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When Sebastian Maniscalco was announced as host of the upcoming 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, were you…confused?
Well, that was to be expected. Ahead of the reveal, the comedian could only assume that “three million teenagers were gonna Google, ‘Who is Sebastian Maniscalco?'” he said on Wednesday’s CBS This Morning, adding, “This is, like, millennial and my audience is, you know, sometime they need some help getting into the theater.”
Indeed, even his sister was shocked and caught off guard by his latest gig. “I come from a very negative family, so nothing’s ever good,” he joked to Gayle King. “But she was like, ‘You don’t know anything about music. This is millennials!’ So what’s why I’m doing it. It’s a challenge.”
Now, with less than a week to go before the hotly-anticipated show, he’s hitting the books and taking a crash course in pop culture.
“I don’t really know a lot about music,” he confessed. “I know it from afar. I’ve been studying. I just found out who Normani is!” (But does he know Cardi B, Shawn Mendes and Lizzo?!)
“I know music but I don’t know the inner workings,” the 46-year-old continued. “I don’t know the feuding, whose got beef with who. But I’m finding all this out.”
He’ll certainly learn once the biggest names in music take the stage. As the network previously announced, Taylor Swift, Camila Cabelloand Missy Elliott among countless others are set to perform.
Yes, we’re in a for a wild night.
The VMAs and the pre-show will take place live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Aug. 26.