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"Randy Jackson has opened up about Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez&amp;#039;s decisions to leave American Idol after two seasons. Tyler announced on Thursday (July 12) that he is departing the series to focus on Aerosmith. Lopez confirmed her own exit just one day later (July 13).   Jackson \u2013 who is the sole remaining original American Idol judge \u2013 reacted to the exits of his co-stars Lopez and Tyler in a statement to Gossip Cop. &amp;quot;Steven and Jennifer are truly two of the most talented and consummate professionals I&amp;#039;ve worked with. I was friends with them before we hopped on this crazy journey together and I have no doubt our friendships will continue long after,&amp;quot; Jackson wrote. His statement concluded: &amp;quot;I will love them for life.&amp;quot; Jackson&amp;#039;s own future as an American Idol judge has also been questioned, with reports suggesting that he may be moved into a mentoring role on the Fox series.  Miley Cyrus, Charlie Sheen, Mariah Carey and Jerry Lewis are among the celebrities who have been linked to joining American Idol. Katy Perry also revealed last week that she had been contacted about becoming an American Idol judge, but turned the job down to focus on other projects. American Idol returns to Fox in 2013, with open auditions currently underway across the US. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/american-idol/news/a393436/randy-jackson-steven-tyler-jennifer-lopez-friendship-will-continue/>