Howard Stern: good addition to ‘America’s Got Talent’?
Howard Stern debuted on 'America's Got Talent' Monday night. CREDIT: Virginia Sherwood/NBC
Loading ...Howard Stern is one of the most divisive personalities in the country. His reputation over decades on radio was raunchy, immature, crass. He’s the name you see the most when the phrase “shock jock” is mentioned. The Parents Television Council considers him the bogeyman.
So he was the perfect guy to join the most popular summer TV show, right?
“America’s Got Talent” ratings for its first episode was about 10.3 million, according to early Nielsen estimates. That’s down from 15.3 million a year ago, a nearly one-third drop. Ratings 18-49 only dropped by about 15 percent, from 4.3 to 3.6 so Stern may have scared away more older viewers than younger ones.
So far, the feedback online and on Twitter has been mostly positive. He told critics that he knows how to behave on broadcast TV, having been under FCC restrictions for most of his career. And based on the edited version of Stern we saw Monday night, he made only a few references to sexual matters.
For instance, he said the first guy, a stripper-magician, appeared to be modestly endowed, then noting that he is, too, a standard retort he’s made over the decades.
Stern was bluntly honest, but in a warm, friendly way. While he would insult a poor performer, he did it in a way that felt more like a concerned uncle than just a mean guy for the sake of being the mean guy.
His best improvised line of the night:
“Has someone in your life said to you, ‘This isn’t for you?’ ” he said to one bad singer. “A parent, maybe?”
“My parents are dead,” he said.
Pause.
“Did they die of embarrassment?” Stern cracked.
He has said on his Sirius/XM show that he loves talent shows and it showed. He joined Simply Sergio on stage after the man started crying and hugged him. (The man sang poorly, then much better in his second effort. Redemption!) He needled both Howie and Sharon. He danced with a sexy male sax player. Heck – he even said the following: “This is going to sound sappy. We are the greatest country in the world. You are everything that makes America great.”
Otherwise, the format is the same eclectic mix of talent and so-called talent: a female singer with cockatiels on her shoulders, a guy who shoves a scorpion in his mouth and a dog ventriloquist. The background music during montage portions are always painstakingly loud and the editing manipulations throw anything remotely close to subtlety out the window.
Jimmy Baron, formerly of 99X and Dave FM, Tweeted this morning to beg to differ with me and others, saying the segments felt “forced and scripted. Friendly, likable, antiseptic Howard is terrible.”
Join my Facebook fan page and Twitter.
By Rodney Ho, Radio & TV Talk
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50 comments Add your comment
Love Jimmy, but he's nuts.
May 15th, 2012
8:38 am
The show was awesome. I loved it. Why Jimmy B differs is beyond me. I hope it is not just from a bitter place.
Rickster
May 15th, 2012
8:40 am
Sorry. AGT just fell into the same trap as The Voice & X-F. Now it’s all about the judges.
Rickster
May 15th, 2012
8:56 am
“having been under FCC restrictions for most of his restrictions.
Rodney, would you like to “revise and extend” your remarks?
Harriett
May 15th, 2012
8:59 am
I was surprised that I enjoyed his being there too, Rodney!
Rickster
May 15th, 2012
9:00 am
While on the topic of AGT… I’ve seen a couple of billboards around town for Six Flags advertising “as seen on TV” = Team iLLuminate from last season.
Not sure how long they’ll be there.
Howard Stern makes a sweet debut on ‘America’s Got Talent’ – Kansas City Star | Amazing News
May 15th, 2012
9:14 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution [...]
Sluggo
May 15th, 2012
9:19 am
Hopefully, these talent audition reality program shows will dissipate in the near future. Mr. Stern is welcome to sink into oblivion too.
DanJ
May 15th, 2012
9:19 am
I was surprised that I enjoyed Howard. Will it eventually become old? Not sure. Judges need some personality or I lose interest. I agree with Rickster to a degree, a show shouldn’t JUST be about the judges. You need balance!
