Randy Jackson

WHEN RANDY Jackson was growing up in Baton Rouge, La., there was one rule when it came to food: fat, fat and more fat. Good down-home cooking meant butter. And everything fried. But the bad eating habits he learned as a child caught up with the straight-shooting "American Idol" judge later in life. Six years ago, when he'd reached a high of 355 pounds, the producer/guitarist was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes and one that is linked to obesity.

Conan (11 p.m., TBS) - Actress Chelsea Handler; Doyle and Debbie perform. Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Kate Beckinsale; Marv Albert; Little Willies perform. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Queen Latifah; Pauly Del Vecchio; Augustana performs. Jimmy Kimmel Live (Midnight, 6ABC) - Randy Jackson; Dermot Mulroney; Will Hoge performs.

Punker Iggy Pop said "Ameri- can Idol" producers contacted him about a possible judging gig before the current roster of Jennifer Lopez , Steven Tyler and the returning Randy Jackson was set in stone. "It didn't go very far," said Pop, who performed Johnny O'Keefe 's "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" - he covered the tune on his 1986 record "Blah Blah Blah" - on last week's result show. "There were two phone calls . . . I wasn't sure I was interested or available. They called me . . . I was curious and we spoke a couple times, and that was as far as that went.

During Thursday night's American Idol , the last local seemed to be a goner. But after a last-second twist, is it possible that two could be coming back? Definitely still alive is Jermaine Jones, the "gentle giant" and "soulful baritone" from Pine Hill, Camden County. A very emotional segment showed him upset even before his final meeting with the judges. Host Ryan Seacrest: "After suffering hours of torment from gout and apprehension, Jermaine's composure began to crumble.

The children screamed and squealed in excitement as the man in black entered the room. It didn't seem to matter much that many of the children had never heard of the entertainer who paid them a surprise visit Wednesday. The introduction was enough. "He has a brother named Michael, a sister named Janet who's younger and a brother named Jermaine," principal Joanne Weaver told the kids. "His name is Randy Jackson and he's a member of the Jackson 5. " Randy Jackson, 26, the youngest male member of the singing Jackson family, waved and smiled to the excited children as he walked into the gymnasium at Willow Hill Elementary School in Abington.

Peacenik John Lennon 's spirit popped up this week in an unlikely place - China. The BBC says a maquette of a global peace monument to the former Beatle has been unveiled at the Liverpool pavilion at Shanghai World Expo. Called Peace and Harmony, it's a globe encircled by birds and a single white feather. The piece is a copy of an 18-foot-tall sculpture by Ohio artist Lauren Voiers , due to be installed in Liverpool, England, later this year as part of the city's celebration of Lennon's 70th birthday.

Talk about anticipating the needs of the audience: Thursday at the Spectrum, cotton candy was available at nearly every concession stand. The crowd wasn't there for the circus or some Barney & Friends Skidding on Ice show. This was the area debut of young pop star Mariah Carey, and scores of mothers and preteen daughters sought ecstasy gobbling up the fluffy pink stuff while listening to similarly sweet - sometimes too sweet - songs of love. Carey, who at age 23 has sold over 22 million albums, specializes in feel- good music - sweeping inspirational anthems ("Hero")

The vacancy light burns brighter than ever now at American Idol . After weeks of rumor, hit songwriter Kara DioGuardi made it official Friday: She's stepping down as a judge on the show, making her exit just behind perennially perky Ellen DeGeneres and darkly demonic Simon Cowell . The rumor mills have ground out the names of Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler and multitalented singer Jennifer Lopez as likely new colleagues for...

Janie Frickie's home in Lancaster, Texas, recently was dedicated as a historic landmark - and not because it's the home of a star. Rather, the Texas Landmark Historical Society gave the house the honor because of its 150-year history. The Lawrey Family, from which Frickie and her husband, Randy Jackson, bought the structure, helped rear Pat Garrett, the famous sheriff who brought down Billy the Kid; Garrett spent some of his teenage years in the house, which originally was just two rooms.

M.J. planning a King-size comeback Michael Jackson, 50, who has kept a low profile since his 2005 acquittal on child-molestation charges, is poised to make a Britney Spears-sized comeback. Agence France-Presse reports that the deposed King of Pop has announced that he will make a "special announcement" tomorrow heralding (to the sound of seven trumpets unsealing seven seals?) his return to showbiz. M.J. is expected to reveal that he will stage a series of up to 30 comeback shows in London this year.

