Nick Cannon will host Lip Sync Battle Shorties. Nickelodeon’s kid-version spinoff of Lip Sync Battle. Nickelodeon has also cast 14-year-old social media sensation JoJo Siwa to serve as Cannon’s sidekick, providing commentary on each performance.
“I’m excited to host the first season of Lip Sync Battle Shorties,” said Cannon. “It’s always a pleasure to work with my family at Nickelodeon. It’s going to be a lot of fun watching the kids lip-sync their favorite songs and perform like their favorites artists.”
Cannon, who recently departed NBC’s America’s Got Talent as host, got his start on Nickelodoen as a teen on the ’90s sketch series “All That.” Nickelodeon then gave him his own series, “The Nick Cannon Show,” and in years since, Cannon has returned to the kids’ cabler for various awards shows such as “Kids Choice Awards” and more. In 2005, Cannon created and hosts MTV’s improv series “Wild ‘N Out,” which just kicked off its ninth season this summer.
A spinoff of Spike’s flagship show, Lip Sync Battle Shorties will span 10 episodes in its first season. The show will feature real-life kids lip-syncing pop songs in celebration of their favorite artists. Each episode will also feature the Shorties Dance Crew, a 10-person backup crew that has mastered all styles of dance from break-dancing to ballroom. The episodes will each conclude with a special celebrity appearance and final performance from all the kids. The series is set to premiere in 2018, and later this year, Nickelodeon will air Halloween and holiday specials.
The series comes after Nickelodeon aired a Lip Sync Battle Shorties special in December 2016, drawing over 2 million viewers in delayed viewing. To date, the special has brought in more than 20 million views on the network’s YouTube channel.
