’s good again, honest. Jackson admitted in a conference call that by last season, Idol was getting a little bit stale. But it got a revamp and now everything is ok. Right…

Randy Jackson, Novak Djokovic Foundation Event
Jackson thinks the show got the much needed kick in the rear this season.

“But now it’s Idol 2.0,” he said. “It needed a refresh, and it got it.”

Jackson himself was a bit fed up with the show and most of all, with his judging gig – until last season, he had been judging since the show’s beginning. The mentor job is right up his alley though, Jackson said, according to the New York Daily News.

“I love being a mentor,” he says. “That’s what I do all day anyway when I’m managing artists. I help develop talent. I don’t miss anything about being behind the judges’ table. After doing it so long, you can’t even figure out another way to say stuff.” We can see how that can get exhausting."

Despite Jackson’s optimism, however, the show’s ratings still seem to be stalling. This year’s judging panel – Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban amd Harry Connick Jr. – hasn’t been able to lift the show’s ratings out of the gutter so far. Last week’s episode averaged just 2.9 million viewers, a marked low in Idol’s history.

Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest, Harry Connick Jr.
The former panelist is happy to leave the judging duties to his successors.