Steven Tyler is looking back fondly over his time at 'American Idol.'
Steven Tyler is reflecting on what made his time at American Idol so special.
ET correspondent Brooke Anderson recently sat down with the legendary rocker at SiriusXM Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, to talk about his new documentary, Steven Tyler: Out on a Limb, where he also got candid about his time judging the hit singing competition alongside Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson. Tyler -- who joined the panel in season 10, but left in 2012 after two seasons -- says he's watched the Idol reboot with judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.
"I have, and I will also be not politically correct again," Tyler says. "I thought that what we [he, Lopez and Jackson] had was very special. I thought sitting next to J.Lo, some of the things I would say to the girls that walked in with these push-up bras and lips, and I would say things that were totally inappropriate. And this side of me where she sat, black and blue. Because I was right, and it was funny ..."
Tyler says part of the trio's charm was his bluntness, his sometimes NSFW antics and how they would interact with one another.
"I'm telling you, and I would sit there and go... 'Oh sh**, can I say that?' he recalls. "I wasn't the only one. I would look over and see someone else doing that. But it was the rehearsals, so they cut that out."
The Aerosmith frontman says he doesn't have any advice for Idol's current judges, though notes that he doesn't see "any interplay" between them.
"I love them in their own way," he explains. "It is just that there's a certain magic between someone that goes, 'Yo, shut up.' Like, I would tell Randy, 'What are you talking about?' J.Lo, it was just a little different, and I don't see interplay between them now. And I remember going to malls in the Midwest when I'm on tour there ... My security guy and I would go to malls and these women would come up and go, 'Do you know that I wake the kids up when you come on so they can see J.Lo and Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson because we loved the way you played with each other?'"
Tyler particularly has a lot of praise for Jackson and is candid about his thoughts that the original Idol judge was underappreciated.
"I thought that the good thing about American Idol was Randy," he stresses. "I think Randy got beat on being paid, I think he wasn't respected for what he was. I think he was the one -- 'yo, dog' -- and people would come in, it would lighten them up."
"So, call me how ever old you want, I thought Randy was the one, he was the one," he continues. "And J.Lo, so brilliant. She is a very ballsy chick."
Tyler shares that he would actually go back to Idol under the right circumstances.
"Yes, if it was right," he says. "Sure, and so would Randy."
These days, Tyler is focusing on his documentary, Steven Tyler: Out on a Limb, which has been selected as the opening night film of the Nashville Film Festival on Thursday. The documentary follows his move to Nashville to pursue a solo country music career and tour with the Loving Mary Band.
"More than anything, I think people are taken back by the country boy," he notes about his new path. "They don't know I'm from New Hampshire. They didn't know that this guy existed."
Tyler also says he's also currently focused on giving back, as well as taking chances.
"You know, when you give it away, you get back," he explains. "You know that when you realize that people would rather be certain and miserable than take a risk and be happy. The things that come to those who wait may be the things that's left by those who got there first."
"I feel like I lived a bunch of lifetimes," he adds of his wisdom. "I felt the pain, swallowed it, cried it out again and is that a great time in your life? No -- but it's how to live this life that can be so brutal."
The "Dream On" singer turned 70 years old in March. Tyler says he doesn't "really have a sense of time" and tells ET the secret to still thriving.
"I do what I love," he notes. "I get a lot of love on the street from people."
Steven Tyler: Out on a Limb will be available on VOD and Digital HD on May 15th.
RELATED CONTENT:
