Howard Stern will return to the judges panel for the 10th season of NBC's "America's Got Talent."
The Sirius/XM host joined the show at the beginning of season seven after Piers Morgan left the program in 2011. Stern made the announcement on the "AGT" Facebook page.
"I decided that a life without 'AGT' is not a life worth living," Stern said in a statement. "America needs a caring, compassionate and wise judge and who am I to deny the people what they want? It would be selfish of me to walk away."
AMERICA'S JUDGE IS BACK! #AGT pic.twitter.com/izeG78Hk8p
— America's Got Talent (@nbcagt) December 8, 2014
Stern added on his radio show Monday morning that the choice took some "soul searching," but the show's 10th year anniversary convinced him to come back. He will join fellow judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Mel B. as well as host Nick Cannon.
"Howard's wit and character bring an incomparable humor and insight to 'America's Got Talent,'" Paul Telegdy, NBC president of alternative and late-night programming, said in a statement.
Auditions for season 10 kicked off Nov. 2 in Tampa, Fla., and will finish in Los Angeles on Feb. 14 and 15.
"We are really excited to kick off season 10 in some of the most incredible cities in the nation and can't wait to see what this year brings," executive producer Jason Raff said. "Celebrating a decade of talent, this next round of auditions is destined to bring us acts unlike anything we've seen before."
"America's Got Talent" will return in the summer of 2015. See below for upcoming audition dates (Nashville, Tenn.; Richmond, Via.; and New York have already held their auditions).
Jan. 24 - 25: Chicago, IL
Jan. 26: St. Louis, MO
Jan. 29: San Antonio, TX
Jan. 31: Albuquerque, NM
Feb. 7: San Francisco, CA
Feb. 10: Boise, ID
Feb. 14-15: Los Angeles, CA
