NICK CANNON GETS HIS OWN DAILY MORNING RADIO SHOW!

Apparently being a teen heartthrob, TV host, film producer and Mr. Mariah Carey wasn't filling all of Nick Cannon's time, so starting next month he's adding another job: morning radio host.
As of Jan. 19 the multitasking Cannon will become the weekday morning host, 6-10, on WXRK (92.3 FM), also known as 92.3 Now.

He joins a growing list of TV and pop culture personalities who are also hosting radio shows, including Ryan Seacrest, Carson Daly, Billy Bush, D.L. Hughley and Steve Harvey.

But he won't have an easy road on Now, where he'll be going up against the well-entrenched Elvis Duran show on rival top-40 station WHTZ (100.3 FM).

WXRK has gone without a morning host since it launched its own top-40 format early this year, leading to speculation that parent CBS was waiting until it could hire a big enough gun to give Z-100 a fight.

The 29-year-old Cannon is currently the host of NBC's "America's Got Talent" and chairman of TeenNick. He will host the Disney Christmas parade on ABC next week. He recently launched his own multimedia company, NCredible Entertainment, which includes a record label and TV/film development arm.

He has made his mark as a performer over more than a dozen years in music, television and films.

He released a self-titled rap album in 2003 and several singles since then. On TV he starred in Nickelodeon's "All That" and "The Nick Cannon Show." He hosted the improv comedy show "Nick Cannon Presents Wild N Out" on MTV. His movies include "Drum Line," "Shall We Dance" and "Roll Bounce."

Off-screen he made headlines in 2007 for proposing to Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks on the Times Square Jumbotron. She accepted, but they called it off five months later and on April 30, 2008, he married Carey in the Bahamas.

His radio experience consists mostly of fill-in gigs for Harvey and Seacrest. But in a statement released yesterday, he said, "Radio is both an exciting and natural next step in my career. I look forward to waking up audiences and making friends across the tri-state area."

San Diego native Cannon has spent most of his life in the South and West, and non-New Yorkers have not always fared well on New York radio.

But CBS and Now clearly see Cannon's show as more than a local radio broadcast, describing it as "a mix of the most popular music, celebrity interviews and pop culture and lifestyle discussions."

He is expected to have a supporting cast, which was not announced today.

There was also no mention today of syndicating the show, which CBS is expected to do if it clicks.

While radio is a popular "brand extension" for well-known entertainers, they have a mixed record of success. Seacrest's show, which is heard middays on Z-100, has done well. So has Harvey's. Whoopi Goldberg's show several years ago did not.

Dom Theodore, program director of WXRK, says he is confident Cannon is the right man for the moment.

"No one is more in tune with our young adult listeners than Nick," says Theodore. "92.3 Now has experienced substantial audience growth since we launched and the addition of such a well-known and respected star like Nick Cannon will further resonate with and excite our entertainment-savvy listeners.

"Nick's passion and energy for both music and radio are undeniable."

What could be wrong with a job where you get to play your wife's records?