Steven Tyler on His 'American Idol' Exit: 'I Loved and Hated It'

5:51 PM PDT 7/31/2012 by Michele Amabile Angermiller

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The former reality judge says that the gig was just "not my cup of tea," though he did enjoy making "a ton of money."

Michael Becker / FOX

With his time judging American Idol in the rearview mirror, Steven Tyler candidly told Rolling Stone that he's relieved the gig is over.

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"[It's] not my cup of tea," said the 64-year-old Aerosmith frontman. "I loved it and hated it. It was a great job. I sat next to J. Lo and I made a ton of money. It was a moment in life and it became larger than life."

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Tyler admitted that the main motivation for taking the job -- besides the paycheck --was to escape tensions that existed within his band stemming from disputes in 2009.

"It was something to do while the storm blew by, to be honest," he said.

Tyler, who routinely told vocalists they were "beautiful" in his judging critiques, also said it just wasn't in his nature to rip into contestants as Simon Cowell did in previous seasons.

"The show's about kids and what you do to nurture their talent. They wanted me to take the piss out of the kids and I don't have that in me. That's not what I'm about," he said. "That's more about that other guy. Not me."

He also took issue with the show's disciplined schedule.

"It was just hard work: seven-hour days and then I went and did the [Aerosmith] album for eight hours after that," he said.

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Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry said he never noticed a difference in Tyler's work ethic in the recording studio while recording the group's new CD, Music From Another Dimension!, in Los Angeles.

"He did double duty," said Perry. "I never felt for a minute he was lagging in the studio because of his other job. He did his whole thing [on Idol] and then showed up at eight at night and was in the studio until 2 in the morning."

Perry said he is relieved to have his lead singer back in the saddle, so to speak.

"There was certainly the fame and notoriety that went with it. But you can't figure out what a band is about reading about it in the gossip column," he said.

Aerosmith kicked off their nationwide Global Warming Tour earlier this summer and will next stop in Denver, Co. on Aug. 1.