Randy Jackson – HuffPost 11.5.14

Mike Ragogna: Randy, what advice do you have for new artists?

Randy Jackson: I think you’ve got to learn everything you can, I think you’ve got to be unbelievable at your craft and I think you’ve got to figure out what’s the star in you. And I think you’ve got to stop watching TV and watching other people and saying, “Oh, I want to be like that.” No, who are you? You’ve got to find the star in you. You may be a better dancer than you are a singer. Okay, so work that dance thing and find a great song. You’ve got to figure out what’s going to be your angle. What’s your lane? Everyone competing for the same lane in the same area is really going to be tough. Honesty is a tough thing. Sometimes people have to swallow a bitter pill that, “Hey, maybe I’m a better songwriter and not a singer.” “Hey, maybe I’m a great singer but I don’t write great songs, so let me find the songs.” “Maybe I don’t have any of that but I’ve something really quirky.” You know what I mean? When you look at artists today that have careers, you can look to the gods. You can look to the great Arethas, the Mariahs, the Whitneys, the Celines, the Dylans, the Springsteens, the U2s and Coldplays, Radiohead–a band that I love–I love all those others, too. You can look at all those and see something unique about them. You’ve got to find something that’s unique about you and see how to really put that forth and make that appetizing for the public.