RANDY JACKSON is a musician, producer, and television personality, who starred on American Idol as a panel judge for twelve seasons.  Starting as a bass guitarist in bands around Baton Rouge as a teen, Jackson went on to record and tour with many of the best jazz, R&B, and pop musicians of the 20th century, including Journey, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Whitney Houston, Madonna, and many many more. He became a line producer and eventually an A&R executive at Columbia Records and MCA Records, before being tapped to judge on the smash FOX series American Idol, the top-rated show in the U.S. for eight (8) years. Jackson also executive produced "America's Best Dance Crew" for MTV, has over 1,000 gold and platinum records bearing his name from his numerous collaborations, and most recently signed an overall production deal with Endemol Shine to develop scripted, unscripted, and digital programming.