Jennifer Lopez Says 'American Idol' Helped Her 'Grow As An Artist'

Jennifer Lopez may have bid adieu to "American Idol", but she'll never forget her time on the show ... because if anything, those two seasons spent mentoring contestants also helped her evolve, both as a person and an artist.

"Whenever it's things like that, where you're working with other people, like the audience, or even another artist, like we did with the contestants on the show, you learn, you grow," she told. "And whatever I'd tell them, it was funny, it was like telling myself. Like 'Don't forget, when you're onstage ... make you sure you connect and make sure it's about the feeling.' Because we all get caught up, when we're the ones standing there, and everybody's watching. But, it's about forgetting about that and conveying a feeling. And I always feel like whenever I was telling them this over the past two years of doing 'Idol,' that it was helping me grow as an artist as well."

You can hear more about Lopez's time on "Idol" during the premiere of "MTV First: Jennifer Lopez," when she'll unveil her brand-new video for "Goin' In" (off her best-of compilation, Dance Again: The Hits) and then sit down with MTV News' Sway Calloway for an exclusive 30-minute interview on MTV.com. The special airs this Wednesday (July 25) at 7:50 p.m. ET on MTV.

And though Lopez counts "American Idol" as one of the highlights of her career, from the sound of things, she's ready to get back to the things that gave her a career in the first place: namely, making music and entertaining fans.

"['Idol'] was a great experience; it was a great experience to sit there and do that for a while, and I honestly feel like it was put in my life for a reason, to be part of my journey and part of my growth, because it definitely did that," she said. "But as much as I love the show, this is what I do. This is what I do. And that was fun and it was great, but this is what I do."

Tune in for the world premiere of Jennifer Lopez's "Goin' In" video on Wednesday, July 25, at 7:50 p.m. ET on MTV as part of "MTV First: Jennifer Lopez," and be sure to visit MTV.com after for an exclusive 30-minute interview with the pop star!