Nick Lachey Tells Singers To Kick 'Pride' Aside On 'The Winner Is'

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By Jocelyn Vena

98 Degrees member opens up to MTV News about hosting new NBC competition.

Nick Lachey has $1 million to give away on his new NBC singing competition series, "The Winner Is." That is, if you think you have the skills to take home all those bills...

The summer series follows singers every week who must decide if they are good enough to stay in the competition and go for the grand prize of $1 million dollars in the finale, or if they want to tag out early and go home with anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000. The show is getting some special airings behind "The Voice" (the second airs Monday [June 17]) before it officially kicks off on NBC on July 11.

"Well I think what attracted me to the show was basically that it was an interesting concept and not one that we've seen done before and kind of regurgitated [the] reality concept. It was the idea of combining kind of the excitement of a performance competition show with the strategy of a game show," Lachey told MTV News. "To me, it's like if you take the battle round of 'The Voice' and combine it with 'Deal Or No Deal.' If those two shows had a baby, the baby would be named 'The Winner Is.' "

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Lachey, who previously hosted "The Sing-Off," knows that having money on the table really increases the stakes for the contestants. "Well you know when you look at it objectively, it's easy to say 'If I didn't feel like I did well, at least I want to leave with [$10,000] or [$25,000],' but as singers we all have pride," the 98 Degrees member explained. "We always think we killed our performance. It's hard to admit they lost. Of course someone's gonna lose... and more often or not they go home with nothing 'cause the pride won't allow them to admit they lost."

Anyone wanting to take a stab at all that dough should take Lachey's advice first. "Well obviously you have to perform well and these are people from everyday walks of life," he said. "They're all great singers. You also, if you can, you have to remove yourself emotionally from the moment and really be honest with yourself."

With the premiere of his new show, fans could say the summer of Nick Lachey has begun. Between "The Winner Is" and 98 Degrees' spot on thePackage Tour (along with the New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men), there's no escape from the singer/TV host — not that anyone wants one.

"It's been a great year. It's been a very busy year but a very satisfying year. Doing a new show on NBC, obviously, is a big thrill for me. Being a part of this tour with my old bandmates 98 Degrees and being out every night performing in arenas with screaming women, it's been a fun, fun summer," he said. "And more importantly on a personal level, just celebrating Father's Day and having a beautiful baby boy [Camden] that's a part of my life and doing a lullaby album [A Father's Lullaby] for him, it's just been a really satisfying professional and personal year."