Jennifer Lopez explains American Idol tears

The 41-year-old singer started crying when she had to tell Chris Medina that he was out of the competition on Wednesday.

Talking to Ryan Seacrest on his radio show, she said, 'This is all new to me. I'm used to having a script in a movie, or a big performance with a cane and a microphone, and I have all kinds of stuff going on ... You're not always getting me.

'This is the first experience ... where I feel like people are getting to know who I am as a person it's such a vulnerable place to be.

'I didn't break down when he [Chris] was there necessarily I did it afterwards after he left. It really hit me. I just couldn't believe I had to deliver this news to this person who I felt had been through a lot, and is going through a lot, and I felt like I didn't do it well enough for him.

'He handled it with such dignity and so much class, and that made it worse for me. I was like 'Oh, he's so awesome. I respect this person so much.''