Steven Tyler Is No Simon Cowell When it Comes to Country

New 'American Idol' judge, Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler, likes all kinds of music -- even country. The rocker is open-minded when listening to 'Idol' hopefuls, which sets him apart from a certain former judge.

"Well, it's not like that other guy who said, 'I hate country,'" Steven reveals to 'Fox & Friends,' referring to Simon Cowell. "That's the one thing that turned me off about the show was Simon passed on this kid because he goes, 'Besides which, I hate country. Not my cup of tea.' If I'm judging music, you don't judge the genre. Sorry."

The addition of Steven and singer-actress Jennifer Lopez to the judges table raised a few eyebrows, but the 62-year-old says he had good intentions in signing up for the show. "I'm not in this for the money, I'm not in this for the prestige," he insists. "I'm in it to see if I can bring something to this. To find some kids, along with J. Lo and Randy. It's about me being honest and open and having fun up there."

Simon may have a distaste for country music, but he can take some of the credit for launching the career of one of country music's brightest superstars, Carrie Underwood. The singer, who won the fourth season of 'Idol,' stood out to the Brit the moment he first saw her.

"I can remember one specific time when Carrie Underwood walked in to an audition room," he said on Oprah Winfrey's series, 'Oprah Presents Master Class' (quote via TV Squad). "It was as if the entire cast was in black and white, and she was in color. From that second, I knew we had found a star, she was going to win and I had this feeling that she was going to sell more records than anybody else. I wish I could define what it is that makes it special, but you can't. You just know."

'American Idol,' which has also launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Chris Sligh, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, David Cook and Chris Daughtry (just to name a few) airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 PM ET on FOX.

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