Wayne Brady is going to make the 2022 American Music Awards a night toremember!
On Monday morning, the award show revealed that Brady will take on the role ashost — and he opened up to PEOPLE about how he’s preparing for the big night.
“I was ecstatic,” Brady, 50, says of the moment he found out. “I actually lostmy mind. That is one of the most amazing feelings. You feel like one of thecool kids in school.”
He continued, “Besides being a host, and besides being a musician, I just lovemusic. So to be a music lover in the middle of music, all these musicians thatyou look up to and these new musicians that are paving the way and burstingonto the scene, it’s really a remarkable night to be a part of.”
Wayne Brady Tapped to Host the AMAs in a ‘Full Circle’ Moment
Leon Bennett/Getty Wayne Brady
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the Whose Line Is It Anyway? star also said he’s not afraid to show howhyped he is for the night.
“In this business and in life, people don’t like it if you feel too happy orexcited or too eager, it’s cool to be disaffected. But in my mind, I’m too oldto play that card,” he says. “I’m a grown-ass man, and when I’m a fan ofsomething or somebody, I yell it from the rooftops. So I’m giddy withexcitement. I am just over the moon, and I don’t care if it isn’t cool, I’mgoing to live my life that night.”
Hosting the award show is a full-circle moment for the star, considering hehosted the preshow nearly 20 years ago. “I’ve got all these years ofexperience to pull from now,” he says.
“I approach it like I approach every hosting gig, my job as a host is to makethe audience at home comfortable and to make the proceedings run smoothly,” hesays. “The night isn’t about me. It’s not the AWAYNEAs, it’s the AMAs. I’mthere to make this thing work.”
He continues, “I’m there to be the best traffic cop in the world. I’m there tomake the audience in studio laugh. I’m there to make the people at home feelgood and laugh, and set you up for all of the performances. So I think I’mprepared that way. I’ve got to listen to a lot of the new music that I haven’theard, so I’ve got to prepare in that sense. And then the other way to prepareis to be ready for anything, because like James Brown said, ‘If you stayready, you ain’t got to get ready.”
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As for how he plans to make it special? Wayne’s got an idea or two.
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“I’m not going to say 100%, but odds are we’re doing an opening number. Imean, in the award shows that I’ve hosted in the past I’m kind of known forbeing able to pull those out,” he says with excitement. “So we’re going to doa really cool opening number. And then at some point, I would love to be ableto freestyle or do an improvisational piece using people from the audience,because as a fan, and as a music lover, and as a musician, to be able toimprovise musically on the AMAs would be the highlight of my life.”
“And maybe there’ll be an opportunity to show off a few of my Dancing withthe Stars moves later in the show,” says Brady, who is currently a contestanton the reality competition series.
Brady follows rapper Cardi B, who hosted last year’s award show.
The nominations for this year’s award show are led by Bad Bunny with eightnominations, and trailing closely behind are Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Drakewith six.
The year’s show will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles onNov. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Fan voting for all awards is now open onVoteAMAs.com.