As “Hail to the Chief” boomed over the loudspeakers, Howard Stern took the podium to entertain questions about his new role as a judge on “America’s Got Talent,” premiering tonight at 8 on NBC.
Why he took the job in the first place: “I didn’t need the money, I didn’t need more fame. I just love the show, and I thought, ‘Wow, how much fun to do it.’ I thought it would be fun and I thought I might be good at it. Because I sit at home watching this thing, and I’m doing commentary to the wall. I sit there, I yell — I figure, well, I might as well get paid for it.”
Why he’s a good fit for the show:
Why he won’t lose his edge: “I respect what ‘America’s Got Talent’ is: It is a family show, it is a show that I love. I’ve been watching it for years. I don’t want to come in there and do ‘The Howard Stern Show.’ I don’t want to interrupt the flow of the show. I only want to make it better.
If I go in there and I’m trying to turn it into ‘The Howard Stern Show,’ it’s not gonna work. People are gonna hate it. I would hate that. I don’t think I’m losing my edge because I’ve always been about honesty — whether on the radio, whether I did a movie, whether I wrote a book — and on ‘America’s Got Talent’ I’m being honest. And as long as you’re honest, you don’t lose your edge.”
On his fellow “AGT” cast members: “Look, it’s been great. Nick Cannon’s great. I feel Ryan Seacrest is kinda tired. He doesn’t look like he relates to the people. I don’t know, he wants to be the next Dick Clark — I got news for him, Dick Clark’s not here anymore. And Nick is fabulous. Every time I leave a contestant crying, he picks up the pieces so beautifully. Howie’s been wonderful. There’s been all kind of things in the press that Howie and I don’t get along — we got along fine. Sharon, I’ve known for years — and she’s terrific, she has a very direct opinion. I think more so than any of the three of us, she is the one who can almost instantly size up talent. She’s very, very good at it. I think we represent the best judging panel on television, and I can’t wait for America to see it.”
On his critics: “You can’t complain about a show until you see it. Some guy sitting in his basement calling [himself the] Parent Television Council, you know, I think it’s a money-raising racket. They’re entitled to their opinion; they just sound awfully foolish when they haven’t seen the show. And so I invite them to view the show Monday night and see what kind of judge I am. This is a family show. It’s a different form of entertainment. I know the rules.”
A Stern stance
Why he’s fed up with today’s reality show competitions: “You could watch ‘American Idol’ [and] throw up. Listen, J.Lo … if I sit there in a beautiful dress and just tell [the contestants] they’re wonderful, they’re not gonna get anywhere. It’s my job as a judge to make sure that they get to the next level and be honest with them.”