He’s returning to the show, but why did Randy Jackson leave American Idol in the first place?!
He's really been through it
Randy Jackson is heading back to American Idol for a nostalgia-packed comeback, but it’s been a minute since he was a regular on the judging panel. So what actually went down in the years between him leaving and popping back up again?
This season is heading for the throwback vibes, with both Randy and Paula Abdul returning as mentors. Paula’s also stepping in as a guest judge alongside Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood. It’s all part of a “20th high school reunion” theme, complete with a nod to iconic contestants from the 2006 era (yes, including Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis).
But rewind a bit. Randy was there from the very start in 2002, sitting alongside Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul as one of the OG judges. After more than a decade of critiquing hopeful singers, he eventually stepped away in 2013 after season 13. When he officially bowed out, he reflected on the show’s legacy, telling Deadline: “I’m proud to have been a part of a series that discovered some incredible artists and will go down in history as one of the most successful television shows ever.”
His exit wasn’t completely out of the blue though. Behind the scenes, Randy had been dealing with ongoing health challenges. He was diagnosed with type two diabetes way back in 2002, right as Idol was taking off. Speaking about it later to ABC News, he said: “Diabetes snuck up on me. I didn’t know I had it, and it was a huge wake-up call to get my health together.”
That diagnosis ended up changing a lot for him. He overhauled his lifestyle and, in 2003, underwent gastric bypass surgery. Over time, he lost more than 100 pounds and became increasingly vocal about diabetes awareness, using his platform to talk about managing the condition and making long-term health changes.
He didn’t disappear completely from the spotlight, though. In 2019, he launched Unify Health Labs, a wellness brand built around the same kind of balanced, health-focused approach he’d adopted himself. Then in 2020, he re-emerged on TV screens as part of Name That Tune, co-hosting the reboot alongside Jane Krakowski.
Now, with his return to the franchise that made him a household name, it’s basically a full-circle moment, just with a lot more life experience (and a very different lifestyle) in between.
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