‘Winding Paula up as far as he could without making her, you know, explode?
I was in the music business, just doing radio.
So I was excited to get this job I was a 26-year-old kid.
Credit: Michael Becker/Fox
But I had no idea it would be what it was.
But it was just lightning in a bottle.
Fans lived for the bickering and the banter.
Sometimes everyone would get frustrated with each other, but Simon did it like sport.
Winding Paula up as far as he could without making her, you know, explode?
That was pleasurable to him.
Nothing will be quite like the original trio of judges.
I didnt know any of them before the show started.
I had just seen Simon on that tape but had never heard of him at all.
On paper, it was like, who are these people?
Really, theyre unknowns with the exception of Paula.
How could this be a successful show?
But it just worked.
In all your years, is there one performance that stands out as your favorite?
A lot of us would probably tell you Fantasia, when she performed Summertime.
That was pretty special.
Was there an elimination that was particularly painful for you?
But the public, for the most part, is very smart.
They pretty much get it right.
When was it decided that this would be the final season?
We always knew we couldnt do this show forever.
It deserves the farewell season and send-off.
So what should we expect?
Were bringing back some of the favorites, and theyll be integrated into different weeks of the show.
And hopefully some fresh fighting from Simon and Paula.
Im not sure its going to be by exactly four weeks, but it is shorter.
Simply a programming decision by Fox.
Whats your earliest memory ofAmerican Idol?
The beginning, when they had a host already hired.
I had to talk them into letting me audition to be the second host.
I showed up at this audition and there were like, a thousand people.
What was that audition like?
So you have to figure out how to do that with the right finesse, instantly.
They would do some rapid-fire things like that to see how you could handle it.
And that was how I got it.
So you were hired after [season 1 co-host] Brian Dunkleman?
Will Brian be back?
That, Ive not spoken to him about.
In my opinion, itd be great to see him back.
Whats the one song you never want to hear again after 15 years of auditions?
Thats such a good ugh.
Whats that Etta James song we heard forever in the beginning?
Is it At Last?
At Last, yes.
We heard thatsomany times.
Its a beautiful song, but it was difficult to hear after the first five years.
Simon and Paula, because it was just funny.
Yeah, it was, uh, an electrifying season.
We knew that Jen was going to be there.
And I remember conversations about who wed put with her, and we had this long list of people.
What are your plans for your newfound free time?
Well, I wish there were free time.
red carpet, and a clothing line at Macys.
And theRyan Seacrest Foundationis building our tenth childrens hospital.
[Laughs] It will keep me occupied.
I dont hate the idea!
What else can we expect from season 15?
This is a live show that started when we didnt even know what text messaging was.
Well salute the artists and pay tribute.
But Im sure itll be emotional.
What do you hope people remember about the show?
This show, theres something very simple about it.
This is something that was designed for the whole family to watch together.
It was acoolshow for the family to watch together.
And having a common thread of something to talk about it.
And people grew up really connected to it because of that.
The final season ofAmerican Idolkicks off Wednesday at 8 p.m. Headhereandherefor our chats with Randy Jackson and Harry Connick Jr., respectively.
