Tomorrow night, Martina McBride will join judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Mel B. and host Tyra Banks on America's Got Talent. McBride appeared as a guest judge on Canadian Idol and a guest coach on American Idol, but this marks the first time the country star will lend her talents to the AGT judging panel.
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McBride tells viewers that while she will give honest feedback to the contestants, no one should expect for her to come across harshly like Cowell. "I'd say as a judge, I was probably somewhere in between a Heidi and Mel B.," she told Billboard. McBride continued, "Part of the culture that we live in now is that sometimes there is mean feedback for the sake of being rude or mean or trying to put somebody in their place. But when it's valid and helpful, I feel like I can manage."
Billboard also asked McBride if she would have auditioned for a show like America's Got Talent before she became a country superstar. McBride says that she probably would have, though the resulting journey would have been so different from the one she took.
"I don't think there is anything that can take the place of your 10,000 hours and really working and honing your craft in front of an audience and growing that way. I wouldn't trade that for everything but you can never say never. Who knows what would have happened to me if I had grown up in that environment," McBride said. She also notes that her fearlessness in her early 20s would have helped on the America's Got Talent stage but now she wouldn't be so keen on taking the reality show leap.
To see who McBride hits the coveted golden buzzer for, set your DVR to record her guest judging spot on America's Got Talent for July 31st on NBC. And if seeing McBride on-screen sparks a hope for hearing new music from her soon, you'll be happy to know that she's currently putting the finishing touches on a Christmas album to be released in October complete with a big band swing sound and hymns. Also, she's brainstorming her studio follow-up to her last record, Reckless. Since McBride doesn't feel encumbered by a record label, she's following her heart and considering a more acoustic-based sound.