With a new season of "American Idol" already under way, judge [artist id="2343812"]Randy Jackson[/artist] took a moment to reflect on past contestants, and he has some advice: find yourself.

Why? Well, it's what the most successful "Idol" alumni, like [artist id="1933910"]Carrie Underwood[/artist] and [artist id="2469317"]Chris Daughtry[/artist], have done -- and he thinks [artist id="1941279"]Kris Allen[/artist] and [artist id="3188063"]Adam Lambert[/artist] need to take a cue from them.

"There's been some great boys. I don't think the boys have all made great records though," Jackson told MTV News when he stopped by to promote the [artist id="3217287"]Paper Tongues[/artist], a new band he's managing.

He added that he only liked Lambert's and Allen's debut albums. Why does he think Underwood and Daughtry did a better job? "You know who you are. You've accepted who you are and you move forward in your life," he said. "You're not going, 'Well, I could be a painter, but I want to drive race cars. But I can do R&B, pop, jazz soul ... Maybe I think I'm more like Bono, but I could be more like Sting. But I'm gonna be like Lady Gaga, but I'm kind of like Justin Hawkins from the Darkness.' You can't be five people. You can only be one, and we have to make that choice."

Jackson said the experimentation just confuses your potential fanbase, who might not want to invest in an album that isn't focused. "You confuse your public that voted for you, and they go, 'I don't know who that is. I'm lost,' " he said.

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' [article id="1486475"]"American Idol" page[/article], where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.