Nick Lachey on Revamping "The Sing Off"

In your eyes, the light, the heat. Nick Lachey in the house. We're so excited to have you here. First time in the house. Your wife beat you to it. You guys vacuumed everything.

We did. It's a pretty, it's a pretty clean place.

Vanessa was just here a couple weeks ago. I heard. Yeah. I heard. She speaks, obviously, very highly of you, but

She has to.

She has to, right?

She has to.

But she was funny because she was talking about, we talked a lot about fashion as girls do. And we were talking, she's, she says that, you know, she you like her best in just jeans, t-shirt, no makeup, kind of thing. Is that true?

It is true. It is true. Um, yeah, I mean, she's a beautiful girl. She doesn't need all that extra stuff. But at the same time,

Good answer.

But at the same time, I uh, I do understand why like, you know, women want to get pretty and feel pretty and do the nails and the eyelashes and all that stuff. So, I uh, yeah. I walk the very fine line of, "Babe, you don't need all that stuff." to, "Wow, you look great with that stuff on."

Three hours, three hours later.

Yeah, exactly. It's, it's a whole process.

So, The Sing Off, we were just there visiting you guys on set. Um, I like that you guys, it's been away for a couple years. You've come back. And it's sort of like a new sort of premise in the way that you're condensing the series into sort of two weeks around the holidays.

Well, it actually started out that way.

Did it really?

Seasons one and two were both very condensed around the holidays. Um, and then it had done so well that that NBC decided to move it to a full fall schedule, which didn't uh, work as well for this, you know, for this particular show. So, we're very excited that it's going back to the condensed holiday kind of version because it's it's such a feel-good show. It's not a, it's not a malicious, you know, snarky judges. No snarky judges. It's it's all about kind of like trying to to cultivate this talent and and and nurture this talent. It's very uplifting. It's just a feel-good show and and uh, there's really no better time for it than, you know, the holiday season when families are watching TV together. It's a feel-good time of year. So, it really works well kind of in the in the version it is now.

So, what, I mean, you obviously from ninety-eight degrees know what a great acapella group sounds like. To me, they all sound fantastic when I listen to them all. How do you, how do you separate the great from the really, really great?

Acapella when done really, really well, almost sounds like one voice. Right. I mean, it's so in sync and it's so in tune that uh, it really feels effortlessly like one voice. When it comes off the tracks a little bit, you know, you can hear it because with somebody's off and and it's it's stuff, you know, stuff starts clashing.

Now, are you giving them advice? I hear something about you give them advice and you're not sure if they want to take it?

Well, that's the story of my life. I give everyone advice and I'm solicited. Does anyone No, it's uh, you know, every group has their own, they come in with their own strengths and and their own, you know, some are really technically very good, but their stage presence is is not great. So, that's, you know, the stuff they got to work on. Others, you know, great performers, but, hey, you were a little uh, you know, little off there. Um, I don't hear half the stuff that the judges here out there. I'm side stage and and uh, plus I'm just not as smart as they are. Um, so, they pick up on more than I do. Um, but yeah, it's it's uh, it really is just about listening to each other. That's what acapella is all about. You've got to, you've got to listen. Half of it's uh, half of it's listening and half of it's singing.

Now, speaking of advice, did Vanessa, cuz she's such a fabulous host, has such a great background in hosting, did she give you any when you when you did this?

Hostess with the mostess. She's uh, she does. She does.

Are you as good at taking advice as giving it?

As I probably not as good at taking the advice, but I do really respect her advice. Obviously, she's my wife, but she's she's so good at at hosting and she's gotten, you know, all the experience of doing live TV, um, you know, for for so many years with TRL. She she just is so quick on her feet and she knows instinctively what needs to happen when it needs to happen. So, uh, she's a great kind of sounding board and and uh, a great barometer and um, and yeah, she's supportive. She she uh, she tries to help out when she can. Sometimes I don't want to hear it, but most times I do listen.

