Howie Mandel on America's Got Talent Season 8: "I Cannot Believe This Is Even a Job"

Howie Mandel said it plainly: "I cannot believe this is even a job. They give you a pair of pants and a paycheck — and if you have some credibility beh…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

On May 28, 2013, Howie Mandel joined a press call ahead of the Season 8 premiere of NBC's America's Got Talent . It was the first season with four judges — Mel B and Heidi Klum joining returning judges Howie and Howard Stern — and the first season requiring three yes votes to advance. Daedrian McNaughton spoke with Howie about the new dynamic, the challenge facing stand-up comedians on the AGT stage, and why he keeps coming back.

I cannot believe this is even a job. They give you a pair of pants and a paycheck — and if you have some credibility behind you, hopefully you have constructive criticism as to why something isn't worthy.

Is the chemistry for everyone off camera as great as it is on screen?

The key word is respect. We respect each other and each other's opinion though we don't agree — and there are times where we really don't. We're all four very strong-minded, opinionated people and we'll fight for what we think is right and honestly think sometimes the other person's wrong. It can get heated. But at the end of the day, we respect each other and enjoy working with each other. What you see is what you get, but that doesn't mean we all agree — which I think makes for good television and good criticism, and it's good for the acts to hear different opinions and different sides.

What is your favorite part of this season thus far?

Just the phone conference calls that we get to do. I mean I love this. It's not about the camera. It's not about the talent. It's just — this is fun. Because for me I'm a germaphobe and I'm talking to so many people, yet nobody's with me, and I love that.

On the four-judge format raising the bar

Howie explained the practical effect of adding two more judges: "Now we need three yes's instead of just two. Two and two is virtually a no. So you have to appeal to three people." He saw it as a net positive for the show: "Our four people on the panel come from not only four different worlds of entertainment, but from all over the world. The biggest change: we're going to send 55 people to the live shows. To be able to perform live at Radio City Music Hall means so much more than any of these other challenge shows has ever meant before."

On stand-up comedy being the hardest act on the AGT stage

Howie was direct: "I think that being a stand-up comic is probably one of the hardest things in the competition. Because in order to achieve what you're trying to achieve, you need to elicit more from an audience than any other act. If you sing a song, they're looking for applause at the end. If you do a magic trick, you're looking for a ta-da. But if you're doing stand-up comedy, you need to hear laughter every 30 seconds — which is a tough emotion to elicit from strangers. Because if it's quiet in the room, regardless of how funny you think you are, it's not working." America's Got Talent Season 8 premiered Tuesday, June 4th at 9 p.m. Eastern on NBC.

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