LOS ANGELES — So what does Randy Jackson know about dance?

"Quite a bit," the "American Idol" judge says.

Jackson is executive producer of the new competitive dance series, "America's Best Dance Crew," which premieres tonight on MTV.

"Listen, I've been doing music my whole life and every up-tempo song I've ever made, you often wonder how people are going to dance to it," the 46-year-old musician told The Associated Press.

"You go to clubs, you try and find out how they're moving to it. Is the beat fast enough? Dance is like the right hand of music. There couldn't be any dance without music, right? And vice versa," he said at a studio off Sunset Boulevard where the show was taping recent auditions.

Contestants will compete for a $100,000 cash prize.

"Best Dance Crew" judges are JC Chasez of N'Sync, aspiring rapper Lil' Mama and dancer-choreographer Shane Sparks, a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance." Hosts are Rachelle Leah and Mario Lopez (who competed on "Dancing With the Stars").

Jackson said the show is different from other TV dance contests.

"This is about crews, five to seven people. It's not one person, it's not a couple dancing. This is very different," he said. "Plus, this is a lot younger, a lot hipper, a lot doper. You'll find the latest dance moves, see. You can actually watch this show and learn how to dance."

Jackson was recruited to do the show by dance event producers Howard and Karen Schwartz, creators of the USA and World Hip Hop Championships. So will he be taking to MTV to show off his moves? Or to give a thumbs-up to his favorite breakers?

Not really, dawg.

"Many people say, 'Dude are you judging dance now?' No, that's not my expertise like that but I do like to dance," he said. "You may catch a glimpse of me every now and then, just rocking and grooving in the back."

Jackson is releasing a compilation album "Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1" on March 11. He calls it "Randy's version of the `Juke Joint,"' referring to a Quincy Jones album.

The album features some familiar "Idol" voices (judge Paula Abdul, finalists Elliott Yamin and Katharine McPhee) as well as strange matchups such as Joss Stone and Three 6 Mafia (on "Just Walk on By").