America's Got Talent is back for a second season, because apparently they didn't find all the talent the first time around. Talent show maven Simon Cowell continues to tap into America's desire for fame.
Interview: Simon Cowell on America's Got Talent
"The reason that we created this show was basically we wanted one talent show in this country where there were no rules," Cowell said. "There is a million dollars available. I think things like YouTube and MySpace show there's a massive appetite now for competitions outside of singing. And this felt the fairest way of doing it."
Still, Cowell has some remorse for opening the field so widely. "There were moments when I turned around during the taping as I'm watching some terrible dog act and said, 'This is what my life has come to now.'"
But Cowell doesn't get to decide who makes it any who doesn't. That's up to America. "What I love about the show is it's like the people's talent show. You know, where you just go if you think you're worth a million dollars, just come on America's Got Talent. If you're popular, you're going to win. See what happens."
Season two brings in a new host in Jerry Springer and a new judge in Sharon Osbourne. "We were quite lucky because we had a problem with Regis because of his schedule and he wasn't well and the issues with Brandy. So we knew we were going to have to make two changes, but what happened with Jerry, he was absolutely the first name that came into the frame, no other considerations. We wanted Jerry. Thank God, we got him. And when we found out that Brandy wasn't going to be doing the show we all agreed unanimously we'd love Sharon to do it because Sharon was watching the show last year. We were talking about it when we were taping X Factor. And she knew the show. And because I don't like Piers very much, I wanted to put Sharon on the show."
Should America's Got Talent continue its success, perhaps a worldwide version is next. "I'm thinking about it, funny enough. I'm thinking in about a year's time putting all the winners of all the countries around the world in one big competition and maybe we'll put up another pot of money for that."
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