American Idol: A real-life run in with Randy Jackson

Never one to give up a brush with celebrity, this intrepid Idol blogger sacrificed sleeping in last Saturday morning to interview none other than American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

Jackson was in the Twin Cities to promote the American Heart Association's "Heart of Diabetes" campaign along with Chanhassen resident and former Chaska business woman Barbara Johnson.

Johnson was selected among the many that submitted their stories of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, to appear with Jackson in a public service announcement.

Both Jackson and Johnson share similar stories about the surprise and shock of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. You can read all about that in this week's print edition of the Chaska Herald.

But you can bet that I couldn't go the entire interview without asking Jackson a bit about Idol. After all, what kind of Idol blogger would I be?

Jackson stayed pretty mum about working on one of televisions most-watched shows. He said he prefers to just do the work and not pay attention to the numbers (when the numbers are that high week after week, you probably don't).

He was also quiet about this year's competition, but he would admit to having a few favorite Idols over the years. Turns out Jackson loves the ladies - specifically, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Fantasia Barrino.

When I commented that I was a big Melinda Doolittle fan last year, he agreed that she was a good singer, but didn't sound all that taken with her. Hmmm.

Overall, Jackson was very likable and easygoing during the half-hour long interview. He complained that Minnesota was cold but didn't seem all that surprised by the wintry weather. Turns out his mother-in-law lives in Hastings so between visits to see her and trips to work with Soul Asylum and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Jackson is familar with the Twin Cities.

Just as he is sometimes teased about on Idol, Jackson is a name-dropper. During the interview, he not only mentioned Madonna's words of advice for him, but also pointed out that he's friends with the entire cast of Saved by the Bell (it happened to be playing on the television during the interview).

Oh well, when you've worked with greats like Mariah Carey, Journey and Carlos Santana (just to name a few) I guess you get the right to brag about it. I can't blame him. After all, I've been spending my time since bragging about meeting him...