Start cowering in fear now, future America’s Got Talent contestants.
Because Simon Cowell is headed your way.
In news broken by Us Weekly, the awesomely candid music producer will take over for Howard Stern when this NBC competition returns next summer.
“We’ve been talking about it for a few years, funny enough, me and NBC,” Cowell tells the tabloid. “This year … everything worked. So it was perfect.”
Stern departed the series following Season 10, leaving producers with an open spot alongside Howie Mandel, Melanie Brown and Heidi Klum.
Cowell, meanwhile, left American Idol after nine very successful seasons.
He has continued to serve as a panelist on The X Factor in Great Britain, however, and likely can’t wait to bring his wit, humor and, of course, total and complete honesty to America’s Got Talent.
“I’m not going to lie to people when I think they’re hopeless, I just couldn’t do that!” Cowell says, looking ahead.
“But no, of course I’m not going to be rude for the sake of being rude. That would be ridiculous. I’ll take it act by act.”
America’s Got Talent will not return for many months, but it will be holding auditions in cities such as New York, Detroit and Kansas City over the coming weeks.