Jimmy
May 15th, 2012
9:21 am
Thanks for the mention, Rodney. To elaborate, I am a huge fan of Howard. He changed the face of American entertainment to a large extent. What makes him great, though, is that he turns any environment (Letterman, Piers, Fallon, etc) into HIS environment. Whatever show he’s on becomes about him, and that’s a good thing. On squeaky clean AGT he felt castrated.
SternFan
May 15th, 2012
9:24 am
Let’s just hope that we always see the phrase “formerly of” right after any reference to Jimmy Baron.
Lisa
May 15th, 2012
9:29 am
Poor Jimmy Baron is so excited to include himself into this topic.
Name (required)
May 15th, 2012
9:32 am
He’s better than any of the idiots on Ameraoke Idol.
MC
May 15th, 2012
9:33 am
Jimmy is just trying to claw back some semblance of relevance. It’s so much hipster to be against something than for it. He’s just embarrassing.
EAS
May 15th, 2012
9:56 am
Like that no talent hack Jimmy Baron has a lot of room to talk. What is he doing now?
bart
May 15th, 2012
10:08 am
I thought he was great. Honest but in a kind, affectionate way. He is a big improvement over Piers Morgan. And the the fondness that these 3 judges have for each other came through loud and clear. Morgan was a divisive figure and it was obvious the other 2 judges did not like him. This is a huge improvement.
Biggie Smalls
May 15th, 2012
10:18 am
Big Howard fan but never been a fan of, so I gave it a try last night. I made it 14 minutes in before I had to change it. Talk about a boring show, even with Howard. Howard sold out on this one.
Alex
May 15th, 2012
10:40 am
I think the early verdict is positive.
A lot of his humor was self-deprecating rather than spotlight seeking (ala JstankHo). I laughed out loud when he mentioned looking for someone to play him in a movie and he thought he found the perfect kid in the kazoo band. He even refered to him as “son”.
I would rather hear this kind of banter rather than “beautiful, just beautiful”, “goosies”, or the “best in 50 years” nonsense.
Alex
May 15th, 2012
10:42 am
Biggie Smalls
May 15th, 2012
10:18 am
I think I know where you’re coming from, but did really expect is to be a prime time version of “The Howard Stern Show”? He’s not going to be the focus for 45 minutes on a 1-hour show.
Dances with Cougars
May 15th, 2012
10:52 am
THE KIMMER > Howard Stern
Small Kahuna
May 15th, 2012
10:52 am
Hey, now!
I’ve been a Stern radio listener for almost 22 years now. I’ve never watched AGT before last night. The charisma that’s made him likeable on the radio for so long came through. He has said on his satellite show that he wasn’t fully comfortable in those auditions in LA and San Francisco and he felt most at ease in St. Louis and Tampa.
I wasn’t exactly captivated by the show, but appreciated it for what it is. He seems to be enjoying himself. Not sure I will be an avid watcher but, then again, he talks about it a lot on the radio so I may not be missing much.
Dances with Cougars
May 15th, 2012
10:53 am
I would watch any TV show or listen to any radio station that featured THE KIMMER.
(Google Him, Atlanta Radio Station “Executives.”)
Alex
May 15th, 2012
11:04 am
EAS
May 15th, 2012
9:56 am
“What is he doing now?”
Probably still trying to ride on Leslie Framm’s coattails.
Yankee Prof
May 15th, 2012
11:05 am
I’ve never been a big Stern fan, not because I found him offensive, but rather his humor’s just something that I found I could best enjoy in limited doses. That said, I really enjoyed him on the show last night. Seemed like the show went out of its way to put the spotlight on him (as to be expected with all the hype of his addition), but he wore it well.
kreedham
May 15th, 2012
11:22 am
I thought Howard reigned it in enough to be good and not offensive. Now the talent last night with exception of the father and daughter singers was awful. Want to see a good talent show…go to you tube and watch Britain’s Got Talent. They just finished their season. The winner was a girl and her dancing dog. It was cute but the winner should have been Charlotte and (I can’t remember his name) her partner who sang opera!
kreedham
May 15th, 2012
11:23 am
Also check out the 140 man Welsh Boys Choir who finished in the top 4.
