‘American Idol’ Alum Randy Jackson Reveals How He Bonded With Simon Cowell After His Back Injury

Former American Idol judge Randy Jackson still makes sure to stay in touch with his old co-star Simon Cowell. In his latest interview with Entertainment Tonight, the star reveals he and Cowell bonded over growing older and joking about their back pains. “I also had spine surgery a year and a half or so ago, so it’s funny both he and I are having all these back pains,” Jackson shared in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “But he’s doing great. He’s really doing great.”

Cowell underwent spine surgery after suffering an accident while riding an electric bike near his home. The incident resulted in the America’s Got Talent judge breaking his back in several places, forcing him to miss a considerable portion of the show’s most recent season. “I kid him,” Jackson said. “I say, ‘Look, we’re getting a little bit older, we’re 36 now, internally, but we ain’t 30 no more dawg. We gotta like respect the body, yo!’” Jackson went on to dish on his weight loss journey after shedding over 114 pounds. “I just went through a food divorce and I stopped emotional eating,” he said. “I was just trying to get healthy because I developed Type 2 diabetes and I had to. So I’m happy that I did, and I’m happy that it inspires people.”

These days Jackson is still very much booked and busy. He rejoined the band Journey as the bassist but says the fans shouldn’t expect the old outfits if they plan on catching him in future tours. “No more leather, no more pleather. No more with the whole hairdo,” Jackson told the outlet. “I gotta change it up now.” In addition to playing with the legendary band, Jackson is also a star on a new FOX competition series called Name that Tune.

Filmed in Australia, he talked about his experience as a judge working with actress Jane Krakowski on the show. “Jane is fantastic, she is amazing and you know, she is a triple threat. She acts, sings and dance and does the whole thing so you know we are like live performers,” he revealed. “I did not want to go back on a show like Idol… for me, it will live on as the best music show ever… But I love game shows and I grew up watching Name that Tune as a kid in Louisiana, so I was like, ‘Man, this is the greatest opportunity to do a game show.’”