The singer-and-actress joined `American Idol` at the start of the current season and she has grown so close to the other new judge, their fellow panellist Randy Jackson and the show`s host Ryan Seacrest, she has come to regard them as family.

She said: "I love it. We are having a great time. Steven, Ryan and Randy are awesome.

"It`s like having brothers for the first time in my life. They are all very protective of me. We support each other, it`s a good unit."

The 41-year-old star - who has three-year-old twins Max and Emme with her husband Marc Anthony - admits she is "figuring out" motherhood as she goes along and sometimes finds it hard to juggle raising her family with her singing career, work on `American Idol` and other ventures, including a successful fragrance line.

She added to the Daily Record newspaper: "When I was on my own without kids, I had no trouble. I worked from day to night. I worked 24/7. Now I am different. I am a working mother now.

"To find the right balance is just very difficult. The babies become the most important thing in my life.

"Everything else has had to take a back seat. I am figuring out as I go along with these two angels of mine. And we are doing just fine."
sections: Celebrities