RightOn
May 15th, 2012
12:03 pm
Im a Howard fan and enjoyed watching AGT last night. As mentioned by others, no other judge compares. All of the AI judges say the same crap over and over again (goosies, beautiful and yoyo) but rarely do they have any meaningful, witty or constructive criticism. Good job Howard and keep it up, NBC made a smart move.
MyPatootie
May 15th, 2012
12:32 pm
After watching AGT every year since the first season, I only watched about 5-10 mins. last night. I had determined that even though I despised HS I was not going to let him keep me from enjoying one of my favorite shows, and that I would just “mute” the sound when he is on. I lost interest after only a few mins. and switched to my “beloved Braves” and never went back. Had HS not been on there and disgusted me so much I probably would have gone back AS THE BRAVES WERE LOSING. So, I know of at least one person they lost. When the shows quit being so weird and silly I may go back but will still “mute” the sound when “Garbage Mouth” is on.
Don Abernethy
May 15th, 2012
12:42 pm
NBC continues to lead the Obama news networks in being the most liberal. Their owner,GE, is a big supporter of liberal causes. It amazes me that the only half way conservative news net work is Fox. The country is just about evenly split between liberals and conservatives but the liberals control most of the media. I am turning more and more to CBN for my news.
Dick Lark
May 15th, 2012
12:48 pm
The guy speaks his mind freely, and can say anything, no matter how offensive, and is rewarded with hundreds of millions of dollars and unimaginable fame. But if a regular person speaks his mind on these blogs and says anything that might be deemed to be the slightest bit offensive to anyone, the comment is filtered, banned, blocked. The extreme hypocrisy in our society, particularly in the media, and especially in this newspaper is what is nauseating, not Howard Stern.
MyPatootie
May 15th, 2012
1:24 pm
“Dick Lark” good post. My feelings exactly. You are very perceptive. That’s why I was quite surprised to read RoHo’s article on HS. He is usually full of common sense and logic, but not this time. His article was even contradictory, and even shows how the viewers feel about HS being on AGT. That drop from 15M to 10M is huge, and has to be attributed mainly to HS being on there. RoHo said HS made only a “few references to sexual matters” but even a few at that time slot is too many. Just shows he has a “garbage can” for a mind. The comment he made about the stripper/magician has no place on a show with lots of pre-teen viewers. As I said earlier I will probably watch once the silly, weird stuff gets by but my finger will be on the “mute” button for HS and his diatribe.
slim jim
May 15th, 2012
2:21 pm
howard stern is just too damn ugly for t.v.,good face for radio though
JTesla
May 15th, 2012
2:28 pm
Dick Lark, some of what Howard Stern says would not be allowed on the blog, so I’m not seeing the double standard that you are trying to establish. The blog is the property of the AJC, their property their rules. I’m free to go into my living room and drop a big deuce on the floor, using your logic I can freely walk into your house and do the same thing. Your rights to speak do not trample the property rights of others.
Alex
May 15th, 2012
2:55 pm
slim jim
May 15th, 2012
2:21 pm
And he would probably be the first to agree with you.
Howard Stern: good addition to Americas Got Talent?
May 15th, 2012
3:02 pm
[...] the phrase “shock jock” is mentioned. The Parents Television Council considers … …Source Tags: howard stern window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : 275244229221412, [...]
oxo momwow
May 15th, 2012
3:02 pm
AGT is yet another loosely scripted “reality” show – and it’s rubbish, much like everything on prime-time television. I enjoy reading the fine print on the free coupons that fill my mailbox over anything on the illuminati-mind-control networks.
Turn it off, folks.
Atlantaradiosucks
May 15th, 2012
3:32 pm
I’m a huge Howard fan, but I am sick of hearing about AGT. These “talent” shows suck– sanitized vanilla boring soul-less performers. Yes, America’s got talent, but it’s not on any of these shows.
Howard Stern: good addition to Americas Got Talent?
May 15th, 2012
4:09 pm
[...] the phrase “shock jock” is mentioned. The Parents Television Council considers … …Source Tags: howard [...]
Seth T
May 15th, 2012
4:33 pm
Each of the Judges have their silly side that causes them to put-through some acts that are not very entertaining, or just more of what we’re going to see tons of, in different variations.
