Randy Jackson among Teen Star Santa Barbara’s judges
Randy Jackson looks for three things in an aspiring young singer.
“Talent. Star potential. The song,” the former “American Idol” judge told the News-Press by phone from Beverly Hills. “Make sure you’re singing the right song, something you can sing the best. They (judges) want to hear the best of you.”
Mr. Jackson will look for those qualities when he joins the judges for tonight’s Teen Star Santa Barbara.
The program begins at 6 p.m. at The Granada, 1214 State St. To purchase tickets, call The Granada at 805-899-2222 or go to ticketing.granadasb.org.
Tonight’s contestants are Audrey Harmand, Bridget DeVine, Grace Hu, Sophie Hernandez, Haley Ellis, Holly Hadsall, Joanne Tudor, Melody Hilario, Rebecca Jamgochian and Shelby Kernisant. (Alternates are Allison Ray and Noelle Hadsall.)
Teen Star was started in 2010 to support performing arts programs in local schools, and proceeds from tonight’s program will go to that cause.
Tonight will be the first show with an audience since 2020 and the first competitive Teen Star in two years as well. Last year’s show was a virtual presentation of singers, but an overall winner wasn’t chosen.
Tonight also marks the second time that Mr. Jackson has been a celebrity judge for the competition.
“It was really fun the first time,” Mr. Jackson said. “I was surprised by the amount of talent.”
Mr. Jackson has enjoyed seeing new talent emerge.
“Part of my life has been nurturing young talent since my years on ‘Idol,’” he said.
“ ‘American Idol’ was the first of its kind, before ‘The Voice” or any of those shows,” Mr. Jackson said. “It was a great show.”
He said the show succeeded beyond expectations.
“Simon (Cowell), Paula (Abdul) and I never knew what hit us. We all had doubts in the beginning,” Mr. Jackson said, referring to his fellow judges. “We discovered some great talent on the show: Kelly (Clarkson), the great Fantasia, Ruben (Studdard), Clay (Aiken). The list goes on.”
These days Mr. Jackson is trying his hand at a different genre:a game show. He’s the band director for Fox’s remake of “Name That Tune,” where contestants try to correctly identify the songs that Mr. Jackson’s band plays. Then comes the round where players challenge each other by saying they can identify a song with just a few notes.
“I can name that song in four notes.”
“I can name that song in three notes.”
“Name that song.”
Mr. Jackson plays those notes on the grand piano. Then the contestant gives an answer.
He also chats with host Jane Krakowski and encourages the contestants as they try to identify music from a variety of genres on the show, now in its second season.
“Everybody can remember a lot of tunes, but they can’t remember the exact correct names,” Mr. Jackson said. “There are some great contestants this year.”
Many viewers like to play along at home.
“I’m sure people are shouting at their TV and saying, ‘That’s so and so!’” Mr. Jackson said.
In 2020, Mr. Jackson rejoined a famous band he played with in the mid-1980s: Journey.
“I’m on the new record with the first single out at the end of March,” said the bass player. “I’m not on the tour, but I am on the record.”
He recalled his days with Journey back in the mid-1980s when the band played at outdoor festivals such as one at the fairgrounds in Calaveras County. “It was like a dream. There were 100,000 people, singing every lyric to every song. I thought, ‘This is what making it is like!’”
The Baton Rouge, La., native said he likes visiting Santa Barbara. “I love Montecito. I love Santa Barbara, it’s a great city. I love Rosewood (Miramar Beach) in the spring.”
email: dmason@newspress.com
