‘America’s Got Talent’ Host Nick Cannon Hopes Wife Mariah Will Perform

‘Hopefully the timing works out and she does get to come represent,’ Cannon says of having his wife on the show.
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Tim Kash

Nick Cannon

Photo: MTV News

Thanks to Susan Boyle’s turn on “Britain’s Got Talent,” the American version — the new season starts Tuesday (June 23) on NBC — has some big shoes to fill. But with new host Nick Cannon and acts that will likely cause viewers to squirm as well as cry, Cannon thinks that “America’s Got Talent” will deliver.

” ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ and Susan Boyle definitely set the bar on high. They set it high, but it’s America, baby — this is how we get down,” he told MTV News. “We got some stuff for you. We got so many wonderful acts. It runs the gamut. It’s so much that it’s just going to be overwhelming.”

He describes the Susan Boyle phenomenon as “the show at its finest,” adding, “What the ‘Got Talent’ brand actually represents is ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and that’s what it was. You were just going to look her over and never think about her again and then she has this amazing voice,” he said. “We have so much of that on this show as well. I always say we have Boyle and beyond.”

Cannon is the show’s third host in four seasons, and he describes the gig as the “best summer job ever” and “a comedian’s dream.” Cannon, who said that he doesn’t have any hidden talents, thinks that he’ll make for a great host because he understands what it’s like to hustle for your dream. “I’m cut from that mold. I’m cut from the same cloth as all those contestants. I was an 8-year-old onstage at talent shows at churches,” he said. “I can relate directly with all those contestants and I’m a fan of the show. … You have some of the wackiest people coming up to you. It’s just hilarious. I just got to stand there and let the comedy flow.”

So did past judges like Regis Philbin and Jerry Springer have any advice for the newbie? “I did get to speak to Regis who is like the old, old G,” he said. “Regis was just like, ‘Just be as cool as you are. You just got to be cool, calm and collected. You gotta be that one to maintain the whole thing.’ ”

As the new host of the show, will he get wife Mariah Carey on to perform? Well, he’s hoping. “They keep asking me that — I don’t know. It’s a possibility. She loves the show,” he said. “She has a hot new album coming out. It’s the hottest show on TV so why wouldn’t that work out? So hopefully the timing works out and she does get to come represent.”

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