Does Nick Cannon Have Talent Too?

I'm waaaaaay better than Jerry Springer.

Shrewd move, NBC. After three years of sticking old dudes (Jerry Springer and regis Philbin) on the stage with contestants of America's Got Talent, you finally saw that you could tap into the American Idol audience. After all, you've got the same three judge types: the snarky British guy (Piers Morgan), the beefy dude (David Hasselhoff) and the lovey-dovey woman (Sharon Osbourne). You've got more to offer, though: You've got pets and families and dancers and magicians and, best of all, a better host: Nick Cannon.

Cannon, who has been Mr. Mariah Carey for just over a year, is a showbiz veteran at age 28. He got his big break on Nickelodeon's comedy variety show, All That, and went on to score his own self-titled show in 2002. He has also acted in films, including Drumline and Love Don't Cost A Thing, and has released several rap albums. An American talent in his own right, Cannon is delighted to be hosting the show.

"It feels all bubbly inside!" he said in an interview with TV.com. "It's the best summer job I've ever had."

Cannon is looking forward to bringing his self-proclaimed silliness to the stage.

"I'm a fan of the show, so ... I've watched it at home and sat by the TV saying all these types of different remarks and [now] I'm saying all of those same remarks, just in front of millions!"

As an actor, comedian and musician himself, Cannon has quite a bit of advice and encouragement to offer to the contestants.

"That's what I'm there for. I'm there to give advice. I don't know if its always going to be good advice, but I'm always giving advice ... I'm on the side of the stage that's rooting for anyone who has the gumption to get out there on that stage. That takes quite the individual to do that so, whatever they need from me: advice, massages. I'm the corner man!"

Cannon said he's a fan of the animal acts, but he noted that each of the judges are impressed by a different type of talent.

"Piers (Morgan) actually enjoys the weird, quirky, strange, obscure stuff. David (Hasselhoff) tends to like, you know, a lot of the beautiful acts, shall we say? (Laughs). Sharon (Osbourne) loves the rock acts [and] the animal acts. So everyone has their own tastes. It's a well-balanced show," he said.

Speaking of well-balanced, Cannon talked a bit about the similarities and differences between America's Got Talent and American Idol.

"Idol is a great show in itself, but one of the cool things about our show is that it's not cornered into singing ... I think Idol is a certain type of artist, whereas in America's Got Talent, you can be any age, any type of talent, any size, shape or form. Whatever it is, we welcome it," he said.

With casting open to basically anyone, the resulting pool of contestants is very diverse.

"I think everybody will be able to relate with all the contestants on the show because it's a wish-fulfillment type of environment," he said. "Everybody is always striving for something."

Cannon was also deeply touched by some of the contestants' personal stories and the sacrifices they made to appear on the show.

"[Gospel group] Voices of Glory had me in tears when I first met them," he said. "But I believe because of our economic time and the climate ... the country is in right now, we have so many people that are saying this is their opportunity to reach for their dreams and their lifelong goals."

Season 4 of America's Got Talent premieres tonight on NBC at 9/8c and continues through the summer on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9/8c.