During Thursday night's American Idol , the last local seemed to be a goner. But after a last-second twist, is it possible that two could be coming back? Definitely still alive is Jermaine Jones, the "gentle giant" and "soulful baritone" from Pine Hill, Camden County. A very emotional segment showed him upset even before his final meeting with the judges. Host Ryan Seacrest: "After suffering hours of torment from gout and apprehension, Jermaine's composure began to crumble.

Conan (11 p.m., TBS) - Actress Chelsea Handler; Doyle and Debbie perform. Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Kate Beckinsale; Marv Albert; Little Willies perform. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Queen Latifah; Pauly Del Vecchio; Augustana performs. Jimmy Kimmel Live (Midnight, 6ABC) - Randy Jackson; Dermot Mulroney; Will Hoge performs.

Look, I'm not about to tell Fox how to go about its business. The network that brought us 'Til Death and Bob's Burgers clearly knows what it's doing. But I've been reading with some dismay reports in the last couple of days that Fox is preparing to take a hard line when it comes to renegotiating Ryan Seacrest's contract for American Idol , which expires this season. Why pay Seacrest his current salary of $15 million a year, the argument goes, when he could easily be replaced for a fraction of the cost?

Punker Iggy Pop said "Ameri- can Idol" producers contacted him about a possible judging gig before the current roster of Jennifer Lopez , Steven Tyler and the returning Randy Jackson was set in stone. "It didn't go very far," said Pop, who performed Johnny O'Keefe 's "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" - he covered the tune on his 1986 record "Blah Blah Blah" - on last week's result show. "There were two phone calls . . . I wasn't sure I was interested or available. They called me . . . I was curious and we spoke a couple times, and that was as far as that went.

Jersey Shore keeps making waves. The hit MTV show's stars are getting raises - to $100,000 a show - while some Rutgers students, embarrassed by Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi 's recent gabbing gig there, have issued an invite to someone with more intellectual heft: Ocean County College dropout Bruce Springsteen . Oh, and Bruce, would you do it for free? For her "study hard but party harder" counsel, Polizzi snagged $32,000 from an organization funded by student fees - two grand more than Nobel winner Toni Morrison will get for her commencement address.

Wednesday, on the stage of the Forum in Los Angeles, amid intense speculation - OK, not that intense; everyone knew it for awhile now - the final two American Idol judges were announced! "Rolled out," as they say. They are Steven Tyler , lunatic wide-mouth tenor of Aerosmith , and impossibly gorgeous Jennifer Lopez . They'll join Randy Jackson , still there after all these years. Host Ryan Seacrest introduced the trio in a fired-up, thumping, pointless rally. See, they're "auditioning.

The vacancy light burns brighter than ever now at American Idol . After weeks of rumor, hit songwriter Kara DioGuardi made it official Friday: She's stepping down as a judge on the show, making her exit just behind perennially perky Ellen DeGeneres and darkly demonic Simon Cowell . The rumor mills have ground out the names of Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler and multitalented singer Jennifer Lopez as likely new colleagues for...

Peacenik John Lennon 's spirit popped up this week in an unlikely place - China. The BBC says a maquette of a global peace monument to the former Beatle has been unveiled at the Liverpool pavilion at Shanghai World Expo. Called Peace and Harmony, it's a globe encircled by birds and a single white feather. The piece is a copy of an 18-foot-tall sculpture by Ohio artist Lauren Voiers , due to be installed in Liverpool, England, later this year as part of the city's celebration of Lennon's 70th birthday.

WE WERE supposed to be talking about his spotlight role in "Grease" (opening tomorrow at the Academy of Music), or maybe his current album, "The Distance," or maybe his tell-some memoir, "Heart Full of Soul," which recounts the guy's rise from a humble Alabama childhood to the Season Five winner on "American Idol. " But the morning I caught up with Taylor Hicks was a sad one. Michael Jackson had died the night before, and the shock hadn't worn off. First, we had to grieve. "Of course I was a big fan," Hicks said on the cell phone from Detroit, where "Grease" was in residence and, ironically, where M.J. first got props as a member of the Jackson Five, recording for Motown.

M.J. planning a King-size comeback Michael Jackson, 50, who has kept a low profile since his 2005 acquittal on child-molestation charges, is poised to make a Britney Spears-sized comeback. Agence France-Presse reports that the deposed King of Pop has announced that he will make a "special announcement" tomorrow heralding (to the sound of seven trumpets unsealing seven seals?) his return to showbiz. M.J. is expected to reveal that he will stage a series of up to 30 comeback shows in London this year.