Piers Morgan: Susan Boyle will affect 'America's Got Talent'
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"America's Got Talent" kicks off its fourth season on Tuesday, and the show may be in position to have a big summer -- courtesy a 48-year-old Scottish woman named Susan Boyle.
Boyle became a worldwide sensation after her performance on "Britain's Got Talent" a couple months ago, and even though she ended up not winning, she brought a huge spotlight to both herself and the show. Piers Morgan, a judge on both the American and British shows, thinks some of the Boyle phenomenon could rub off on "America's Got Talent."
"From the time [Boyle's first appearance] was aired in Britain, I noticed on the 'America's Got Talent' audition trail that we were getting suddenly thousands more people turning up to auditions," Morgan says. "So that had a very big effect on the quality of the auditions. And as a result, we chose the Top 40 last week in Vegas in our boot camp, and it's by far the most talented collection of acts we've ever had on the show."
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In a conference call with reporters this week, Morgan talked more about Boyle -- including the possibility that she might make an American appearance -- and what viewers can expect starting Tuesday night. Some highlights:
Could Susan Boyle make an appearance on the show?
"It's not definite, because you never know what may happen between now and the live shows in August, but certainly I would think that is very much on [creator and executive producer] Simon Cowell's mind. Because he obviously owns 'America's Got Talent,' and she is somebody that he knows the Americans absolutely love.
"So I think if Susan is up for it healthwise and feels OK and wants to do it, then I'm sure that Simon will seriously consider that. You know, my gut feeling is that she probably will, yeah. I think it would be a huge thing for the show and a great thing for Susan."
Are there any Boyle-esque acts on "AGT" this season?
"Yeah. I'm not talking about people who look or sound like Susan or even do anything like her act. I'm talking about acts which I think could have the same impact. I mean, obviously, no act in the history of these shows has ever had that kind of phenomenal reaction that Susan had, but certainly the American show has still produced the biggest winner in terms of commercial success in Terry Fator [who's now a Las Vegas headliner].
"So, you know, these shows produce genuine world stars whether it's [previous 'Britain's Got Talent' winner] Paul Potts or Susan or Terry Fator or others, and I think that's what we're looking for. ... I don't want to give too much away at this stage because no one has seen these acts even on an audition show, but I think they will be fairly obvious when you see the first couple of shows who I'm talking about, and it's exciting."
On new host Nick Cannon:
"Nick's fantastic. I loved Regis [Philbin], I loved Jerry [Springer] after him. Nick's very different obviously -- he's a younger guy, he's very dynamic, he's very happening, you know. I didn't know much about him before, but I've certainly learned that he is very quick-witted, he's very funny, he's very warm, he loves the show, and I think he's had a lot of fun.
"I think he'll bring a whole new vibe to it which we haven't had before, which is always good. When a show is into its fourth season you want to shake things up a bit, and I think Nick does that really well."
Do you know anything about the contestants before you see them audition?
"Sometimes we might get told their name, and that's about it. You might get told look, the next one's called Susan Boyle. I don't think in her case we even got told that, so she just came out and that was it. We had a whole run of auditions that day where we didn't know anything about them at all. ...
"What Simon believes -- and I think he's absolutely right -- is that if you have prior warning that someone's going to be great, then you don't act surprised. I mean, why would you, you know? If we knew Susan Boyle had a voice like an angel we wouldn't have been pulling all those faces and being rather condescending toward her. We would have been thinking, 'Well, let's give her a couple of seconds to sing and then we'll all know she's great.'
"So I think that it's very important for the integrity of the show that people understand the judges do not get any warning. I've spent the last six months judging the British show and the American one and knew nothing about any of the acts. And that's again, for the judges, part of the wonderful spontaneity and unpredictability of the whole thing."
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"America's Got Talent" premieres at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, June 23.
Related:
Susan Boyle rejoining 'Britain's Got Talent' tour
Susan Boyle checks out of mental facility
Susan Boyle fairy tale sours
Susan Boyle hospitalized
Susan Boyle loses 'Britain's Got Talent' finale to Diversity
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I would love to see Susan Boyle on AGT. I love this show it is so much better the Idol
To John D: I guess you must have met Susan to say she is a drama queen, or are you just listening to a lot of jealous people's gossip? As to say she has no talent, you must have a tin ear, over 2 million hits on you tube, I guess all of us who think she is very talented are wrong,she already has had a lot more than just 15 minutes of fame and is still going strong, is this your 1 second of fame on the web? Sour grapes to you.
Susan, don't give the talent shows any more publicity.
I think they got enough of your blood already.
Sue them for even using your name.
Move on to better things.
Yeah she can sing but put a bag over her head, I can't stand watching her perform.
MIKE.....YOU GOT AN UGLY PERSONALITY