Mandell is probably the most prone to want something wierd or childish, Sharon is probably the best judge of what should go forward at this point. And yes, like the other shows, it’s all about the Judges.
jhntknsn
May 15th, 2012
5:00 pm
Howard carried the show. It was hilarious whenever he spoke, and boring when others performed or spoke.
Mike
May 15th, 2012
5:42 pm
I am out. Stern is the wrong person to be on what was a great show. I will not watch it with him as a judge.
Horsetoothedjackass
May 15th, 2012
6:24 pm
When you consider the show was up against Dancing With The Stars and season finales on CBS, so the fact that they still managed to draw 10.3 million is not bad at all. NBC took a gamble with Howard and even more so by starting this season in the middle of May Sweeps instead of after them. The ratings should definitely spike once Dancing With The Stars is over.
I think that the early drop is because of Howard as some viewers obviously expected him to be the evil personified that so many folks have tried to portray him as over the years. I think that as people discover that he’s the perfect person for the gig, and continues to win people over (On today’s show, there was one writer who originally wanted to tear into Howard and after watching him on AGT, became a fan of him on the show.).
If Howard was not on AGT, I know I sure as hell wouldn’t have been watching the show.
Highlander
May 15th, 2012
7:12 pm
I don’t know if you can lay the ratings drop completely at Howard’s feet. A lot of it is probably due to the concept wearing thin. The title says “America’s Got Talent” then the producers show us an overwhelming amount of side-show semi-talents/no-talents.
I thought the show was old and tired by the time they had the chicken-catcher/”singer” champion a couple years ago.
Howard Stern | NewsTrendr
May 15th, 2012
7:14 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
FaFaFooFlah
May 15th, 2012
8:33 pm
I never watched AGT before Howard. The acts are lame, Sharon Osbourne is painful to watch and Howie should have stopped at St. Elsewhere but Nick has a good personality. Knowing Piers from his godawful CNN show, I can’t imagine how bad AGT was with him.
At least it wasn’t as painful to watch as AI, The Voice, or Dancing With Stars
Jack
May 15th, 2012
9:11 pm
Once every few months I read through these comments here at the AJC unfiltered blog. I’d start taking the paper again if the AJC would rename this The Online Crackpot Vent. No real thinkers here, just haters.
Howard Stern mellow as a ‘Talent’ judge – Pittsburgh Post Gazette | Amazing News
May 16th, 2012
12:29 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution [...]
Seth T
May 16th, 2012
1:15 am
Highlander
May 15th, 2012
7:12 pm
A lot of it is probably due to the concept wearing thin. The title says “America’s Got Talent” then the producers show us an overwhelming amount of side-show semi-talents/no-talents.”””………..
True, as in Idol, where they show a lot of bad auditions for comic value, a lot of time is wasted on acts that have no real “talent” value at all. You have to wonder how many really talented people were left in the pre-official-audition phase, because they didn’t fit the order of casting they wanted to use for TV.
I remember a few years back when they sent a number of acts to Vegas or Hollywood, wherever it was, then never let them perform but just filmed their disappointment and tears for the show’s “entertainment” value.
Several of them including one group of young, sweet and happy kids in their polka-dot costumes were brought into a big open building/garage type of place – and just told there were too many acts — and to go home. Of course the producers would not have known that before-hand – because that would have spoiled the fun of raising their hopes and then throwing them out and filming their sad little faces.
Some of the acts that think they are getting a good deal to advance now, are going to get used and tossed, with very little compensation for their efforts to entertain America, while the Judges and Host and exec’s make the money.
Grapevine: ‘America’s Got Talent’ ratings down – The Detroit News | Amazing News
May 16th, 2012
1:53 am
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution [...]
dtanner
May 16th, 2012
8:18 am
think i saw jimmy baron the other day working at the north peachtree wal-mart as the door greater,thought what a perfect job for that guy
Rusty
May 20th, 2012
5:07 pm
I only tuned in because of Howard but I have no interest in watching another episode. Expect the ratings to dip even further.