Do you ever would you ever see you and Vanessa hosting a show together? I could see you as like Regis and, not the age part, but

We we, it's funny because because we both work in this field a little bit. Yeah. We've talked about it and I think that we've smartly and maturely decided that the worst possible thing that could ever happen in our relationship is that we work together. Uh, especially in a hosting dynamic. So, I think that uh, we can safely assume that will not happen.

Do you have a moment that you feel maybe was an inevitable moment? That sort of everything sort of came together and it was just sort of right place at the right time and everything was sort of magical in a way?

Well, I mean, this particular show is very, very surreal to me and special to me because when we, you know, started out ninety-eight degrees, we were, you know, truly inspired by Boys II Men to the point where we tried to get backstage and sing for those guys. Uh,

Did you crash any parties?

We, we crashed the backstage party and got on the radio and and ended up meeting our manager, but did not meet them. And then when we got um, signed to Motown Records, we came in and sang a Boys II Men medley acapella. And that's how we got signed to Motown, the same way they were on. So, you know, fast forward years later and to be doing a show with Sean um, you know, uh, who was one of our idols growing up. And then to tour with them this summer, um, it's a pretty surreal full circle moment for for, you know, both me and and the whole group. It was, it was awesome.

Are you guys going to be, you know, writing new music together? That would be a a great collaboration. Uh, Sean and I? Yeah. Uh, we have not done that, but we should. You absolutely should. Jewel, you could get Jewel in there too. We'll give you a commission on that and you put that together.

Thank you. You're like an agent. I didn't even ask for it, but I'm glad that you're offering. This is fantastic.

How do you Jewel, is is yeah. Yeah, let's talk about Jewel because she's the new addition to the show this season. Let's talk about Jewel. What's it?

She's uh,

She's so ugly, isn't she? I mean, hideous.

Hideous. H-No, I mean, it I've jokingly said it made my job as a host a lot easier to to look out and see her in these evening gowns, you know, front and center and and uh, but aside from how good she looks on television and in person, um, she's really, really kind of a natural at this. I mean, she's she's very, very talented as everyone knows. Um, great songwriter, great performer. Um, but very nurturing. I mean, she really gave a lot back to these groups and you could tell she genuinely cared uh, about what happened to them and about their experience and just kind of jumped right in with both feet and and and hit the ground running. She was, she was great.

Now, I hear you're writing an album or something about soundtracks from from films that

Yeah, I am. I mean, I I have the right now I have a Father's Lullaby, which is kind of my my dedication to Camden, which is out now. Uh, but I am working on an album of of all soundtrack songs that kind of were songs that were meaningful to me throughout my childhood.

Okay, so what's your, like, what's your anthem from your childhood? If you have one. From my childhood? Or growing teen years. Awkward teen years.

Awkward teen years. It's probably Peter Gabriel in Your Eyes.

Oh, I love it. I love it. How's that go again, Nick?

In your eyes, the light, the heat. I am complete. We're you're supposed to be singing the other line.

Oh, in your eyes. I didn't want to ruin the song. I'm clearly older than you because that song doesn't resonate with you.

No, I do know that song. I didn't realize I was supposed to jump in. I would have absolutely. I would have absolutely destroyed it. It's all songs like that that kind of were like moments in time for, you know, for me as I as I grew up.

And what about now?

Now my favorite, it's probably Falling Slowly from uh,

That's a great song.

Yeah, and that was kind of like it was kind of a song that that Vanessa and I, we had it sung at our our wedding shower. It's a very kind of meaningful song for us.

I could sing that with you. Huh? I could sing that with you. I know that one.

You too. I don't know if I remember how it goes on. Falling slowly

That's awesome. You don't need me.

I'm going to bring you down. You will not see me on The Sing-Off anytime soon. Thanks for coming in.

Thanks for having me.

Congrats on the show.

Thank you very much.

And come back anytime.

Love to. Now that I know where you guys are.