Each week, we’ve been giving you the inside scoop on how the contestants prepare for their performances on AGT, but today, we put host Terry Crews in the hot seat to see how he preps for each live show.
The 54-year-old has a number of accolades to his name, including being an actor, TV host, and former American football linebacker. Whether you know him from his hilarious appearances in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and White Chicks, or as number 94 for the Los Angeles Rams, or loveable host of America’s Got Talent, there’s no denying Terry is hard at work. So, how does he prepare for a night of hosting America’s #1 talent competition?
“First of all, it starts every morning around 5:30 with my workout,” Terry told Celeb Secrets reporter Mandy Ward. “I work out for longevity, cause it’s a looong day. Long day. And I make sure I run my four miles, I do my lifting… I am wearing compression socks right now cause it keeps me standing strong.”
“I treat this like a sport,” Terry continues. “I make sure everything is right- I warm up my voice, I have my Altoids to make sure my voice stays velvet and keep it going, and not to yell too loud. It’s literally like an athletic performance.”
“And that’s how I prepare, but I prepare just like any of the acts would- practice, practice, practice. I’ll start reading in the mirror, start doing my stuff, checking my spelling, checking how I pronounce people’s names- I’m really big about that because I do not want to insult any of the acts who come so far, so long. I wanna make sure it’s ready for them.”
And aside from his insane AGT prep and wonderful advice, Terry brings up a good point- there are SO many acts coming from all over the world to compete on AGT. Do you ever wonder how it must feel to have started a show that has become a worldwide hit? Well, wonder no longer, as we asked AGT creator himself, Simon Cowell.
Cowell is not only an English television personality, entrepreneur, and former record executive. He’s the mastermind behind The X Factor and Got Talent franchises, which also helped put together bands like One Direction and Little Mix.
After premiering in 2006, America’s Got Talent has become the number one talent show in America, and the Guinness World Records recognizes the Got Talent franchises as the world’s most successful reality TV format after being commissioned in 58 territories worldwide.
For the Season 17 live shows, nearly 40% of the acts were not from America. And even though the Got Talent franchise has gone far and wide, people are still traveling across the world just for a chance to be on America’s Got Talent.
“I think it’s the biggest compliment when someone does travel across the world, cause there’s no guarantee that you’re gonna get through to the next rounds. The fact that you made that decision to fly thousands of miles to come on this show, we never ever take you for granted,” Simon told us. “And I think part of the reason they come is that they understand that the audience who vote are unbelievably fair, so they won’t just vote for the American acts, they will vote for the best act.”
“And it does hurt when we do all buzz and they just spent, I don’t know, 14 hours on an airplane,” Heidi added. “Also, when we had the first year of Covid, and they all had to be in confinement for a while… so they were in the hotel for a week and then we buzzed them and they go home.”
“However, it’s here to stay now,” Simon chimed in again. “I think we’ll always have acts come from all over the world. It wouldn’t be the same without it.”
